Traffic-related air pollutant exposure and physical performance in the adult changes in thought cohort

IF 9.7 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environment International Pub Date : 2025-10-10 DOI:10.1016/j.envint.2025.109850

Annie Doubleday, Magali Blanco, Sara D. Adar, Anjum Hajat, Ge Li, Eric B. Larson, Paul K. Crane, Lianne Sheppard

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background

Declining physical function is common among older adults and is associated with reduced quality of life. There is little research on the relationship between air pollution and physical limitations, though exposure to air pollution is associated with many chronic conditions that lead to worsening physical function. This is especially true for several traffic-related air pollutants (TRAPs), as these pollutants can enter the circulatory system and lead to systemic inflammation.

Methods

We conducted a longitudinal analysis in the Adult Changes in Thought study, a cohort of 5,305 older adults in the Puget Sound region of Washington state enrolled between 1994–2020. We estimated long-term average air pollution concentrations at residential addresses using spatial prediction models and examined associations between several TRAPs (BC, NO₂, and UFPs of various size ranges) and physical performance assessed using a modified version of the Short Physical Performance Battery (score 0–12). This measure combines three physical functioning assessments: chair-stand time, gait speed, and grip strength. We used linear mixed models to understand whether pollutant exposure was associated with physical performance, both cross-sectionally at baseline and longitudinally after adjustment for other risk factors.

Results

In models adjusted for baseline age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, neighborhood deprivation index and behavioral risk factors, 124 ng/m³ higher 5-year average BC and 2.1 ppb higher 5-year NO₂ exposure were suggestive of faster declines in physical performance (−0.046; 95 % CI: −0.096, 0.004) and (−0.032; 95 %CI: −0.074, 0.01), equivalent to an additional 2.6 months (−0.4, 5.6) and 1.8 months (−0.7, 4.3) of aging over 5 years, respectively. Higher UFP exposure was not associated with changes in physical performance over time.

Discussion

This work suggests that air pollution from traffic may impact the physical function of older adults, though more research is needed to confirm these findings.

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交通相关空气污染物暴露与成人思维队列中身体表现的变化

身体功能下降在老年人中很常见，并与生活质量下降有关。虽然暴露在空气污染中与许多导致身体功能恶化的慢性疾病有关，但关于空气污染与身体限制之间关系的研究很少。对于一些与交通有关的空气污染物（TRAPs）来说尤其如此，因为这些污染物可以进入循环系统并导致全身炎症。方法：我们对成人思想变化研究进行了纵向分析，该研究纳入了1994-2020年间华盛顿州普吉特海湾地区的5305名老年人。我们使用空间预测模型估计了住宅地址的长期平均空气污染浓度，并检查了几种陷阱（BC、NO2和各种尺寸范围的ufp）与物理性能之间的关系，使用改进版本的短物理性能电池（得分0-12）进行评估。这项测量结合了三种身体功能评估：站立时间、步态速度和握力。我们使用线性混合模型来了解污染物暴露是否与身体表现有关，包括基线横截面和经其他风险因素调整后的纵向。结果在对基线年龄、性别、种族/民族、教育程度、邻里剥夺指数和行为危险因素进行调整的模型中，5年平均BC升高124 ng/m3和5年NO2暴露升高2.1 ppb提示身体性能下降更快（- 0.046;95 %CI: - 0.096, 0.004）和（- 0.032;95 %CI: - 0.074, 0.01），相当于5 岁以上的衰老分别增加2.6 个月（- 0.4,5.6）和1.8 个月（- 0.7,4.3）。随着时间的推移，较高的UFP暴露与身体表现的变化无关。这项研究表明，交通造成的空气污染可能会影响老年人的身体机能，尽管还需要更多的研究来证实这些发现。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Environment International 环境科学-环境科学

CiteScore

21.90

自引率

3.40%

发文量

734

审稿时长

2.8 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Health publishes manuscripts focusing on critical aspects of environmental and occupational medicine, including studies in toxicology and epidemiology, to illuminate the human health implications of exposure to environmental hazards. The journal adopts an open-access model and practices open peer review. It caters to scientists and practitioners across all environmental science domains, directly or indirectly impacting human health and well-being. With a commitment to enhancing the prevention of environmentally-related health risks, Environmental Health serves as a public health journal for the community and scientists engaged in matters of public health significance concerning the environment.