Effects of Chronic and Acute Ozone Exposure on Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant Capacity in Healthy Young Adults

BACKGROUND: There is growing evidence for the role of oxidative damage in chronic diseases. Although ozone (O(3)) is an oxidant pollutant to which many people are exposed, few studies have examined whether O(3) induces oxidative stress in humans. OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to assess the effect of short-and long-term O(3) exposures on biomarkers of oxidative stress in healthy individuals. METHODS: Biomarkers of lipid peroxidation, 8-isoprostane (8-iso-PGF), and antioxidant capacity ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) were analyzed in two groups of healthy college students with broad ranges of ambient O(3) exposure during their lifetimes and previous summer recess either in Los Angeles (LA, n = 59) or the San Francisco Bay Area (SF, n = 61). RESULTS: Estimated 2-week, 1-month, and lifetime O(3) exposures were significantly correlated with elevated 8-iso-PGF. Elevated summertime exposures resulted in the LA group having higher levels of 8-iso-PGF than the SF group (p = 0.02). Within each location, males and females had similar 8-iso-PGF. No regional difference in FRAP was observed, with significantly higher FRAP in males in both groups (SF: p = 0.002; LA: p = 0.004). An exposure chamber substudy (n = 15) also showed a significant increase in 8-iso-PGF as well as an inhibition of FRAP immediately after a 4-hr exposure to 200 ppb O(3,) with near normalization by 18 hr in both biomarkers. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term exposure to O(3) is associated with elevated 8-iso-PGF, which suggests that 8-iso-PGF is a good biomarker of oxidative damage related to air pollution.