Berlin, Jun 6 (PTI): Long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with a greater risk of severe COVID-19, according to a study conducted in Germany. The study, presented at the annual meeting of the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care in Milan, Italy from June 4-6, found that people living in counties with higher nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels were more likely to need ICU care and mechanical ventilation if they had COVID-19. The researchers noted that long-term exposure to NO2, a gas released into the atmosphere when fossil fuels are burned, can have harmful effects on the lungs. This includes damage to the endothelial cells, which play a key role in the transfer of oxygen from inhaled air to the blood. The research team led by Susanne Koch, from Charitr – Universitatsmedizin Berlin in Germany explored the impact of long-term air pollution on the need for ICU treatment and mechanical ventilation of COVID-19 patients. They used air pollution data from 2010 to 2019 to calculate the long-term annual mean level of NO2 for each county in Germany. This ranged from 4.6 microgrammes per cubic metre ( g/m3) to 32 g/m3, with the highest level in Frankfurt and the lowest...