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Big data, bio allergens and metal exposure and its health effects
P II – 3–6 Exposure to environmental pollutants and frailty in older adults
  1. Esther García García-Esquinas1,2,
  2. Beatriz Pérez-Gómez2,3,
  3. Kim Junghoon4,
  4. Ana Navas-Acien5,
  5. Yoon-Hyeong Choi4,6,
  6. Fernando Rodríguez-Artalejo1,2
  1. 1Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Madrid, Spain
  2. 2CIBERESP, Madrid, Spain
  3. 3ISCIII, National Centre for Epidemiology, Madrid, Spain
  4. 4Gachon University College of Medicine, Department of Preventive Medicine, Incheon, South Korea
  5. 5Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, USA
  6. 6Gachon University, Gachon Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, Incheon, South Korea

Abstract

Background/aim Frailty is an age-related syndrome characterised by reductions in strength, endurance, and physiologic function that increase an individual’s vulnerability for developing dependence or death. Extensive research is being conducted to determine preventable risk factors and mechanistic pathways of this syndrome, whose prevalence in Europe and the US is around 10%–15% of the community-dwelling elderly.

Methods Four studies were conducted. The first was a review of the scientific literature on the association between environmental pollutants, limitations in physical functioning, and frailty among older adults. The other 3 were observational studies aimed to evaluate:

  1. the association between secondhand tobacco smoke and the frailty syndrome in the nonsmoking community-dwelling US elderly population (n=2509);

  2. the association between biomarkers of lead and cadmium exposure and the frailty syndrome among US adults aged ≥60 years (n=5272); and

  3. the association between biomarkers of cadmium exposure and walking speed among US adults aged ≥50 years (n=3226).

Results Very few studies have previously evaluated the association between environmental pollutants and frailty or its components. Lead, cadmium and secondhand smoke, are among the pollutants for which we have found evidence that they may be associated with the frailty syndrome. In our studies, the adjusted odds ratios (95% CI) of frailty comparing the second, third, and fourth quartiles of serum cotinine to the lowest were, respectively, 1.44 (0.67–3.06), 1.46 (0.75–2.85), and 2.51 (1.06–5.95), p value for trend 0.04. The corresponding OR for lead tertiles were, respectively, 1.40 (0.96–2.04) and 1.75 (1.33–2.31), p value for trend <0.01. Finally, the highest (vs. lowest) quintile of blood cadmium was associated with a 0.18 (95% CI: 0.10 to 0.25) ft/sec reduction in walking speed, p value for trend <0.001.

Conclusion There is a need for more studies to assess the effects of environmental pollution on frailty.Environmental and geriatric epidemiologists should work together to address important research challenges.

https://doi.org/10.1136/oemed-2018-ISEEabstracts.113

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