Ozone Levels Tied to More Deaths in the U.S.
Ozone Levels Tied to More Deaths in the U.S.
Higher Levels Account for More Respiratory and Cardiac Deaths in Big Cities
Nov. 16, 2004 -- Short-term increases in ozone levels lead to thousands of early deaths each year in the U.S., new research shows.
Yale University environmentalist Michelle L. Bell, PhD, and colleagues evaluated data from 95 large American cities and found that a 10-parts-per-billion (ppb) increase in the prior week's ozone levels resulted in about a 0.5% increase in the overall daily death rate. Bell is from the School of Forestry and Environmental studies at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
Respiratory- and cardiac-related deaths increased by 0.64%. People aged 65-74 had a slightly higher mortality rate compared to their younger peers.
The "widespread pollutant [ozone] adversely affects public health," the authors write in the Nov. 17 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
Until now, studies detailing the link between ozone and mortality rates have been inconclusive.
Growing traffic jams and the public's zest for pollution-emitting vehicles have helped fuel ozone levels, a component of smog. Exposure to ozone, even short-term, can trigger chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and decreased lung function, and results in increased emergency room visits and hospitalization.
"A 10-ppb increase in daily ozone [levels] would correspond to an additional 319 annual premature deaths for New York City and 3,767 premature deaths annually for the 95 urban communities, based on mortality data from 2000," Bell and her team said, in a press release. "This value is probably an underestimate of the total mortality burden ... because it accounts for only the short-term effects."
Ozone Levels Tied to More Deaths in the U.S.
Higher Levels Account for More Respiratory and Cardiac Deaths in Big Cities
Nov. 16, 2004 -- Short-term increases in ozone levels lead to thousands of early deaths each year in the U.S., new research shows.
Yale University environmentalist Michelle L. Bell, PhD, and colleagues evaluated data from 95 large American cities and found that a 10-parts-per-billion (ppb) increase in the prior week's ozone levels resulted in about a 0.5% increase in the overall daily death rate. Bell is from the School of Forestry and Environmental studies at Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
Respiratory- and cardiac-related deaths increased by 0.64%. People aged 65-74 had a slightly higher mortality rate compared to their younger peers.
The "widespread pollutant [ozone] adversely affects public health," the authors write in the Nov. 17 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
Until now, studies detailing the link between ozone and mortality rates have been inconclusive.
Growing traffic jams and the public's zest for pollution-emitting vehicles have helped fuel ozone levels, a component of smog. Exposure to ozone, even short-term, can trigger chronic respiratory diseases, such as asthma and decreased lung function, and results in increased emergency room visits and hospitalization.
"A 10-ppb increase in daily ozone [levels] would correspond to an additional 319 annual premature deaths for New York City and 3,767 premature deaths annually for the 95 urban communities, based on mortality data from 2000," Bell and her team said, in a press release. "This value is probably an underestimate of the total mortality burden ... because it accounts for only the short-term effects."
