Adverse effects of outdoor pollution in the elderly.

作者：Marzia Simoni, Sandra Baldacci, Sara Maio, Sonia Cerrai, Giuseppe Sarno, Giovanni Viegi · 发表于：PubMed · 年份：2015 · DOI：10.3978/j.issn.2072-1439.2014.12.10 · 被引用次数：288 · 研究领域：Air Quality and Health Impacts、Climate Change and Health Impacts、Noise Effects and Management

With fewer newborns and people living longer, older people are making up an increasing fraction of the total population. Epidemiological evidence shows that older-age-related health problems affect a wide and expanding proportion of the world population. One of the major epidemiological trends of this century is the rise of chronic diseases that affect more elderly than younger people. A total of 3.7 million premature deaths worldwide in 2012 are attributable to outdoor air pollution; the susceptibility to adverse effects of air pollution is expected to differ widely between people and within the same person, and also over time. Frailty history, a measure of multi-system decline, modifies cumulative associations between air pollution and lung function. Moreover, pre-existing diseases may determine susceptibility. In the elderly, due to comorbidity, exposure to air pollutants may even be fatal. Rapid and not-well-planned urbanization is associated with high level of ambient air pollution, mainly caused by vehicular exhausts. In general, there is sufficient evidence of the adverse effects related to short-term exposure, while fewer studies have addressed the longer-term health effects. Increased pollution exposures have been associated with increased mortality, hospital admissions/emergency-room visits, mainly due to exacerbations of chronic diseases or to respiratory tract infections (e.g., pneumonia). These effects may also be modulated by ambient temperature and many studies...