Long-term exposure to ambient ozone and respiratory health: Ozone-induced incidences of respiratory diseases

  • Elena V. Evstafeva State Budgetary Healthcare Institution of the Crimea Republic, Academic scientific-research Institute of physical treatment methods, medical climatology and rehabilitation named after I. M. Sechenov, 298603 Yalta, Russian Federation; Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Health Preservation, FSAEI, Sevastopol State University, 299053 Sevastopol, Russian Federation
  • Vladimir A. Lapchenko T. I. Vyazemsky Karadag Scientific Station, Nature Reserve of RAS, Branch of A. O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas of RAS, 298188 Kurortnoye, Russian Federation
  • Yuri L. Gubin State Budgetary Healthcare Institution of the Crimea Republic, Academic scientific-research Institute of physical treatment methods, medical climatology and rehabilitation named after I. M. Sechenov, 298603 Yalta, Russian Federation
  • Leila Sh. Dudchenko State Budgetary Healthcare Institution of the Crimea Republic, Academic scientific-research Institute of physical treatment methods, medical climatology and rehabilitation named after I. M. Sechenov, 298603 Yalta, Russian Federation; Volga Region Research Medical University, 603005 Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Federation
  • Irina A. Evstafeva V.I. Vernadsky Crimean federal university, 295007 Simferopol, Russian Federation
  • Victoria I. Zolotareva State Budgetary Healthcare Institution of the Republic of Crimea, Crimean Republican Center for Disaster Medicine and Emergency Medical Care, 295024 Simferopol, Russian Federation
  • Vladimir N. Bashkin Institute of physical-chemical and biological problems in soil science RAS, 142290 Puschino, Russian Federation
Article ID: 3158
Keywords: ground-level ozone; respiratory diseases; emergency conditions

Abstract

Ground-level ozone is a very strong oxidizing agent. Its concentration has been progressively increasing in recent decades. However, there is no information about its impact on public health in the Black Sea region of southern Russia. In order to identify ozone-induced complications in the state of the respiratory system, at the initial stage of investigation, a correlation analysis of the number of emergency medical calls due to respiratory dysfunctions and the ground-level ozone concentration (GLOC) was carried out. The data of the Unified Crimean Republican Territorial Emergency Care Center and the data on the registration of GLOC at the background environmental monitoring station of the Karadagsky State Nature Reserve for the period 2018–2022 were used. An analysis revealed a weak (0.27 < rs < 0.50) but highly statistically significant (p < 0.000) effect of ozone on respiratory health if its average annual concentration was above 60 µg/m3, which means that possible pronounced negative effects of ozone on vulnerable groups of the population., With a lower annual average GLOC, there was no effect of ozone on the frequency of emergencies. The study of short-term (within a month) effects of ozone demonstrates ambiguous correlations that need other approaches to the analysis of short-term ozone-induced effects. However, the statement of the established fact of ozone-induced effects and its high average annual values indicate that such a problem is relevant in this region and serves as a sufficient basis for the development of regional research and the creation of an effective system for preventive risk management of negative ozone exposure in the context of climate change.

Published
2025-06-17
How to Cite
Evstafeva, E. V., Lapchenko, V. A., Gubin, Y. L., Dudchenko, L. S., Evstafeva, I. A., Zolotareva, V. I., & Bashkin, V. N. (2025). Long-term exposure to ambient ozone and respiratory health: Ozone-induced incidences of respiratory diseases. Environment and Public Health Research, 3(1), 3158. https://doi.org/10.59400/ephr3158
Section
Article

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