According to the CGTN channel, the cohort was conducted by researchers from Fudan University and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, comprising around 100,000 Chinese adults aged 18 years and older. Participants were followed up for nine years.

Among the results, researchers found significant associations between ozone gas and mortality from overall cardiovascular diseases, whose risk increased by 9.3% for every ten micrograms per cubic meter rise in warm-season ozone concentration.

They also found that the association of long-term ozone exposure with cardiovascular mortality was more prominent among participants aged 65 years and above, indicating that the elderly may be vulnerable to atmospheric ozone pollution.

China recently reported there were high concentrations of the gas in many cities since the beginning of 2022 and described the control process as too complex, since it affects health, crops and infrastructure.

An official from the Ministry of Ecology and Environment told at a press conference that 339 large cities in China had reported an average density of ozone gas of 127 micrograms per cubic meter from January-to-April period; in other words, an 8.5% increase in comparison with the same period in 2021.

“The situation is not optimistic. The Ministry has a hard work to do when it comes to control,” the source said, while adding ozone gas is major air pollutant during the summer.

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