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Editorial: New environmental pollutants, aging, and age-related diseases
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This editorial frames emerging environmental pollutants—including microplastics, persistent organic pollutants, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals—as major drivers of the 80% of aging variation attributable to environmental rather than genetic factors, calling for urgent research into how these exposures accelerate aging biomarkers and age-related diseases. The collection establishes microplastics as a novel environmental aging stressor with implications for public health policy targeting healthy aging populations.
With the acceleration of global population aging, age-related diseases have emerged as a growing public health challenge. Notably, genetic factors are estimated to contribute only about 20% to the aging process, while a substantial proportion of 80% can be attributed to environmental determinants, including social support systems, lifestyle factors, and physical environmental pollutants. Environmental exposures-from persistent organic pollutants and endocrine-disrupting chemicals to microplastics and emerging industrial compounds-represent an evolving and pervasive threat, whose impact on aging trajectories and geriatric diseases demands urgent investigation. However, their specific effects on aging biomarkers and related diseases remain poorly understood. This Research Topic aims to gather current research to elucidate how these pollutants influence biomarkers of aging and thereby exacerbate the risk of age-related diseases, providing novel evidence and mechanistic insights to support regulatory guidance and effective public health interventions for healthy aging and delay aging-related diseases.Finally, a total of eight studies included in this collection approached this complex issue from multiple perspectives. A cross-sectional study conducted in Türkiye by
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Research digests by email
When a large batch of papers lands in the Atlas, we read through it and send a short write-up of what stood out.