Skip to main content

Seasonal variation in the acute effects of ozone on premature mortality among elderly Japanese

Environmental Monitoring and Assessment volume 185, pages 8767–8776 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

We conducted a multicity time-series study using monitoring data to assess seasonal patterns of short-term ozone–mortality association among elderly aged 65 years and over in Japan. Daily exposure to ambient ozone was computed using hourly measurements of photochemical oxidants available at multiple monitoring stations in each city. Effects of ozone on daily all-cause non-accidental, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality were estimated using distributed lag linear models, controlling for confounding by temporal, day of the week, temperature, and flu epidemics. City-level effect estimates were combined using inverse variance meta-analysis. In spring and autumn, a 10-ppbv increase of daily maximum 8-h average ozone concentration in the previous 3 days was associated with 0.69 % (95 % confidence interval (CI): 0.27–1.10), 1.07 % (0.34–1.82), and 1.77 % (0.78–2.77) increases in daily all-cause, cardiovascular, and respiratory mortality, respectively. Forward displacement of respiratory mortality was large during the cold season despite lower ozone concentration. Results were generally independent of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide. Findings suggest significant mortality effects of short-term ozone exposure among the elderly during the moderate season. Those with underlying respiratory diseases were susceptible, even during winter.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

43,34 €

Price includes VAT (Finland)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

References

  • Al-Hegelan, M., Tighe, R. M., Castillo, C., & Hollingsworth, J. W. (2011). Ambient ozone and pulmonary innate immunity. Immunologic Research, 49(1–3), 173–191.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, B. (2006). Models for the relationship between ambient temperature and daily mortality. Epidemiology, 17(6), 624–631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Asia Center for Air Pollution Research. (2006). Tropospheric ozone: A growing threat. Acid Deposition and Oxidant Research Center.http://www.acap.asia/publication/pdf/ozone1.pdf. Accessed 11 April 2012.

  • Bell, M. L., McDermott, A., Zeger, S. L., Samet, J. M., & Dominici, F. (2004). Ozone and short-term mortality in 95 US urban communities, 1987–2000. Journal of the American Medical Association, 292(19), 2372–2378.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bell, M. L., Dominici, F., & Samet, J. M. (2005). A meta-analysis of time-series studies of ozone and mortality with comparison to the National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study. Epidemiology, 16(4), 436–445.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bocci, V., Valacchi, G., Corradeschi, F., Aldinucci, C., Silvestri, S., Paccagnini, E., et al. (1998). Studies on the biological effects of ozone: 7. Generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) after exposure of human blood to ozone. Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents, 12(3), 67–75.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brook, R. D., Brook, J. R., Urch, B., Vincent, R., Rajagopalan, S., & Silverman, F. (2002). Inhalation of fine particulate air pollution and ozone causes acute arterial vasoconstriction in healthy adults. Circulation, 105(13), 1534–1536.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Devlin, R. B., McDonnell, W. F., Mann, R., Becker, S., House, D. E., Schreinemachers, D., et al. (1991). Exposure of humans to ambient levels of ozone for 6.6 hours causes cellular and biochemical changes in the lung. American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology, 4(1), 72–81.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fujii, H., & Lutzenhiser, L. (1992). Japanese residential air-conditioning—Natural cooling and intelligent systems. Energy and Buildings, 18(3–4), 221–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gasparrini, A., Armstrong, B., & Kenward, M. G. (2010). Distributed lag non-linear models. Statistics in Medicine, 29(21), 2224–2234.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, M. S., Burnett, R. T., Brook, J., Bailar, J. C., Valois, M. F., & Vincent, R. (2001). Associations between daily cause-specific mortality and concentrations of ground-level ozone in Montreal, Quebec. American Journal of Epidemiology, 154(9), 817–826.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gryparis, A., Forsberg, B., Katsouyanni, K., Analitis, A., Touloumi, G., Schwartz, J., et al. (2004). Acute effects of ozone on mortality from the “Air Pollution and Health: A European Approach” project. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 170(10), 1080–1087.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • HEI Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia Program. (2010). Public Health and Air Pollution in Asia (PAPA): Coordinated studies of short-term exposure to air pollution and daily mortality in four cities. HEI Research Report 154. Boston, MA: Health Effects Institute.

  • Higgins, J. P. T., & Thompson, S. G. (2002). Quantifying heterogeneity in a meta-analysis. Statistics in Medicine, 21(11), 1539–1558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holguin, F., Tellez-Rojo, M. M., Hernandez, M., Cortez, M., Chow, J. C., Watsow, J. G., et al. (2003). Air pollution and heart rate variability among the elderly in Mexico City. Epidemiology, 14(5), 521–527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Infectious Disease Surveillance Center. (2012). Annual report for incidence of infectious diseases (in Japanese). National Institute of Infectious Diseases. http://idsc.nih.go.jp/idwr/CDROM/Main.html. Accessed 5 March 2012.

  • Irie, H., Sudo, K., Akimoto, H., Richter, A., Burrows, J. P., Wagner, T., et al. (2005). Evaluation of long-term tropospheric NO2 data obtained by GOME over East Asia in 1996–2002. Geophysical Research Letters, 32(11), L11810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ito, K., de Leon, S. F., & Lippmann, M. (2005). Associations between ozone and daily mortality: analysis and meta-analysis. Epidemiology, 16(4), 446–457.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iwashita, G., & Akasaka, H. (1997). The effects of human behavior on natural ventilation rate and indoor air environment in summer—a field study in southern Japan. Energy and Buildings, 25(3), 195–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Katsouyanni, K., Samet, J.M., Anderson, H.R., Le Tertre, A., Medina, S.,Samoli, E., et al. (2009). Air pollution and health: A European and North American approach (APHENA). HEI Research Report 142. Boston, MA: Health Effects Institute.

  • Kawamoto, T., Pham, T. T. P., Matsuda, T., Oyama, T., Tanaka, M., Yu, H. S., et al. (2011). Historical review on development of environmental quality standards and guideline values for air pollutants in Japan. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, 214(4), 296–304.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, S. Y., Lee, J. T., Hong, Y. C., Ahn, K. J., & Kim, H. (2004). Determining the threshold effect of ozone on daily mortality: an analysis of ozone and mortality in Seoul, Korea, 1995–1999. Environmental Research, 94(2), 113–119.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kohno, Y., Matsumura, H., Ishii, T., & Izuta, T. (2005). Establishing critical levels of air pollutants for protecting East Asian vegetation—A challenge. In K. Omasa, I. Nouchi, & L. J. DeKok (Eds.), Proceedings of the 6th international symposium on plant responses to air pollution and global changes (pp. 243–250). Tokyo: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Levy, J. I., Chemerynski, S. M., & Sarnat, J. A. (2005). Ozone exposure and mortality: an empiric Bayes metaregression analysis. Epidemiology, 16(4), 458–468.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonnell, W. F., Kehrl, H. R., Abdul-Salaam, S., Ives, P. J., Folinsbee, L. J., Devlin, R. B., et al. (1991). Respiratory response of humans exposed to low levels of ozone for 6.6 hours. Archives of Environmental Health, 46(3), 145–150.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (2008). Estimating mortality risk reduction and economic benefits from controlling ozone air pollution. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pattenden, S., Armstrong, B., Milojevic, A., Heal, M. R., Chalabi, Z., Doherty, R., et al. (2010). Ozone, heat and mortality: acute effects in 15 British conurbations. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 67(10), 699–707.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Peng, R. D., Dominici, F., & Louis, T. A. (2006). Model choice in time series studies of air pollution and mortality. Journal of the Royal Statistical Sociaty, Series A, 169, 179–198.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richter, A., Burrows, J. P., Nuss, H., Granier, C., & Niemeier, U. (2005). Increase in tropospheric nitrogen dioxide over China observed from space. Nature, 437(7055), 129–132.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Samet, J. M., Dominici, F., Zeger, S. L., Schwartz, J., & Dockery, D. W. (2000). The National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution study. Part I: Methods and methodologic issues. HEI Research Report 94. Boston: Health Effects Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samoli, E., Aga, E., Touloumi, G., Nisiotis, K., Forsberg, B., Lefranc, A., et al. (2006). Short-term effects of nitrogen dioxide on mortality: an analysis within the APHEA project. European Respiratory Journal, 27(6), 1129–1138.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schwartz, J. (2005). How sensitive is the association between ozone and daily deaths to control for temperature? American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 171(6), 627–631.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Srebot, V., Gianicolo, E. A., Rainaldi, G., Trivella, M. G., & Sicari, R. (2009). Ozone and cardiovascular injury. Cardiovascular Ultrasound, 7, 30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics Bureau. (2010). Quantities of major durable goods possessed per 1000 households and percentages of households possessing major durable goods by area (in Japanese). Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Japan. http://www.e-stat.go.jp/SG1/estat/GL08020103.do?_toGL08020103_&tclassID=000001027311&cycleCode=0&requestSender=search Assessed 11 April 2012.

  • Tanimoto, H. (2009). Increase in springtime tropospheric ozone at a mountainous site in Japan for the period 1998–2006. Atmospheric Environment, 43(6), 1358–1363.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tanimoto, H., Ohara, T., & Uno, I. (2009). Asian anthropogenic emissions and decadal trends in springtime tropospheric ozone over Japan: 1998–2007. Geophysical Research Letters, 36, L238002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tao, Y., Huang, W., Huang, X., Zhong, L., Lu, S. E., Li, Y., et al. (2012). Estimated acute effects of ambient ozone and nitrogen dioxide on mortality in the Pearl River Delta of southern China. Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(3), 393–398.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • The Federation of Electric Power Companies. (2011). Energy and environment: Japanese electric utility industry in the world 2010–2011. The Federation of Electric Power Companies, Japan. http://www.fepc.or.jp/english/library/energy_environment/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2011/02/22/kankyo_E_2010.pdf. Accessed 12 April 2012.

  • Touloumi, G., Katsouyanni, K., Zmirou, D., Schwartz, J., Spix, C., de Leon, A. P., et al. (1997). Short-term effects of ambient oxidant exposure on mortality: a combined analysis within the APHEA project. American Journal of Epidemiology, 146(2), 177–185.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ueda, K., Nitta, H., & Ono, M. (2009a). Effects of fine particulate matter on daily mortality for specific heart diseases in Japan. Circulation Journal, 73(7), 1248–1254.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ueda, K., Nitta, H., Ono, M., & Takeuchi, A. (2009b). Estimating mortality effects of fine particulate matter in Japan: a comparison of time-series and case-crossover analyses. Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association, 59(10), 1212–1218.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wong, C. M., Ma, S., Hedley, A. J., & Lam, T. H. (2001). Effect of air pollution on daily mortality in Hong Kong. Environmental Health Perspectives, 109(4), 335–340.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yamaji, K., Ohara, T., Uno, I., Tanimoto, H., Kurokawa, J., & Akimoto, H. (2006). Analysis of the seasonal variation of ozone in the boundary layer in East Asia using the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model: what controls surface ozone levels over Japan? Atmospheric Environment, 40(10), 1856–1868.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Y., Huang, W., London, S. J., Song, G., Chen, G., Jiang, L., et al. (2006). Ozone and daily mortality in Shanghai, China. Environmental Health Perspectives, 114(8), 1227–1232.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, Q., Streets, D. G., He, K., Wang, Y., Richter, A., Burrows, J. P., et al. (2007). NO(x) emission trends for China, 1995–2004: the view from the ground and the view from space. Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, 112, D22306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, C., Wang, Y., & Zeng, T. (2009). East China plains: a “basin” of ozone pollution. Environmental Science and Technology, 43(6), 1911–1915.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a grant-in-aid for the Research Program on Climate Change Adaptation (RECCA) by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Ministry of the Environment in Japan. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the aforementioned institutions.

Author information

Affiliations

  1. Environmental Epidemiology Section, Center for Environmental Health Sciences, National Institute for Environmental Studies, 16-2 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Chris Fook Sheng Ng, Kayo Ueda, Hiroshi Nitta & Ayano Takeuchi

Authors
  1. Chris Fook Sheng Ng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kayo Ueda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Hiroshi Nitta
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ayano Takeuchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Chris Fook Sheng Ng.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ng, C.F.S., Ueda, K., Nitta, H. et al. Seasonal variation in the acute effects of ozone on premature mortality among elderly Japanese. Environ Monit Assess 185, 8767–8776 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3211-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3211-6

Keywords

  • Ozone
  • Mortality
  • Seasonal
  • Air pollution
  • Elderly