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IDENTIFYING THE COGNITIVE AND VASCULAR EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION SOURCES AND MIXTURES IN THE FRAMINGHARN OFFSPRING AND THIRD GENERATION COHORTS
Impact/Purpose:
Long- and short-term exposures to ambient air pollution are associated with adverse acute and chronic cardiovascular and perhaps cognitive function, but these effects are poorly understood. Using data from the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation Cohorts, well-characterized populations that have not been previously investigated in association with ambient environmental exposures, we will: (I) determine whether long-term exposures to ambient pollutants and mixtures are associated with cognitive impairment and cognitive interference; (2) test whether short-term and long-term exposures to pollutants, mixtures and sources are associated with acute and chronic vascular and endothelial function; and (3) consider whether markers of biological susceptibility and vulnerability differentially influence these associations, allowing us to identify subpopulations at increased risk for harmful effects of air pollution.
Description:
We will estimate health risks associated with short- and long-term exposure to individual air pollutants, sources and air pollution mixtures within the Framingham Offspring and Third Generation populations. We will address which individual and area-level factors, measuring vulnerability, susceptibility, and individual air pollutants, sources and mixtures, are the major determinants in explaining spatial and temporal variability of the health risks. Also, we will be able to add to data addressing the effects of pollutants on the life course examined in Project 2: the Normative Aging Study by investigating cognitive performance and vascular function in populations of middle- and older-aged men and women.