Graduate School of Public Health, Department of Public Health Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Institute of Health and Environment, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 18;18(4):1985. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041985.
Only a few studies have examined the impacts of environmental exposure on frailty. This study investigated the association between phthalates and frailty among community-dwelling older adults. The Korean Elderly Environmental Panel II (KEEP II) study is a repeated panel data study of 800 community-dwelling older adults in South Korea. Frailty was measured with five items defined by Fried and colleagues. Environmental pollutants in the form of two types of metabolites for Di-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHPs)-Mono (2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (MEHHP) and Mono (2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP)-were obtained from urine specimens. Analyses were performed using repeated linear mixed models. The concentration levels of both MEOHP and MEHHP in urine were significantly higher in the pre-frail or frail group than its counterparts. While adjusting for covariates, MEOHP level was positively associated with the likelihood of being pre-frail or frail in both males and females; the concentration level of MEHHP also had a positive impact on the likelihood of being pre-frail or frail in females. The DEHP metabolite concentrations were significantly lower among adults with daily fruit consumption in both males and females. DEHPs, measured by metabolite concentrations, may increase the risk of frailty among older men and women; further studies are necessary. The preventive effects of nutrition on DEHP risk should also be further investigated.
仅有少数研究探讨了环境暴露对虚弱的影响。本研究调查了邻苯二甲酸酯与社区居住的老年人虚弱之间的关联。韩国老年环境面板 II 研究（KEEP II）是对韩国 800 名社区居住的老年人进行的一项重复面板数据研究。采用 Fried 及其同事定义的 5 项指标来衡量虚弱。环境污染物以两种邻苯二甲酸二乙酯（DEHP）代谢物的形式存在，即单（2-乙基-5-羟基己基）邻苯二甲酸酯（MEHHP）和单（2-乙基-5-氧代己基）邻苯二甲酸酯（MEOHP），从尿液样本中获得。使用重复线性混合模型进行分析。尿液中 MEOHP 和 MEHHP 的浓度水平在虚弱前期或虚弱组中明显高于对照组。在调整协变量后，MEOHP 水平与男性和女性虚弱前期或虚弱的可能性呈正相关；MEHHP 浓度也对女性虚弱前期或虚弱的可能性有积极影响。在男性和女性中，每天食用水果的成年人中 DEHP 代谢物浓度显著降低。通过代谢物浓度测量的 DEHPs 可能会增加老年男女虚弱的风险；需要进一步研究。还应进一步研究营养对 DEHP 风险的预防作用。
