Principles for evaluating the effects of chemicals on the aged population

Overview

A detailed review of research findings and methodological concepts that can guide efforts to characterize the susceptibility of the aged population to the harmful effects of environmental chemicals. Noting that few, if any, of the hundreds of thousands of environmental chemicals have been tested for increased toxicity in the elderly, the book uses knowledge from the fields of gerontology and toxicology to propose methodological principles for investigating the elderly as a population at special risk. Particular attention is given to methods for determining chronic effects, including cancer, linked to the long-term exposures that may characterize this age group. Findings from close to 700 epidemiological, clinical, and experimental studies were critically assessed.