SEDL / STP / STP1024-EB / STP22828S

Individual Variability in the Magnitude of Acute Respiratory Responses to Ozone Exposure

McDonnell, WF
Medical officer, Health Effects Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC

Pages: 14    Published: Jan 1989

Download this paper for $25 PDF (252K)          View License Agreement
Abstract

Individuals differ widely in the magnitude of their acute respiratory responses to ozone exposure. These differences have been shown to be quite reproducible, indicating that they are the result of differences in intrinsic responsiveness to ozone. This difference in responsiveness is of significance because the ambient ozone concentration in several urban areas frequently exceeds levels at which some individuals experience acute health effects. The purpose of this paper is to describe the distributions of the individual changes in lung function as a consequence of ozone exposure and to discuss the potential sources of and the implications of this variability in acute responsiveness to ozone exposure.