Is Inflammation Really a Part of Aging?

A groundbreaking study of Indigenous populations on two continents is challenging the long-held belief that chronic inflammation is an unavoidable part of aging, raising new questions about the role of lifestyle and environment in how we grow older. Researchers analyzed blood data from nearly 2,800 adults across four populations: Italy, Singapore, Bolivia, and Malaysia. They found that people in nonindustrialized areas, like the Tsimane of Bolivia and the Orang Asli of Malaysia, showed different inflammation patterns than those living in places like Italy and Singapore, per the New York Times. The inflammation in the Indigenous groups seemed tied to infections from their environment, rather than the chronic, low-grade inflammation associated with aging and disease seen in industrialized places.

Columbia University's Alan Cohen, an author of the study published in Nature Aging, says this suggests that lifestyle and environment may have more of an impact on inflammation than age itself. He warns that much of what we assume about aging and inflammation is based on studies from high-income countries, which may not reflect global realities, as the Conversation also points out. Still, experts say more research, especially larger and long-term studies, is needed before drawing strong conclusions.

Some scientists note that people in nonindustrialized settings tend to have shorter lifespans, so it's possible they don't live long enough to develop chronic "inflammaging"—the slow, chronic inflammation linked to getting older. Others point out that lower exposure to pollution and a different diet, like the largely plant-based one eaten by the Tsimane, could also play a role. While it's unclear whether anything can be done to slow inflammaging late in life, Cohen suggests that focusing on diet and exercise is a better bet than seeking out supplements or drugs targeting inflammation. The upshot: the link between aging and inflammation may be less clear-cut than previously thought, and our urban lifestyles could have more to do with it than age itself.