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Traffic Pollution Increases Pneumonia Risk in Elderly

Older adults with long-term exposure to high levels of traffic pollution are at higher risk for hospitalization for pneumonia, according to research published in the Jan. 1 issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

The researchers recruited 365 older adults from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, who had been hospitalized with radiologically confirmed pneumonia in one of Hamilton’s four emergency departments between 2003 and 2005.

The researchers found that long-term (more than 12 months) exposures to nitrogen dioxide and fine particulate matter each were associated with a more than doubled risk of hospitalization from pneumonia. Individuals with long-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide had 2.3 times the risk for hospitalization with pneumonia; for fine particulate matter, the odds ratio was 2.26.

Researchers postulate that long-term exposure to air pollution may have increased individuals’ susceptibility to pneumonia by interfering with innate immune defenses designed to protect the lung from pathogens. This may have included epithelial cell damage, reductions in bronchial macrophages, or reductions in natural killer cells.

Exercise Effect on Parkinson’s Studied

Researchers at the new Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix launched a study this month designed to determine the physical and neurological impact of simple exercise on Parkinson’s disease patients age 50 to 70. During the 12-week trial, participants follow a structured exercise program called pole-striding (walking with ski-like poles) three days a week for 45 minutes. They are monitored and coached by staff members from the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center. They wear heart rate monitors and pedometers to measure the intensity of the training. Participants’ brains are monitored to determine if increased physical activity helps protect the neurons in the brain from the disease.

Depression Treatment Alleviates Caregiver Burden

Treatment of late-life depression in the elderly significantly decreases burden on caregivers, according to a study by the Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh.

The two-phase treatment study for major depressive disorder in 244 adults age 60 and older included six weeks of open treatment with antidepressant medication for all patients followed by 16 weeks of randomized treatment for patients who were partial responders, comparing a combination of medication and interpersonal psychotherapy with medication alone.

Caregivers, who had reported a moderate to high level of general caregiver burden on average before treatment, reported a significantly decreased depression-specific burden and a trend toward lower general burden.

Volunteer Service Delays Decline

Volunteer service can help older adults delay or reverse declining brain function, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Participation in a volunteer child-tutoring program called Experience Corps resulted in improvements in cognitive functioning that was associated with significant changes in brain activation patterns, researchers said.

Using functional MRI at enrollment and six months later, the researchers found that the test subjects, 17 women age 65 and older, made gains in key brain regions that support cognitive abilities important to planning and organizing.

The study is published in the December issue of the Journals of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.

In a separate study at University of California, Los Angeles, adults age 70 to 79 who volunteered their time for causes were found to suffer a lower rate of frailty than non-volunteering counterparts. Paid work and childcare duties were not shown to have the same positive effect.

This study is published in the Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences.

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