To compare the responses of asthmatic and normal subjects to high effective doses of ozone, nine asthmatic and nine normal subjects underwent two randomly assigned 2-h exposures to filtered, purified air and 0.4 ppm ozone with alternating 15-min periods of rest and exercise on a cycle ergometer (minute ventilation = 30 l.min-1.m-2). Before and after each exposure, pulmonary function and bronchial responsiveness to methacholine were measured and symptoms were recorded. Ozone exposure was associated with a statistically significant decrease in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expired volume in 1 s (FEV1), percent FEV1 (FEV1%), and forced expired flow at 25-75% FVC (FEF25-75) in both normal and asthmatic subjects. However, comparing the response of asthmatic and normal subjects to ozone revealed a significantly greater percent decrease in FEV1, FEV1%, and FEF25-75 in the asthmatic subjects. The effect of ozone on FVC and symptom scores did not differ between the two groups. In both normal and asthmatic subjects, exposure to ozone was accompanied by a significant increase in bronchial responsiveness. We conclude that exposure to a high effective ozone dose produces 1) increased bronchial responsiveness in both normal and asthmatic subjects, 2) greater airways obstruction in asthmatic than in normal subjects, and 3) similar symptoms and changes in lung volumes in the two groups.
Determining the possible adverse health effects of air pollutants can be complicated by differences in the environmental conditions of temperature and humidity. To evaluate the potentially confounding effects of differences in temperature and humidity, we exposed 8 normal male subjects and 8 male subjects with asthma to the extremes in temperature and humidity that could be maintained in an environmental chamber. We performed serial pulmonary function tests for these subjects before and during 6 hr exposure periods on 5 separate occasions: cold, dry (10 degrees C, 10% relative humidity); cold, humid (10 degrees C, 50% relative humidity); normal ambient (22 degrees C, 40% relative humidity); hot, dry (37 degrees C, 15% relative humidity); and hot, humid (37 degrees C, 60% relative humidity). The exposure period included a 12 min exercise on a cycle ergometer. We found no significant change in spirometry, airways resistance, or diffusing capacity for either group of subjects at rest alone over the 6 hr period of exposure for any exposure condition. However, there were changes in spirometry and airways resistance as a result of the 12 min period of exercise. The subjects with asthma had significant decreases in forced expiratory volume in 1 sec (FEV1) (20-21%) and increases in specific airways resistance when exercising in conditions of cold and dry, cold and humid, and hot and dry. The normal subjects had an average increase in FEV1 of approximately 6% when exercising in the hot and humid conditions. We found significant correlations for the changes in FEV1 with the water content of the exposure conditions for both groups of subjects. We also found that the work performance (expressed as the external work performed divided by the oxygen consumed) was decreased for the subjects in both groups at the conditions of the higher temperature (37 degrees C) compared with the lower temperature (10 degrees C). These results confirm that controlling for the conditions of temperature and humidity is essential in chamber studies, field studies, or epidemiologic evaluations determining the adverse effect of an air pollutant.
This study was undertaken to determine if the ventilatory capacity of children is affected by hourly concentrations of ozone inhaled during their daily activity. Over a 3-wk period (June-July 1987) children who were attending a summer camp in the San Bernardino mountains of California performed spirometry up to three times per day during their stay at the camp. A total of 43 children were tested a total of 461 times. Ozone, oxides of nitrogen, sulfur dioxide, temperature, and relative humidity were measured continuously. Daily average measurements of total suspended particulate and the PM10 particulate fraction (less than or equal to 10 microns) were also made. Hourly ozone concentrations at the time of testing varied between 20 and 245 ppb. Regressions of each individual's FEV1 and FVC supported the view that high ozone levels reduced these lung function parameters. The average regression coefficient for FEV1 on ozone was -0.39 ml/ppb (SEM = 0.12) and for FVC -0.44 ml/ppb (SEM = 0.15), both of which were significantly different from zero. Statistical allowance for temperature and humidity increased the magnitude of these slopes. Nitrogen dioxide never exceeded 40 ppb during the time of testing and averaged 13 ppb. Sulfur dioxide's highest measurement was 8 ppb and often was at the limit of detection. Neither NO2 nor SO2 was considered in the statistical modeling. Data were divided based on whether each subject had been exposed to levels of ozone in excess of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) during the several hours previous to being tested. Exposures exceeding the NAAQS indicated a significant negative relationship between ozone and FEV1, FVC, and PEFR. Data for nonexceedance periods did not indicate this negative relationship for any of the three lung function parameters, but it could not be determined if this was due to an absence of an ozone effect or to a combination of the increased variability and decreased size of this data subset. These data indicate that lung function changes on a daily basis relate in a negative fashion to ambient ozone levels. The magnitude of the changes are small and are reversed as ambient ozone decreases.
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