Abstract

In the Air Pollution and Health: A European Approach (APHEA2) project, the effects of ambient ozone concentrations on mortality were investigated. Data were collected on daily ozone concentrations, the daily number of deaths, confounders, and potential effect modifiers from 23 cities/areas for at least 3 years since 1990. Effect estimates were obtained for each city with city-specific models and were combined using second-stage regression models. No significant effects were observed during the cold half of the year. For the warm season, an increase in the 1-hour ozone concentration by 10 μg/m3 was associated with a 0.33% (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.17–0.52) increase in the total daily number of deaths, 0.45% (95% CI, 0.22–0.69) in the number of cardiovascular deaths, and 1.13% (95% CI, 0.62–1.48) in the number of respiratory deaths. The corresponding figures for the 8-hour ozone were similar. The associations with total mortality were independent of SO2 and particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10 μm (PM10) but were somewhat confounded by NO2 and CO. Individual city estimates were heterogeneous for total (a higher standardized mortality rate was associated with larger effects) and cardiovascular mortality (larger effects were observed in southern cities). The dose–response curve of ozone effects on total mortality during the summer did not deviate significantly from linearity.