Short-Term Effects of Air Pollution on Oxygen Saturation in a Cohort of Senior Adults in Steubenville, Ohio

Objective: We examine whether ambient air pollution is associated with oxygen saturation in 32 elderly subjects in Steubenville, Ohio. Methods: We used linearmixed modelstoexaminetheeffectsoffineparticulatematterless than 2.5 μm(PM2.5), sulfate (SO 2− 4 ), elemental carbon, and gases on median oxygen saturation. Results: An interquartile range increase of 13.4 μg/m 3 in PM2.5 on the previous day was associated with a decrease of −0.18% (95% confidence interval: −0.31 to −0.06) and a 5.1 μg/m 3 interquartile range increase in SO 2− 4 on the previous day was associated with a decrease of −0.16% (95% confidence interval: −0.27 to −0.04) in oxygen saturation during the initial 5-minute rest period of the protocol. Conclusions: Increased exposure to air pollution, including the nontraffic pollutant SO 2− 4 from industrial sources, led to changes in oxygen saturation that may reflect particle-induced pulmonary inflammatory or vascular responses.