Ozone and Short-term Mortality in 95 US Urban Communities, 1987-2000

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Abstract
Exposure to tropospheric ozone is widespread in the United States,1,2 occurring also outside southern California, where ozone formation was first recognized.3 Short-term exposure to ozone has been linked to adverse health effects, including increased rates of hospital admissions and emergency department visits, exacerbation of chronic respiratory conditions (eg, asthma), and decreased lung function.4-8 Numerous time-series studies have addressed the relationship between ozone levels and mortality counts on short-term intervals of 1 or a few days, including some studies involving multiple locations; however, their findings have been inconsistent.9-17 Interpretation of this evidence is constrained by the limited range of locations included in these reports, the variability of methods used, and the imprecision of estimates from some of the studies. The study of ozone and health is complicated by the complex, nonlinear chemical formation of tropospheric ozone, which is temperature driven, with higher ozone levels at higher temperatures.18
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