Abstract
Loss of skeletal muscle mass is common with aging and can cause morbidity and mortality in the elderly. The effects of particulate air pollution on skeletal muscle mass is not known. The study aims to assess the chronic effects of ambient fine particulates (PM2.5) on the body composition of the elderly. From October 2015 to November 2016, a cross-sectional survey on 530 elderly (age > = 65 years) was conducted in the Taipei Basin, Taiwan. The body composition was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (InBody 120). One year exposure to air pollution was estimated using the Kriging method at the participant’s residence. Multiple linear regression analysis, after adjustments for demographics and co-pollutants, was used to examine the effects of PM2.5 on body composition indices and force of handgrip. Changes in body composition for an interquartile (1.4 μm/m3) increase in PM2.5 concentration included a 0.4 kg (95% confidence interval (CI): −0.31, −0.58; p < 0.0001) decrease in skeletal muscle mass (2.0%) and a 0.7 kg (95% CI: 0.47, 0.91; p < 0.0001) increase in body fat mass (3.6%). While PM2.5 reduced fat free mass in the upper extremities and trunk, but not in the lower extremities, it increased body fat mass in the three parts. There was no significant effect of PM2.5 on handgrip force. Higher physical activity (versus lower than median) was associated with less detrimental effect of PM2.5 on skeletal muscle mass and body fat mass (p values for interaction term: 0.009 and 0.013, respectively). Long-term PM2.5 exposure is associated with decreased skeletal muscle mass and increased body fat mass in the elderly, which can be ameliorated by physical activity.
Highlights
Loss of muscle mass is associated with aging, at a decreasing rate of approximately 6% per decade after mid-life[1]
We found physical activity significantly modified the PM2.5 effect on body compositions, the lower the physical activity the more the loss of skeletal muscle mass and the increase in body fat mass related to PM2.5 exposure (Table 6)
This study demonstrates, for the first time, that exposure to ambient PM2.5 is associated with a reduction in skeletal muscle mass and an increase in body fat mass in the Taiwanese elderly, a population vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and to sarcopenia
Summary
Loss of muscle mass is associated with aging, at a decreasing rate of approximately 6% per decade after mid-life[1]. Www.nature.com/scientificreports may induce muscle fiber atrophy, intra-muscular lipid accumulation, and mitochondrial dysfunction These enhance muscle wasting, dysfunction and oxidative stress[2,3,9]. Loss of muscle mass and functionality may reduce physical activity, which in turn lowers energy expenditure and boosts the development of obesity[3]. Such mechanisms may set a vicious cycle between sarcopenia and obesity. Because ambient PM2.5 and cigarette smoke share some common patho-physiologic mechanisms like oxidative stress and inflammation, ambient PM2.5 may have negative effects on muscle and adipose tissue in the elderly, a population susceptible to air pollution
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