• Jaana I Halonen, Timo Lanki, Pekka Tiittanen, Jarkko V Niemi, Miranda Loh, and Juha Pekkanen.
• National Institute for Health and Welfare, Environmental Epidemiology Unit, P O Box 95, FI-70701 Kuopio, Finland.
• J Epidemiol Community Health. 2010 Sep 1; 64 (9): 814-20.

BackgroundHealth effects of ozone have been observed in numerous studies. However, analyses of more cause-specific morbidity or mortality outcomes have rarely been performed. A study was undertaken to determine the short-term associations of ozone with cause-specific cardiorespiratory mortality and morbidity by age groups.MethodsDaily levels of ozone were measured at a background measurement station in 1998-2004 in Helsinki, Finland. All analyses were a priori restricted to the warm season. Daily cause-specific cardiorespiratory mortality and hospital admissions were studied in elderly people (> or =65 years) and adults (15-64 years) and associations between ozone and asthma emergency room visits in children (<15 years) were analysed. All models were adjusted for PM(2.5) and Poisson regression was used for the analyses.ResultsThere was a positive association between ozone and admissions for asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in elderly people (9.6%; 95% CI 2.0% to 17.8% at 0-day lag for 25 microg/m(3) increase in ozone). Consistent associations were also found between ozone and asthma emergency room visits in children (12.6%; 95% CI 0.8% to 25.1%, 0-day lag). There was a suggestion of an association between ozone and admissions for arrhythmia among elderly people (6.4%; 95% CI 0.63% to 12.5%, 1-day lag), which was slightly confounded by PM(2.5).ConclusionsPositive associations were found for ambient ozone with asthma visits among children and with pooled asthma/COPD admissions among elderly people. The evidence for a positive association between ozone and cardiovascular health was weaker.

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