New York University researchers published in the New England Journal of Medicine today that long term exposure to high levels of ozone, a main component of smog, is linked to an increased risk of death from respiratory diseases. Many studies have linked ozone to poor health, and others have shown that high-ozone days are linked to increased risk of acute health problems the next day, such as more asthma and heart attacks. However, this is the first study to demonstrate the effects of long term ozone exposure. In fact, the risk of dying from respiratory disease was more than 30 per cent higher in metropolitan areas with the highest ozone levels. During the 18-year study the city with the highest mean daily maximum ozone concentration was Riverside, California; the lowest ozone city was San Francisco. But even so, the average amount of ozone in San Francisco correlated with a 14 percent increase in death from respiratory diseases.
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Tags: air, asthma, heart attack, lung, ozone, pollution, respiratory, smog
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
July 2nd, 2009 at 10:08 pm
[...] roads. Exposure to high levels of ozone can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath and even heart attacks in both healthy people and those with pulmonary disease. Therefore, be aware of your local [...]