Research

Direction 1:

Environmental Aging: Health Risks of Air Pollution

Preventing health risks associated with the environment is a central objective of environmental health research. Elderly individuals, being a susceptible demographic to environmental hazards, hold significant implications for environmental hygiene by identifying factors influencing their health and survival status. The World Health Organization notes that nearly 25% of the global burden of chronic diseases and mortality is attributable to environmental factors. Moreover, foundational research confirms aging as a primary risk factor for disease progression. Therefore, it is conjectured that besides natural aging, exogenous abnormal aging induced by the environment, termed “Environmental Aging,” may serve as a critical pathway for various age-related diseases induced by environmental factors (Gao et al., 2021, Nature Aging). Investigation into environmental aging necessitates prioritizing the complex pollutant characteristics of environmental pollution and their spatiotemporal dynamic patterns. air pollution, being a preventable environmental risk factor affecting health, exhibits compound exposure effects due to the diverse nature of pollutants, their interactions with weather and climate systems, and their varying health effects with exposure duration and concentration changes. It manifests multidimensional spatiotemporal evolution characteristics, making it an ideal scenario for studying health risks associated with environmental aging. Through examining typical environmental risk scenarios such as exposure to atmospheric pollution, we explore the impacts of multi-pollutant compound exposure and multidimensional spatiotemporal evolution on various age-related health risks, thereby deepening scientific understanding of health risks associated with environmental aging. (Gao et al., 2023, Environmental Health Perspectives).

Direction 2:

Aging Acceleration: Key to Advancing Environmental Aging Research

Effective prevention and control of environmental aging hold the potential to shift the prevention focus upstream for various age-related diseases, thereby enabling personalized interventions targeting a unified endpoint for “preventing disease before it occurs.” However, due to the complexity of environmental exposure and the heterogeneity of health conditions among middle-aged and elderly populations, existing research struggles to differentiate between environmental aging and normal natural aging. This lack of understanding of environmental aging phenomena, coupled with a dearth of assessment tools and prevention targets, hampers efforts in environmental aging health risk prevention and control. To overcome this developmental bottleneck and deepen scientific understanding of environmental aging health risks, we have innovatively introduced the concept of “Aging Acceleration” based on systematic aging biology theory (Gao et al., 2023, Nature Communications). This approach facilitates precise measurement of individual-level environmental aging levels, systematically addressing the core scientific question of “assessment and prevention of environmental aging health risks.” (Jiang et al., 2024, Nature Cardiovascular Research).

Direction 3:

DNA Methylation in Environmental Aging: Precision Prevention

Building upon the preceding discussion, we further elucidate the role of DNA methylation as a pivotal molecular event in triggering environmental aging, thus providing potential molecular targets for precision prevention (Gao et al., 2022, Environmental Science & Technology). DNA methylation, an epigenetic modification, is increasingly recognized as a key mechanism through which environmental factors influence gene expression and contribute to the aging process. By altering the methylome, environmental exposures can lead to dysregulation of gene expression patterns associated with aging and age-related diseases. Therefore, understanding the dynamic interplay between environmental exposures and DNA methylation patterns holds promise for identifying individuals at heightened risk of environmental aging and developing targeted interventions to mitigate these risks.