| Summary: | Interstitial lung abnormalities and aging Gísli Þór Axelsson Introduction: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is an incurable disease characterized by fibrotic changes in the pulmonary interstitium leading to death due to respiratory failure. Interstitial lung abnormalities (ILA) are radiological changes similar to IPF, but less prominent and most often in asymptomatic individuals. They are perceived to be a precursor of IPF in a small proportion of ILA cases, since their prevalence is much greater than of IPF. Increasing age is one of the main risk factors for both these conditions, prompting the question of whether processes related to aging could be related to the pathogenesis of ILA and IPF. The aim of the thesis was to examine the associations of biomarkers of aging with ILA to better understand the relationship of aging and fibrosis of the lungs. Materials and methods: Data were used from the AGES-Reykjavik study, a prospective, epidemiological study of 5,764 elderly people in Iceland designed to improve understanding of aging. CT scans of the participants had been previously evaluated for ILA status by readers blinded to participant information. The proposed biomarkers of aging were the inflammatory markers; CRP and albumin and markers of red blood cells; red blood cell count, hemoglobin and hematocrit. In addition, markers of physical function; grip strength, knee extension strength, usual gait speed, the timed up and go test and thigh muscle mass were included. The associations of these variables to ILA and subtypes of ILA were examined using logistic regression modelling. In addition, the associations of ILA with markers of participants’ health; independence in activities of daily living (ADL), general health status and physical activity, were explored. Results: In models adjusted for all covariates, both inflammation markers, CRP and albumin, were associated with ILA, as well as all the functional markers except for the timed up and go test. Markers of red blood cells were not associated with ILA. ...
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