Effect of gaseous pollutant and greenness exposure on mortality during treatment of newly treated tuberculosis patients: a provincial population-based cohort study

Background Previous studies addressing the impact of environmental factors on TB prognosis are scarce, with only some studies examining the effect of particulate pollutants on TB mortality. Moreover, few studies have evaluated the effects of multiple gaseous pollutants and greenness exposures on newly treated TB patients on a large population scale. Methods Through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, data were collected from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2020 for newly treated TB patients in Anhui Province, China. Data on gaseous pollutants sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone were collected through the National Earth System Science Data Center of China. Normalized vegetation index data were obtained through NASA. The Cox proportional risk model was also applied to calculate the hazard ratios of SO 2 , NO 2 , CO, O 3 , and NDVI with 95% confidence intervals for mortality among newly treated TB patients. Results Multifactorial Cox regression analysis showed that for every 0.10 μg/m 3 increase in SO 2 , the risk of death among newly treated TB patients increased by 13.2% (HR = 1.132, 95% CI: 1.045–1.1.225), for every 10 μg/m 3 increase in NO 2 , the risk of death among newly treated TB patients increased by 11.4%, and for each 0.1 mg/m 3 increase in CO, the risk of death among newly treated TB patients increased by 5.8%. For each 0.1 increase in NDVI 250m-buffer and 500m-buffer, the risk of death among newly treated TB patients decreased by 8.5% and 6.4%, respectively. The effect of gaseous pollutants on mortality decreased progressively with elevated greenness exposure when greenness exposure was grouped from low to high. Conclusion Gaseous pollutants are a risk factor during the treatment of newly treated TB patients and greenness exposure is a protective factor. Higher greenness exposure reduces the risk of death due to exposure to gaseous pollutants.