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ABSTRACT Several exposure metrics have been applied in health research and policy settings to represent ozone exposure, such as the 24 h average and daily 8 h maximum. Frequently, results

calculated using one exposure metric are converted using a simple ratio to compare or combine findings with results using a different metric. This conversion, however, assumes that such a

ratio is constant across locations and time periods. We investigated the appropriateness of this conversion method by examining the relationships among various forms of ozone concentrations

(24 h average, daily 1 h maximum, and daily 8 h maximum) within and between communities for 78 US communities from 2000 to 2004 and compared results to commonly used conversion ratios. We

explored whether the relationships between ozone exposure metrics differ by region, weather, season, and city-specific characteristics. Analysis revealed variation in the relationship among

ozone metrics, both across communities and across time within individual communities, indicating that conversion of ozone exposure metrics with a standard ratio introduces uncertainty. For

example, the average ratio of the daily 8 h maximum to the daily concentration ranged from 1.23 to 1.83. Within a community, days with higher ozone levels had lower ratios. Relationships

among metrics within a community were associated with daily temperature. The community-average exposure metric ratios were lower for communities with higher long-term ozone levels. Ozone

metric ratios differed by season because of the different rate of change of ozone metrics throughout the year. We recommend that health effects studies present results from multiple ozone

exposure metrics, if possible. When conversions are necessary, more accurate estimates can be obtained using summaries of data for a given location and time period if available, or by basing

conversion ratios on data from a similar city and season, such as the results provided in this study. Access through your institution Buy or subscribe This is a preview of subscription

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ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND AIR POLLUTION IN THE FEDERAL STATE BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG (GERMANY) Article Open access 12 March 2024 MONITORING VS. MODELED EXPOSURE DATA IN

TIME-SERIES STUDIES OF AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION AND ACUTE HEALTH OUTCOMES Article 20 May 2022 OZONE AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL DRIVER OF INFLUENZA Article Open access 04 May 2024 REFERENCES * Abbey

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Dessent of the US EPA, and Joseph Pinto of the US EPA. Funding for Ms. Anderson was provided by the National Science Foundation through an NSF Graduate Fellowship and by the EPA through an

EPA STAR Fellowship (91689201-0). Funding for Dr. Bell was provided by the Health Effects Institute through the Walter A. Rosenblith New Investigator Award (4720-RFA04-2/04-16) and the NIEHS

Outstanding New Environmental Scientist (ONES) Award (RO1 ES015028). Views expressed in this paper do not necessarily reflect views of the sponsoring agencies. AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS

AND AFFILIATIONS * Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA G Brooke Anderson * School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven,

Connecticut, USA Michelle L Bell Authors * G Brooke Anderson View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar * Michelle L Bell View author publications

You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR Correspondence to Michelle L Bell. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on

the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology website (http://www.nature.com/jes) SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS (PDF 132 KB) RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS

Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Anderson, G., Bell, M. Does one size fit all? The suitability of standard ozone exposure metric conversion ratios and

implications for epidemiology. _J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol_ 20, 2–11 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2008.69 Download citation * Received: 31 January 2008 * Accepted: 25 September 2008

* Published: 05 November 2008 * Issue Date: January 2010 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2008.69 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this

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KEYWORDS * criteria pollutants * environmental monitoring * exposure modeling