Long-term ozone exposure and lung function in middle childhood

Area of Science:

• Environmental Health
• Pediatric Pulmonology
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Ozone (O3) exposure is known to disrupt lung development in animal models.
• Epidemiologic studies suggest potential links between long-term O3 exposure and impaired lung function in children, but findings are inconsistent.
• Few studies have investigated vulnerable subgroups within the pediatric population regarding O3 exposure effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between long-term ambient ozone (O3) exposure and lung function in children aged 8-9.
• To explore potential effect modification by child sex, history of bronchiolitis, and allergic sensitization.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the CANDLE study, a pregnancy cohort, including children with spirometry at age 8-9 and residential history from birth.
• Estimated lifetime average ambient O3 exposure using a validated spatiotemporal model based on residential history.
• Analyzed associations between O3 exposure and lung function (FEV1, FVC z-scores) using linear regression, adjusting for relevant factors.

Main Results:

• The study included 648 children with a modest average O3 exposure (26.6 ppb) from birth to age 8.
• No significant adverse associations were found between long-term O3 exposure and FEV1 or FVC.
• No evidence of effect modification by child sex, infant bronchiolitis history, or allergic sensitization was detected.

Conclusions:

• In this cohort experiencing low O3 concentrations, no adverse associations were observed between early-life O3 exposure and middle childhood lung function.
• Findings suggest that at lower exposure levels, O3 may not significantly impact lung function development in children.