Statistical response models for ozone exposure: their generality when applied to human spirometric and animal...

Exposure of humans or animals to ozone (O3) alters spirometric and permeability functions of the lung. While these responses show clear concentration (C) dependency, the interactive role of exposure duration (T) has not been well defined. Ozone-induced alterations in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) obtained from human studies and in levels of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid protein (BALP) obtained from studies of rats and guinea pigs were used to compare the utility of several proposed response models as functions of C and T. A large human-study database compiled for T = 2 h and a wide-ranging C and T study on animals were used to contrast each model. The models examined included the quadratic, logistic, log regression, and exponential models. This work suggests that models used for risk assessment should incorporate both T and C. Our results suggest that modified forms of many of these models perform well with both human and animal responses and can be additionally modified to include ventilation rate. As a simple biological model, the exponential model showed advantages. The absolute concentration rates-of-change in the exponential function of integrated physiological changes like BALP and FEV1 were equal for low O3 exposure.