Center for Health and the Environment, University of California at Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Semin Respir Crit Care Med. 2010 Oct;31(5):539-53. doi: 10.1055/s-0030-1265895. Epub 2010 Oct 12.
With an ever-increasing number of elderly individuals in the world, a better understanding of the issues associated with aging and the environment is needed. The respiratory system is one of the primary interfaces between the body and the external environment. An expanding number of studies suggest that the aging pulmonary system (>65 years) is at increased risk for adverse health effects from environmental insult, such as by air pollutants, infection, and climate change. However, the mechanism(s) for increased susceptibility in this subpopulation are not well understood. In this review, we provide a limited but comprehensive overview of how the lung ages, examples of environmental exposures associated with injury to the aging lung, and potential mechanisms underlying the increased vulnerability of the aging lung to injury from environmental factors.
随着世界上老年人口的不断增加,我们需要更好地了解与衰老和环境相关的问题。呼吸系统是人体与外部环境之间的主要接口之一。越来越多的研究表明,衰老的肺部系统(>65 岁)更容易受到环境损伤的不良健康影响,如空气污染物、感染和气候变化。然而,这一亚群易感性增加的机制尚不清楚。在这篇综述中,我们提供了一个有限但全面的概述,介绍了肺部如何衰老,与衰老肺部损伤相关的环境暴露的例子,以及衰老肺部对环境因素损伤的易感性增加的潜在机制。