Exploration of Aging and Toxic Response Issues: Final Report
Contract No. 68-C-99-238
Task Order 15
Prepared for: Risk Assessment Forum, EPA
Prepared By: Versar, Inc., 6850 Versar Center, Springfield, VA 22151
Clearly, most physiological functions undergo deterioration with increasing adult age and this deterioration undoubtedly increases vulnerability to harmful environmental agents. However, two important caveats need to be emphasized:
- The extent of this deterioration varies greatly between and within individuals
- Most investigators have attempted to quantify the extent of deterioration and variation using cross-sectional study designs
Thus, although strong qualitative evidence regarding age-associated physiological deterioration is available, data on the extent of deterioration are soft.