Key result
Short-term ozone exposure is linked to ~1% lower SDNN per 10 ppb increase.
Why the study?
Considerable disagreement existed in the literature regarding the association between short-term ozone (O3) exposure and heart rate variability.
Does short-term exposure to ozone reduce heart rate variability in adults?
Meta-Analysis
Does short-term exposure to ozone reduce heart rate variability in adults?
Effect estimate: -1.11% percentage change (95% CI -1.35 to -0.87)
Short-term exposure to ozone is associated with reduced heart rate variability in adults, suggesting an adverse effect on the cardiac autonomic nervous system.
Short-term ozone exposure may impair autonomic function; extends observational links to air pollution but leaves causal CV impact open.
At present, ambient air pollution poses a significant threat to patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The heart rate variability (HRV) is a marker of the cardiac autonomic nervous system, and it is related to air pollution and cardiovascular disease. There is, however, considerable disagreement in the literature regarding the association between ozone (O3) and HRV. To further investigate the effects of short-term exposure to O3 on HRV, we conducted the first meta-analysis of relevant studies. The percentage change of HRV indicator(s) is the effect estimate extracted for the quantitative analysis in this study. In our meta-analysis, per 10 ppb increase in O3 was significantly associated with decreases in the time-domain measurements, for standard deviation of the normal-to-normal (NN) interval (SDNN) −1.11% (95%CI: −1.35%, −0.87%) and for root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) −3.26% (95%CI: −5.42%, −1.09%); in the frequency-domain measurements, for high frequency (HF) −3.01% (95%CI: −4.66%, −1.35%) and for low frequency (LF) −2.14% (95%CI: −3.83%, −0.45%). This study showed short-term exposure to O3 was associated with reduced HRV indicators in adults, which suggested that the cardiac autonomic nervous system might be affected after O3 exposure, contributing to the association between O3 exposure and CVD risk.
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Zong et al. (2022) conducted a meta-analysis in Cardiovascular disease risk (assessed via heart rate variability). Short-term exposure to ozone (O3) vs. Lower level of ozone exposure was evaluated on Percentage change in standard deviation of the normal-to-normal interval (SDNN) per 10 ppb increase in O3 (-1.11% percentage change, 95% CI -1.35 to -0.87). Short-term exposure to ozone was significantly associated with reduced heart rate variability in adults, including a 1.11% decrease in SDNN and a 3.26% decrease in RMSSD per 10 ppb increase in ozone.
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