Background

The majority of studies examining long-term exposure to ambient ozone have utilized averages as the exposure parameter. However, averaging ozone exposures may underestimate the impact of ozone peaks and seasonality. The current study aimed to examine the association between ozone exposure evaluated by different exposure metrics and lung function in healthy adolescents.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional study among 665 healthy adolescent males living within a 2 km radius of an ozone monitoring station. Multiple ozone exposure metrics were evaluated, including two-year and peak-season averages, peaks, peak intensity, and the total excess of peak level. Lung function was measured using FEV₁, FVC, and FEV₁/FVC ratio.

Results

The peak intensity during the ozone peak-season was associated with the largest decrease in the FEV₁/FVC ratio, -1.52% (95%CI: -2.55%, -0.49%) (p < 0.01). Concurrently, we did not observe a significant association between ozone exposure, assessed by different metrics, and either FEV₁ or FVC.

Conclusions

The study findings suggest that when evaluating ambient ozone exposures, ozone peak intensity during peak-season should be considered, as it may predict greater adverse health effects than averages alone.

中文翻译：

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通过不同指标评估长期暴露于臭氧对肺功能的影响

背景

大多数研究长期暴露于环境臭氧的研究都使用平均值作为暴露参数。然而，平均臭氧暴露量可能会低估臭氧峰值和季节性的影响。目前的研究旨在探讨通过不同暴露指标评估的臭氧暴露与健康青少年肺功能之间的关联。

方法

我们对居住在臭氧监测站 2 公里半径范围内的 665 名健康青少年男性进行了一项横断面研究。评估了多种臭氧暴露指标，包括两年和旺季平均值、峰值、峰值强度和峰值水平总超出量。使用FEV ₁、FVC和FEV ₁ /FVC比率来测量肺功能。

结果

臭氧高峰季节的峰值强度与 FEV ₁ /FVC 比率的最大下降相关，-1.52%（95%CI：-2.55%，-0.49%）（p  < 0.01）。同时，我们没有观察到通过不同指标评估的臭氧暴露与 FEV ₁或 FVC 之间存在显着关联。

结论

研究结果表明，在评估环境臭氧暴露时，应考虑旺季期间的臭氧峰值强度，因为它可能预测比单独平均值更大的不利健康影响。