A World Growing Older: The Hidden Dangers in Our Air and Water
Understanding the Link Between Aging, Chronic Diseases, and Our Environment
tl;dr
The environment plays a pivotal role in how we age, affecting our cardiovascular, brain, and overall health. The exposomic approach captures all environmental exposures throughout our lives, offering insights into their cumulative effects on aging. Our bodies provide indicators, like telomere length and inflammation levels, that hint at our "biological age," which may differ from our chronological age due to environmental impacts. Innovative tools, such as epigenetic and proteomic clocks, offer advanced ways to measure this biological aging. Long-term studies help trace the effects of environmental factors like pollution on our health over time. Mitochondria, the energy-producers in our cells, can be damaged by environmental toxins, accelerating aging. By examining larger population trends and their environments, we can discern patterns in aging and health. In essence, understanding the intricate relationship between our environment and aging can guide healthier aging strategies and improve overall well-being.
Introduction:
Our world is changing. More people are living longer, and by 2050, over 2.1 billion people will be over 60 years old. But as we age, our health faces challenges. Many older adults suffer from chronic diseases, which are long-term health conditions that can affect our quality of life. These diseases are not just a personal problem; they also cost our society a lot of money. In fact, in the USA alone, the cost of these diseases will be around $47 trillion between 2010 and 2030.
Scientists have been trying to understand why these diseases are becoming more common.1 They have found that our cells change as we age. These changes can lead to diseases. But, there's more to the story. Our environment and the way we live can speed up these changes. This means that things around us, like pollution, can make us age faster and get sick sooner.
Have you ever heard of the "exposome"? It's a big word that means all the things we're exposed to in our lives, from the air we breathe to the food we eat. Dr. Wild introduced this idea in 2005. He wanted to understand how our environment affects our health. Today, we know that we come into contact with many chemicals every day. Some of these chemicals can harm our cells and make us age faster.
The Dangerous Mix in Our Environment:
In our modern world, we are surrounded by many man-made chemicals. Some places have up to 200,000 different substances in the air and water! These chemicals can hurt our bodies and lead to diseases like heart problems, brain issues, and even cancer.
Research has shown that these chemicals can speed up the aging process in our cells. For example, pollution in the air can harm our hearts and brains. Pesticides, heavy metals, and other chemicals can also damage our cells. This means that our environment is not just making our planet sick; it's making us sick too.
Understanding the link between our environment and aging is important. If we know what harms us, we can try to avoid it. We can also work together to make our world cleaner and safer. By doing this, we can help everyone live longer, healthier lives.
Heart and Blood Vessel Diseases:
Our heart and blood vessels can get sick as we age. This can lead to problems like high blood pressure, heart attacks, and strokes. Aging alone can increase our risk for these diseases. But, things in our environment, like pollution and cigarette smoke, can make this risk even higher.
When we breathe in pollution, it can damage the inside of our blood vessels. This can make them stiff and narrow, which can lead to high blood pressure and other problems. Cigarette smoke has many harmful chemicals that can hurt our heart and blood vessels. Even if we don't smoke, being around someone who does (secondhand smoke) can still harm us.
Brain Diseases:
As we get older, our brain can also get sick. Diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's can affect our memory and how we move. These diseases can make it hard for us to think, remember things, and do everyday tasks.
Environmental toxicants can also harm our brain. For example, pesticides (chemicals used to kill bugs) and heavy metals (like lead) can damage our brain cells. This can increase our risk of getting brain diseases as we age.
How Do Toxicants Harm Us?
Oxidative Stress: Toxicants can create harmful molecules in our body called "free radicals." These molecules can damage our cells and DNA.
DNA Damage: Our DNA has the instructions for our body. If it gets damaged, our cells might not work correctly.
Inflammation: Toxicants can cause swelling and redness in our body. This can hurt our cells and tissues.
Mitochondrial Dysfunction: Our cells have tiny parts called "mitochondria" that give them energy. Toxicants can damage these mitochondria, making our cells weak.
The Aging Lungs and the Silent Threat of COPD
As we grow older, our lungs become more susceptible to diseases. One such disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is particularly concerning. In 2019, a staggering 212.3 million people worldwide had COPD, leading to 3.3 million deaths. The risk of getting COPD increases as we age, especially for those above 60. Interestingly, the way our lungs age shares similarities with how COPD develops, hinting that aging might speed up the disease's onset.
While smoking has long been linked to COPD, there's a new culprit in town - air pollution. Tiny particles in the air, often from cars and factories, play a significant role in COPD's development. Shockingly, 18% of early deaths due to outdoor air pollution are because of COPD. In some countries, household air pollution, like burning wood for cooking, is also a major concern. Additionally, certain jobs, like mining or construction, increase the risk of COPD.
When harmful particles enter our lungs, they cause an imbalance in our cells, leading to oxidative stress. This stress damages our cells and DNA, causing inflammation and other problems. Over time, these changes can lead to diseases like COPD.
The Aging Bones and Joints:
As we age, our bones and muscles also face challenges. Diseases like osteoporosis, where bones become fragile, or sarcopenia, where muscles weaken, become more common. Factors like inflammation, oxidative stress, and mitochondrial dysfunction play a role in these diseases.
Pollution's Impact on Our Bones:
Recent studies have shown a worrying link between air pollution and bone health. People living in polluted areas face a higher risk of bone fractures. There's also emerging evidence linking air pollution to arthritis.
Toxic Exposure and Musculoskeletal Health:
Certain toxins, like lead in old paint or pesticides in farming, can harm our bones and muscles. For instance, lead can weaken our bones, while some pesticides can cause muscle weakness.
The Silent Killer - Cancer:
Cancer is a complex disease influenced by many factors, including our environment. As we age, our risk for certain cancers, like lung or colorectal cancer, increases. Pollution, especially outdoor air pollution, has been linked to lung cancer and other types. Moreover, many chemicals we encounter daily, like asbestos or benzene, can increase our cancer risk.
The Big Picture:
Our environment plays a huge role in how our hearts, brains, and bodies age. By combining different areas of science, like the study of aging and environmental health, we can better understand how things around us, like pollution, affect our health as we grow older.
The Exposomic Approach:
Imagine if we could see every single thing from the environment that has ever affected our health. That's what the exposomic approach does. It looks at everything we've been exposed to throughout our lives and how it impacts our aging. This method helps us see the full picture of how our surroundings shape our health over time.
Clues from Our Bodies:
Our bodies give us hints about how we're aging. Things like the length of our telomeres (tiny parts of our DNA), inflammation levels, and how our cells produce energy can tell us about our "biological age." This age might be different from how old we actually are, especially if harmful things from the environment have affected us.
New Ways to Measure Aging:
Scientists have come up with exciting tools to understand our biological age better. For example, "epigenetic clocks" look at changes in our DNA, while "proteomic clocks" study proteins in our bodies. By using these tools, we can get a clearer picture of how fast we're aging and why.
The Power of Long Studies:
By studying people over a long time, we can see how things like pollution affect their health and aging. These studies can also show us if actions we take, like cleaning up the environment, really help improve our health.
The Role of Tiny Powerhouses - Mitochondria:
Inside our cells are tiny parts called mitochondria. They help produce energy for our bodies. But, harmful things from the environment can damage them, making us age faster. It's essential to study how our surroundings affect these tiny powerhouses.
Looking at Bigger Trends:
By studying large groups of people and where they live, we can see patterns. For example, we might find that people in one area age faster because of more pollution. This helps us understand how our environment shapes our health and aging.
Conclusion
Our surroundings have a big say in how we age. By studying the environment and our health together, we can find ways to age healthier and happier. It's like piecing together a big puzzle, and every discovery helps us see the full picture. By understanding these hidden forces, we can make choices that help everyone live longer, healthier lives.
Pandics, Tamas. "Exposome and unhealthy aging: environmental drivers from air pollution to occupational exposures." GeroScience".