Health
Living in areas of high air pollution can lead to decreased cognitive function in older adults, according to new research presented in San Diego at The Gerontological Society of America’s (GSA) 65th Annual Scientific Meeting.
This finding is based on data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Health and Retirement Study.
The analysis was conducted by Jennifer Ailshire, PhD, a National Institute on Aging postdoctoral fellow in the Center for Biodemography and Population Health and the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California.
“As a result of age-related declines in health and functioning, older adults are particularly vulnerable to the hazards of exposure to unhealthy air,” Ailshire said. “Air pollution has been linked to increased cardiovascular and respiratory problems, and even premature death, in older populations, and there is emerging evidence that exposure to particulate air pollution may have adverse effects on brain health and functioning as well.”
This is the first study to show how exposure to air pollution influences cognitive function in a national sample of older men and women.
It suggests that fine air particulate matter – composed of particles that are 2.5 micrometers in diameter and smaller, thought to be sufficiently small that if inhaled they can deposit deep in the lung and possibly the brain – may be an important environmental risk factor for reduced cognitive function.
The study sample included 14,793 white, black, and Hispanic men and women aged 50 and older who participated in the 2004 Health and Retirement Study (a nationally representative survey of older adults).
Individual data were linked with data on 2004 annual average levels of fine air particulate matter from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality System monitors across the country. Cognitive function was measured on a scale of 1 to 35 and consisted of tests assessing word recall, knowledge, language, and orientation.
Ailshire discovered that those living in areas with high levels of fine air particulate matter scored poorer on the cognitive function tests. The association even remained after accounting for several factors, including age, race/ethnicity, education, smoking behavior, and respiratory and cardiovascular conditions.
Fine air particulate matter exposures ranged from 4.1 to 20.7 micrograms per cubic meter, and every ten point increase was associated with a 0.36 point drop in cognitive function score. In comparison, this effect was roughly equal to that of aging three years; among all study subjects, a one-year increase in age was associated with a drop 0.13 in cognitive function score.
GSA’s meeting – the country’s largest interdisciplinary conference in the field of aging – is taking place at the San Diego Convention Center from November 14 to 18.
An estimated 4,000 professionals are expected to attend and the program schedule contains more than 500 scientific sessions featuring research presented for the first time.
Ailshire’s presentation, “The Hazards of Bad Air: Fine Air Particulate Matter and Cognitive Function in Older U.S. Adults,” is taking place at 10 a.m. on Friday, November 16, in Exhibit Hall A of the Convention Center.
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society – and its 5,400+ members – is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public.
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Compared to the nation, a higher proportion of children in California are uninsured, one in every 10 children or more than 1.1 million in 2011.
More of California’s children have public health insurance and fewer through their parents’ employer. And, over the past three years, a decade of advances in California children’s public insurance enrollment has stalled, as coverage in Healthy Families (California’s children’s health insurance program) declined as a result of reductions in state government funding.
These are just a few of the findings in a new report from the California HealthCare Foundation developed by the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) and Diringer and Associates that provides an overview of trends in children’s health insurance coverage and insurance programs in the state.
Other findings include:
- California’s proportion of children without health coverage is higher than the national average and most other states. Nevada has the highest proportion of uninsured children and Massachusetts has the lowest.
- Of California residents aged 18 or younger, 56 percent had private insurance, 38 percent had Medi-Cal (the state’s Medicaid program, which provides health coverage for people with low incomes) or Healthy Families, and 11 percent were uninsured in 2011.
- Public coverage through Medi-Cal and Healthy Families expanded 46 percent from 2002 to 2011, while employer-based coverage declined by 16 percent.
- Medi-Cal continues to fill the gap in coverage created by the decline in private insurance. In 2011, almost 3.7 million children were enrolled, up from about 2.6 million in 2001.
- Uninsured children are far more likely than those with coverage to have needed care delayed or to not receive care.
“Our findings have direct relevance to the health reform issues covered during the Presidential campaign,” said Michael Cousineau, lead author of the report and associate professor in the departments of Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
“With full implementation of the new Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act more certain, there are new opportunities for many of these children to gain coverage and, more importantly, access to care including immunizations, annual checkups, and care for acute and chronic health problems,” said Cousineau. “Even children of some small business employees might benefit since small employers are eligible for a subsidy to help provide insurance for their employees and their families.”
As many as 1 million uninsured children may be eligible for Medi-Cal or private coverage through the new California Health Benefits Exchange.
Not all children will be covered, however – undocumented immigrant children will not be eligible and will have to rely on safety net clinics and public hospitals such as the Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center for care.
The report was published as part of the California HealthCare Foundation’s California Health Care Almanac, an online clearinghouse for key data and analysis examining California’s medical system.
For a copy of the study, go to http://www.chcf.org/publications/2012/11/childrens-health-coverage .
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