Higher air pollution could increase the risk of physical disabilities getting worse

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Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash
Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash

Higher air pollution could increase the risk of physical disabilities getting worse and reduce the chances of getting better, according to international researchers. The team looked at self-reported mobility and activity data for nearly 30,000 over-50's in the US between 2000 and 2016, and compared these with ambient measurements of pollution, nitrogen dioxide, and ozone at the participants' residential addresses preceding each survey. They found that higher concentrations of air pollutant particles and nitrogen dioxide were associated with a higher risk of transitioning from no physical function limitations towards disability, and a lower chance of reverting back to healthy physical function. The authors suggest that reducing air pollution may help delay and mitigate physical disability in aging adults.

News release

From: JAMA

Air Pollution and the Progression of Physical Function Limitations and Disability in Aging Adults

About The Study: The findings of this study suggest that reducing air pollution levels may help to delay and mitigate physical disability in aging adults.

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Journal/
conference:
JAMA Network Open
Research:Paper
Organisation/s: University of Michigan School of Public Health, USA
Funder: The Health and Retirement Study was funded by grant U01 AG009740 from the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration and performed at the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. This work was supported by grants R01ES028694 and R01AG030153 from the National Institutes for Environmental Health Sciences and Aging.
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