The aging lung.

摘要

This issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences highlights new findings on the aging lung and its consequences for health and function (1-6). The aging lung is likely to have experienced frequent and cumulative exposures to environmental toxins, particularly tobacco smoke and respiratory infections, as well as substantial reductions in physiologic capacity (1). As a result, older persons are at an increased risk of developing respiratory impairment, with a wide range of negative consequences that include respiratory symptoms, frailty-related features, disability, and mortality (1). Concurrently, there is an increased prevalence of various pulmonary diseases and cancer in older individuals (2). This issue reviews our current understanding of the diagnostic, epidemiologic, and biologic aspects of the aging lung.