Physiological Parameters Database for Older Adults (Beta 1.1)

Note: EPA has updated this document, but this version is provided as a courtesy to the public as a matter of public record.

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Notice

EPA is releasing a database (Beta 1.1), developed under contractual agreement, containing values of human physiological parameters specific to older adults obtained from published scientific literature. The information assembled in this database should provide a scientific basis for selection of several key physiological parameters for dosimetry modeling in older adults.

Physiologically-based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models have increasingly been employed in chemical health risk assessments carried out by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and it is anticipated that their use will continue to increase. Physiological parameter values (e.g. alveolar ventilation, blood flow to specific organs and tissues, organ and tissue volumes, glomerular filtration rate) are critical components of these models; unfortunately, such data is scattered among various sources in the scientific literature.

EPA is currently involved in several efforts to compile these data into electronic formats, such as relational databases, in order to provide a resource for facilitating and improving PBPK model development. One such database is already publically available with parameters specific to neonatal rodents (Database of Physiological Parameters for Early Life Rats and Mice).

Additional Information