Latest news with #inflammaging
Times
07-07-2025
- Health
- Times
Living more like a hunter-gatherer may ward off ageing
A study has cast doubt on a widely accepted belief that chronic inflammation is an inevitable part of ageing, raising questions about how lifestyle and environment shape our health in later life. Scientists have long flagged 'inflammaging' — persistent, low-level inflammation that increases as a person grows older — as a key driver of age-related illnesses such as heart disease, dementia and diabetes. However, research published in Nature Aging suggests that it is not inevitable but driven by modern lifestyles. The researchers examined blood samples from more than 2,800 people aged between 18 and 95 from four locations: city dwellers in Italy and Singapore, and two indigenous groups — the Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon and the Orang Asli in Malaysia. In the Italian and Singaporean groups, the expected pattern emerged: molecules that signal inflammation increased steadily with age and were strongly associated with chronic illnesses. However, among the Tsimane and Orang Asli, this pattern was absent. Inflammatory markers did not rise with age and they were not strongly linked to the same cluster of diseases. 'Inflammaging, as measured in this manner in these cohorts, thus appears to be largely a byproduct of industrialised lifestyles,' the researchers, who were led by Maximilien Franck of the University of Sherbrooke in Canada, wrote. The semi-nomadic Tsimane follow a subsistence lifestyle, combining slash-and-burn agriculture with hunting, fishing and gathering. Their diet is high in fibre and unprocessed foods and previous research has suggested that less than 10 per cent of their daylight hours are spent on sedentary activities, compared with roughly 50 per cent, on average, for city populations. • Could eating like the Japanese improve your mood? The Orang Asli are made up of subgroups whose lifestyles differ. However, many combine farming with foraging and hunting for wild game. Despite high levels of infection related to inflammation, particularly among the Tsimane, both populations had low rates of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and dementia. The findings suggest that inflammaging may be the result of modern lifestyles, including calorie-dense diets, sedentary behaviour and possibly a reduced exposure to germs. In traditional environments, where people are more active and frequently exposed to pathogens, the immune system may operate differently and inflammation may not necessarily lead to chronic disease. 'These findings challenge the assumption that human physiological processes are universal and can be extrapolated from one population to others,' the researchers said. • The 10 ultra-processed picnic foods nutritionists avoid That a person's environment, lifestyle and diet can affect inflammation levels was already known. Another recent study involved asking participants to switch from processed western-style foods to a diet typical of Tanzania, rich in vegetables, legumes, ancient grains and fermented foods. After two weeks, tests suggested strikingly positive effects. In particular, it dampened inflammation. Proteins in the blood linked to a cluster of conditions, including heart attacks, strokes and insulin resistance, also fell. Another group of participants who switched from traditional African foods to a western-style diet experienced an increase in the markers of inflammation.
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Ageing isn't the same everywhere – why inflammation may be a lifestyle problem
For years, scientists have believed that inflammation inevitably increases with age, quietly fuelling diseases like heart disease, dementia and diabetes. But a new study of Indigenous populations challenges that idea and could reshape how we think about ageing itself. For decades, scientists have identified chronic low-level inflammation – called 'inflammaging' – as one of the primary drivers of age-related diseases. Think of it as your body's immune system stuck in overdrive – constantly fighting battles that don't exist, gradually wearing down organs and systems. But inflammaging might not be a universal feature of ageing after all. Instead, it could be a byproduct of how we live in modern society. Get your news from actual experts, straight to your inbox. Sign up to our daily newsletter to receive all The Conversation UK's latest coverage of news and research, from politics and business to the arts and sciences. The research, published in Nature Aging, compared patterns of inflammation in four very different communities around the world. Two groups were from modern, industrialised societies – older adults living in Italy and Singapore. The other two were Indigenous communities who live more traditional lifestyles: the Tsimane people of the Bolivian Amazon and the Orang Asli in the forests of Malaysia. The researchers analysed blood samples from more than 2,800 people, looking at a wide range of inflammatory molecules, known as cytokines. Their goal was to find out whether a pattern seen in earlier studies – where certain signs of inflammation rise with age and are linked to disease – also appears in other parts of the world. The answer, it turns out, is both yes and no. Among the Italian and Singaporean participants, the researchers found a fairly consistent inflammaging pattern. As people aged, levels of inflammatory markers in the blood, such as C-reactive protein and tumour necrosis factor, rose together. Higher levels were linked to a greater risk of chronic diseases including kidney disease and heart disease. But in the Tsimane and Orang Asli populations, the inflammaging pattern was absent. The same inflammatory molecules did not rise consistently with age, and they were not strongly linked to age-related diseases. In fact, among the Tsimane, who face high rates of infections from parasites and other pathogens, inflammation levels were often elevated. Yet this did not lead to the same rates of chronic diseases that are common in industrialised nations. Despite high inflammatory markers, the Tsimane experience very low rates of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and dementia. These results raise important questions. One possibility is that inflammaging, at least as measured through these blood signals, is not a universal biological feature of ageing. Instead, it may arise in societies marked by high-calorie diets, low physical activity and reduced exposure to infections. In other words, chronic inflammation linked to ageing and disease might not simply result from an inevitable biological process, but rather from a mismatch between our ancient physiology and the modern environment. The study suggests that in communities with more traditional lifestyles – where people are more active, eat differently and are exposed to more infections – the immune system may work in a different way. In these groups, higher levels of inflammation might be a normal, healthy response to their environment, rather than a sign that the body is breaking down with age. Another possibility is that inflammaging may still occur in all humans, but it might appear in different ways that are not captured by measuring inflammatory molecules in the blood. It could be happening at a cellular or tissue level, where it remains invisible to the blood tests used in this research. If these findings are confirmed, they could have significant consequences. First, they challenge how we diagnose and treat chronic inflammation in ageing. Biomarkers used to define inflammaging in European or Asian populations might not apply in other settings, or even among all groups within industrialised nations. Second, they suggest that lifestyle interventions aimed at lowering chronic inflammation, such as exercise, changes in diet, or drugs targeting specific inflammatory molecules, might have different effects in different populations. What works for people living in cities might be unnecessary, or even ineffective, in those living traditional lifestyles. Finally, this research serves as an important reminder that much of our knowledge about human health and ageing comes from studies conducted in wealthy, industrialised nations. Findings from these groups cannot automatically be assumed to apply worldwide. The researchers are clear: this study is just the beginning. They urge scientists to dig deeper, using new tools that can detect inflammation not just in the blood, but within tissues and cells where the real story of ageing may be unfolding. Just as important, they call for more inclusive research that spans the full range of human experience, not just the wealthy, urbanised corners of the world. At the very least, this study offers an important lesson. What we thought was a universal truth about the biology of ageing might instead be a local story, shaped by our environment, lifestyle and the way we live. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New study suggests common assumption about aging could be wrong
A long-standing belief about the body's natural response to aging may be wrong, a new study suggests. Inflammaging is a chronic, low-grade form of inflammation that develops with advancing age. Inflammation protects the body from injury or infection. Chronic inflammation is thought to speed up the ageing process and contribute to various health conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, and Type 2 diabetes, Researchers have long believed that most older people will suffer from inflammageing as they age. However the study, published in Nature Age this week, found that people in nonindustrialized areas experience inflammation differently than those in urban areas and there may be another cause behind it. Researchers compared the lives of two indigenous, nonindustrialized populations - the Tsimane from the Bolivian Amazon and the Orang Asli from Peninsular Malaysia - with two groups from Italy and Singapore. Researchers compared blood samples from about 2,800 adults between 18 and 95 in the four groups. They found that chronic inflammation may not be linked explicitly to ageing, but rather that diet, lifestyle and environmental factors are more significant factors than previously thought. The study also showed that inflammation in the nonindustrialized groups did not appear to increase as subjects got older. Alan Cohen, associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University and co-author of the study, said the findings suggest inflammation is 'more complex than we currently understand.' 'The Tsimane and Orang Asli differ from us in all these ways,' he told The Independent. 'The insight of our study is not to say we need to be more active, but to challenge the idea that we understand biology well and can micromanage it. 'So it's a warning – don't follow the latest trends of eating foods specifically to reduce inflammation, or whatever else the trend of the week may be.' However, other experts shared a word of caution before jumping to conclusions from the study. Vishwa Deep Dixit, director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging, told the New York Times it's not surprising that people less exposed to pollution would see lower rates of chronic disease. The findings should lead to valuable discussion but would need further study 'before we rewrite the inflammaging narrative,' professor of pharmacology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine Bimal Desai added.
The Independent
01-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
New study suggests common assumption about aging could be wrong
A long-standing belief about the body's natural response to aging may be wrong, a new study suggests. Inflammaging is a chronic, low-grade form of inflammation that develops with advancing age. Inflammation protects the body from injury or infection. Chronic inflammation is thought to speed up the ageing process and contribute to various health conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, cancer, heart disease, and Type 2 diabetes, Researchers have long believed that most older people will suffer from inflammageing as they age. However the study, published in Nature Age this week, found that people in nonindustrialized areas experience inflammation differently than those in urban areas and there may be another cause behind it. Researchers compared the lives of two indigenous, nonindustrialized populations - the Tsimane from the Bolivian Amazon and the Orang Asli from Peninsular Malaysia - with two groups from Italy and Singapore. Researchers compared blood samples from about 2,800 adults between 18 and 95 in the four groups. They found that chronic inflammation may not be linked explicitly to ageing, but rather that diet, lifestyle and environmental factors are more significant factors than previously thought. The study also showed that inflammation in the nonindustrialized groups did not appear to increase as subjects got older. Alan Cohen, associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University and co-author of the study, said the findings suggest inflammation is 'more complex than we currently understand.' 'The Tsimane and Orang Asli differ from us in all these ways,' he told The Independent. 'The insight of our study is not to say we need to be more active, but to challenge the idea that we understand biology well and can micromanage it. 'So it's a warning – don't follow the latest trends of eating foods specifically to reduce inflammation, or whatever else the trend of the week may be.' However, other experts shared a word of caution before jumping to conclusions from the study. Vishwa Deep Dixit, director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging, told the New York Times it's not surprising that people less exposed to pollution would see lower rates of chronic disease. The findings should lead to valuable discussion but would need further study 'before we rewrite the inflammaging narrative,' professor of pharmacology at the University of Virginia School of Medicine Bimal Desai added.
Wall Street Journal
03-06-2025
- Health
- Wall Street Journal
How ‘Inflammaging' Drives Cancer—and Points to New Treatments
People are more likely to get cancer as they age. Dr. Miriam Merad has an unconventional idea of how that might be reversed: using allergy drugs and other seemingly unlikely medications to damp a condition known as 'inflammaging.' The immunologist and oncologist has spent years examining malignant tumors to learn why people over age 50 account for nine in 10 cancer diagnoses in the U.S. She and her research team at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City have homed in on an answer: the aging immune system. Their studies of individual immune cells in human lung tumors, as well as in old mice, have revealed how chronic, or pathogenic, inflammation in older people—dubbed inflammaging—interferes with the immune system and fuels cancer growth.
