Can dirty city air speed up the Body's aging clock?
NCT ID NCT07817836
First seen Sep 14, 2026 · Last updated Sep 15, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers at the University of Pavia are studying whether long-term exposure to urban air pollution and work-related stress affects biological aging. The study compares 151 adult workers in Pavia, Italy: outdoor workers such as police officers, taxi drivers and dustmen, and indoor office workers with little outdoor exposure. Participants wear personal air samplers for about five working days, give blood samples, and answer questions about diet, sleep, exercise, smoking and quality of life. Scientists then measure inflammatory cytokines, oxidative stress markers and DNA methylation patterns to estimate biological age and see how these relate to measured pollution exposure.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If the study links pollution exposure to measurable changes in DNA methylation and biological age, it could sharpen how cities and workplaces assess environmental health risks. It may also point to inflammatory markers worth tracking in people exposed to dirty air.
- What could go wrong
- This is an observational study of 151 workers in one Italian city, so it can show associations but cannot prove that pollution causes faster aging. Many factors, including diet, smoking and stress, overlap and could explain the results.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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151 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Nov 2024
- Finished
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Nov 2025
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
The study population consists of adult workers recruited in the city of Pavia, Italy, through ICS Maugeri IRCCS and collaborating occupational settings. 151 participants are enrolled, including workers predominantly employed outdoors in urban environments with regular exposure to traffic-related air pollution, such as municipal police officers, taxi drivers, and dustmen. A comparison group will include indoor office workers with minimal occupational exposure to outdoor urban pollution, recruited through occupational health surveillance programs at ICS Maugeri and affiliated institutions, including administrative personnel from the University of Pavia. The study focuses on evaluating the relationship between urban environmental exposure, lifestyle factors, biological aging, inflammation, oxidative stress, and epigenetic modifications.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged 18 years or older; * Male or female participants; * Ability and willingness to provide written informed consent; * Employment in occupations performed predominantly outdoors in an urban environment with exposure to atmospheric pollution, i.e. employment as urban police officers, police personnel, public transport workers, taxi drivers, newsstand workers, or other outdoor urban workers in the city of Pavia; * Employment in predominantly indoor office-based occupations with minimal occupational exposure to outdoor urban air pollution (control group), i.e. workers undergoing occupational health surveillance at ICS Maugeri or affiliated institutions. Exclusion Criteria: * Current diagnosis of active oncological disease; * Current treatment with immunosuppressive therapy; * Inability or unwillingness to provide informed consent; * Medical conditions preventing participation in blood sampling or study assessments; * Pregnancy or breastfeeding (if applicable and according to Ethics Committee recommendations).
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Occupational medicine Unit
Pavia, PV, 27100, Italy
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