Ailshire Jennifer A, Clarke Philippa
Andrus Gerontology Center, School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.
Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci. 2015 Mar;70(2):322-8. doi: 10.1093/geronb/gbu064. Epub 2014 Jun 6.
There is growing interest in understanding how exposures in the residential environment relate to cognitive function in older adults. The goal of this study is to determine if neighborhood-level exposure to fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) is associated with cognitive function in a diverse, national sample of older U.S. adults.
We use cross-sectional data on non-Hispanic black and white men and women aged 55 and older from the 2001/2002 Americans' Changing Lives Study (N = 780). EPA air monitoring data were linked to respondents using census tract identifiers. Cognitive function was assessed with tests of working memory and orientation. Negative binomial regression models were used to examine the association between PM2.5 and the number of errors on the cognitive assessment.
Older adults living in areas with high concentrations of PM2.5 had an error rate 1.5 times greater than those exposed to lower concentrations, net of individual and neighborhood-level demographic and socioeconomic characteristics.
This study adds to a growing body of research demonstrating the importance of air pollution to cognitive function in older adults. Improvements to air quality may be an important mechanism for reducing age-related cognitive decline.
人们越来越关注了解居住环境中的暴露因素如何与老年人的认知功能相关。本研究的目的是确定在美国一个多样化的全国性老年成年人样本中，邻里层面的细颗粒物空气污染暴露（PM2.5）是否与认知功能相关。
我们使用了来自2001/2002年“美国人生活变化研究”中55岁及以上非西班牙裔黑人和白人男性与女性的横断面数据（N = 780）。美国环境保护局的空气监测数据通过普查区标识符与受访者相链接。认知功能通过工作记忆和定向测试进行评估。负二项回归模型用于检验PM2.5与认知评估错误数量之间的关联。
居住在PM2.5浓度高的地区的老年人，在排除个体和邻里层面的人口统计学和社会经济特征后，其错误率比暴露于低浓度PM2.5的老年人高1.5倍。
本研究增加了越来越多的研究成果，证明空气污染对老年人认知功能的重要性。改善空气质量可能是减少与年龄相关的认知衰退的重要机制。
