title: Air quality of nursing homes and its effect on the lung health of elderly residents.
abstract: In industrialized countries the elderly spend most of their time indoors. The elderly may be at a higher risk of suffering from indoor air pollution-related diseases compared to the rest of the population, because of their increased exposure to potential indoor risk factors. This editorial aims to critically analyze the recent literature regarding this important topic. Results of studies performed on the elderly living in nursing homes clearly highlight that they are at risk of respiratory health impairment, even at moderate air pollutant concentrations, particularly if they are over 80 years of age and living in poorly ventilated nursing homes. The future epidemiological research on ageing and respiratory diseases should investigate the underlying biological and physiological mechanisms, in addition to the adverse health effects of potential indoor risk factors, in order to help defining effective strategies for healthy ageing.
authors.affiliation: a Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit , CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology , Pisa , Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Maio
authors.affiliation: a Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit , CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology , Pisa , Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarno
authors.affiliation: a Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit , CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology , Pisa , Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baldacci
authors.affiliation: b INSERM, U1136 IPLESP EPAR , Paris , France.|c Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Sorbonne Universités, UMR S 1136 IPLESP EPAR , Paris , France.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Annesi-Maesano
authors.affiliation: a Pulmonary Environmental Epidemiology Unit , CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology , Pisa , Italy.|d CNR Institute of Biomedicine and Molecular Immunology , Palermo , Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Viegi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000393:Air Pollutants; D016902:Air Pollution, Indoor / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D009735:Nursing Homes; D012307:Risk Factors; D014691:Ventilation
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants
keywords: Elderly; indoor air pollution; nursing home; respiratory effects; susceptibility