Long-term ozone exposure and the risk of mortality in sepsis patients in a Chinese cohort.

Background: Air pollution is increasingly recognized as an important environmental risk factor for sepsis patients. However, previous studies have mostly focused on particulate matter, and few have explored the mortality risk associated with long-term ozone exposure among patients with sepsis, especially in China. Materials and methods: A cohort of patients with sepsis was recruited from 13 prefecture-level cities in Hunan Province, China. Annual mean ozone concentrations were obtained from a high-quality, high-resolution (1 × 1 km Results: The study included 4,231 sepsis patients, among whom 151 deaths were recorded. We found that long-term ozone exposure significantly increased the risk of mortality in sepsis patients, with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.087 (95% CI, 1.020-1.158). Even after adjusting for PM Conclusion: Long-term ozone exposure is associated with an elevated risk of mortality among sepsis patients, particularly among female individuals and children. Our study suggests that ozone is a potentially modifiable risk factor for mortality in this population, highlighting the need for improved air quality management and enhanced protection of vulnerable groups.