Outdoor air pollution: ozone health effects.

Ozone is a respiratory irritant associated with a spectrum of adverse health events. Ground-level ozone has been shown to cause decreases in lung function and has been associated with other important respiratory health effects. Some reports suggest short-term increases in ozone lead to increased cardiopulmonary mortality. Other studies have found no association between exposure and measured health effects. Outdoor air pollution consists of multiple copollutant exposures complicating definitive assessments about ambient air ozone exposure-effect relations.