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CNA
5 days ago
- Health
- CNA
A common assumption about ageing may be wrong, study suggests
A new analysis of data gathered from a small indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon suggests some of our basic assumptions about the biological process of ageing might be wrong. Inflammation is a natural immune response that protects the body from injury or infection. Scientists have long believed that long-term, low-grade inflammation – also known as 'inflammageing' – is a universal hallmark of getting older. But this new data raises the question of whether inflammation is directly linked to ageing at all, or if it's linked to a person's lifestyle or environment instead. The study, which was published recently, found that people in two non-industrialised areas experienced a different kind of inflammation throughout their lives than more urban people – likely tied to infections from bacteria, viruses and parasites rather than the precursors of chronic disease. Their inflammation also didn't appear to increase with age. Scientists compared inflammation signals in existing data sets from four distinct populations in Italy, Singapore, Bolivia and Malaysia; because they didn't collect the blood samples directly, they couldn't make exact apples-to-apples comparisons. But if validated in larger studies, the findings could suggest that diet, lifestyle and environment influence inflammation more than ageing itself, said Alan Cohen, an author of the paper and an associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University. 'Inflammageing may not be a direct product of aging, but rather a response to industrialised conditions,' he said, adding that this was a warning to experts like him that they might be overestimating its pervasiveness globally. 'How we understand inflammation and ageing health is based almost entirely on research in high-income countries like the US,' said Thomas McDade, a biological anthropologist at Northwestern University. But a broader look shows that there's much more global variation in ageing than scientists previously thought, he added. The study 'sparks valuable discussion' but needs much more follow-up 'before we rewrite the inflammageing narrative,' said Bimal Desai, a professor of pharmacology who studies inflammation at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. INFLAMMATION IS DIFFERENT IN DIFFERENT PLACES In the study, researchers compared blood samples from about 2,800 adults between 18 and 95. People in the more industrialised Chianti region of Italy and in Singapore both showed the types of proteins that signal inflammageing. The Tsimane group in Bolivia and the Orang Asli group in Malaysia, on the other hand, had different inflammatory markers likely tied to infections, instead of the proteins marking inflammageing. (The four datasets used blood samples with subjects' informed consent, whether written or verbal, and institutional approval.) The fact that inflammation markers looked so similar in groups from industrialised regions, but so different from the others, is striking, said Aurelia Santoro, an associate professor at the University of Bologna who was not involved in the study. 'This suggests that immune cells are activated in fundamentally different ways depending on context.' The Tsimane population's protein markers were less linked to inflammageing than the Orang Asli's; authors speculated that this might be because of differences in lifestyle and diet. Some experts questioned the findings' significance. Vishwa Deep Dixit, director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging, said it's not surprising that lifestyles with less exposure to pollution are linked to lower rates of chronic disease. 'This becomes a circular argument' that doesn't prove or disprove whether inflammation causes chronic disease, he said. Either way, the findings need to be validated in larger, more diverse studies that follow people over time, experts said. While they had lower rates of chronic disease, the two Indigenous populations tended to have life spans shorter than those of people in industrialised regions, meaning they may simply not have lived long enough to develop inflammageing, Dr Santoro said. THE PROBLEM MAY BE TIED TO URBAN LIVING Because the study looked at protein markers in blood samples, and not specific lifestyle or diet differences among populations, scientists had to make educated guesses about why industrialised groups experience more inflammageing, Dr Cohen said. Dr McDade, who has previously studied inflammation in the Tsimane group, speculated that populations in non-industrialised regions might be exposed to certain microbes in water, food, soil and domestic animals earlier in their lives, bolstering their immune response later in life. At the same time, people in urbanised, industrial environments are 'exposed to a lot of pollutants and toxins,' many of which have ' demonstrated pro-inflammatory effects,' he said. Diet and lifestyle could also play a part: The Tsimane tend to live in small settlements with their extended family and eat a largely plant-based diet, he said. There might also be good and bad types of inflammation, Dr Cohen said. While the indigenous populations did experience inflammation from infection, those levels weren't tied to chronic disease later in life. That could mean that the presence of inflammation alone isn't as bad as we thought, he added. It's not clear if people can do anything to manage inflammageing late in life. People who want to age more healthily may be better off eating better and exercising more to regulate immune response in the long run, instead of focusing on drugs or supplements advertised to target inflammation, Dr Cohen said.
Boston Globe
08-07-2025
- Health
- Boston Globe
A common assumption about aging may be wrong, study suggests
Advertisement Scientists compared inflammation signals in existing data sets from four distinct populations in Italy, Singapore, Bolivia and Malaysia; because they didn't collect the blood samples directly, they couldn't make exact apples-to-apples comparisons. But if validated in larger studies, the findings could suggest that diet, lifestyle and environment influence inflammation more than aging itself, said Alan Cohen, an author of the paper and an associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University. 'Inflammaging may not be a direct product of aging, but rather a response to industrialized conditions,' he said, adding that this was a warning to experts like him that they might be overestimating its pervasiveness globally. 'How we understand inflammation and aging health is based almost entirely on research in high-income countries like the U.S.,' said Thomas McDade, a biological anthropologist at Northwestern University. But a broader look shows that there's much more global variation in aging than scientists previously thought, he added. Advertisement The study 'sparks valuable discussion' but needs much more follow-up 'before we rewrite the inflammaging narrative,' said Bimal Desai, a professor of pharmacology who studies inflammation at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Inflammation is different in different places In the study, researchers compared blood samples from about 2,800 adults ages 18-95. People in the more industrialized Chianti region of Italy and in Singapore both showed the types of proteins that signal inflammaging. The Tsimane group in Bolivia and the Orang Asli group in Malaysia, on the other hand, had different inflammatory markers likely tied to infections, instead of the proteins marking inflammaging. (The four datasets used blood samples with subjects' informed consent, whether written or verbal, and institutional approval.) The fact that inflammation markers looked so similar in groups from industrialized regions, but so different from the others, is striking, said Aurelia Santoro, an associate professor at the University of Bologna who was not involved in the study. 'This suggests that immune cells are activated in fundamentally different ways depending on context.' The Tsimane population's protein markers were less linked to inflammaging than the Orang Asli's; authors speculated that this might be because of differences in lifestyle and diet. Some experts questioned the findings' significance. Vishwa Deep Dixit, director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging, said it's not surprising that lifestyles with less exposure to pollution are linked to lower rates of chronic disease. 'This becomes a circular argument' that doesn't prove or disprove whether inflammation causes chronic disease, he said. Advertisement Either way, the findings need to be validated in larger, more diverse studies that follow people over time, experts said. While they had lower rates of chronic disease, the two Indigenous populations tended to have life spans shorter than those of people in industrialized regions, meaning they may simply not have lived long enough to develop inflammaging, Santoro said. The problem may be tied to urban living Because the study looked at protein markers in blood samples, and not specific lifestyle or diet differences among populations, scientists had to make educated guesses about why industrialized groups experience more inflammaging, Cohen said. McDade, who has previously studied inflammation in the Tsimane group, speculated that populations in nonindustrialized regions might be exposed to certain microbes in water, food, soil and domestic animals earlier in their lives, bolstering their immune response later in life. At the same time, people in urbanized, industrial environments are 'exposed to a lot of pollutants and toxins,' many of which have 'demonstrated pro-inflammatory effects,' he said. Diet and lifestyle could also play a part: The Tsimane tend to live in small settlements with their extended family and eat a largely plant-based diet, he said. There might also be good and bad types of inflammation, Cohen said. While the Indigenous populations did experience inflammation from infection, those levels weren't tied to chronic disease later in life. That could mean that the presence of inflammation alone isn't as bad as we thought, he added. It's not clear if people can do anything to manage inflammaging late in life. People who want to age more healthily may be better off eating better and exercising more to regulate immune response in the long run, instead of focusing on drugs or supplements advertised to target inflammation, Cohen said. Advertisement This article originally appeared in
Miami Herald
02-07-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
A Common Assumption About Aging May Be Wrong, Study Suggests
A new analysis of data gathered from a small Indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon suggests some of our basic assumptions about the biological process of aging might be wrong. Inflammation is a natural immune response that protects the body from injury or infection. Scientists have long believed that long-term, low-grade inflammation -- also known as 'inflammaging' -- is a universal hallmark of getting older. But this new data raises the question of whether inflammation is directly linked to aging at all, or if it's linked to a person's lifestyle or environment instead. The study, which was published Monday, found that people in two nonindustrialized areas experienced a different kind of inflammation throughout their lives than more urban people -- likely tied to infections from bacteria, viruses and parasites rather than the precursors of chronic disease. Their inflammation also didn't appear to increase with age. Scientists compared inflammation signals in existing data sets from four distinct populations in Italy, Singapore, Bolivia and Malaysia; because they didn't collect the blood samples directly, they couldn't make exact apples-to-apples comparisons. But if validated in larger studies, the findings could suggest that diet, lifestyle and environment influence inflammation more than aging itself, said Alan Cohen, an author of the paper and an associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University. 'Inflammaging may not be a direct product of aging, but rather a response to industrialized conditions,' he said, adding that this was a warning to experts like him that they might be overestimating its pervasiveness globally. 'How we understand inflammation and aging health is based almost entirely on research in high-income countries like the U.S.,' said Thomas McDade, a biological anthropologist at Northwestern University. But a broader look shows that there's much more global variation in aging than scientists previously thought, he added. The study 'sparks valuable discussion' but needs much more follow-up 'before we rewrite the inflammaging narrative,' said Bimal Desai, a professor of pharmacology who studies inflammation at the University of Virginia School of Medicine. Inflammation is different in different places. In the study, researchers compared blood samples from about 2,800 adults ages 18-95. People in the more industrialized Chianti region of Italy and in Singapore both showed the types of proteins that signal inflammaging. The Tsimane group in Bolivia and the Orang Asli group in Malaysia, on the other hand, had different inflammatory markers likely tied to infections, instead of the proteins marking inflammaging. (The four datasets used blood samples with subjects' informed consent, whether written or verbal, and institutional approval.) The fact that inflammation markers looked so similar in groups from industrialized regions, but so different from the others, is striking, said Aurelia Santoro, an associate professor at the University of Bologna who was not involved in the study. 'This suggests that immune cells are activated in fundamentally different ways depending on context.' The Tsimane population's protein markers were less linked to inflammaging than the Orang Asli's; authors speculated that this might be because of differences in lifestyle and diet. Some experts questioned the findings' significance. Vishwa Deep Dixit, director of the Yale Center for Research on Aging, said it's not surprising that lifestyles with less exposure to pollution are linked to lower rates of chronic disease. 'This becomes a circular argument' that doesn't prove or disprove whether inflammation causes chronic disease, he said. Either way, the findings need to be validated in larger, more diverse studies that follow people over time, experts said. While they had lower rates of chronic disease, the two Indigenous populations tended to have life spans shorter than those of people in industrialized regions, meaning they may simply not have lived long enough to develop inflammaging, Santoro said. The problem may be tied to urban living. Because the study looked at protein markers in blood samples, and not specific lifestyle or diet differences among populations, scientists had to make educated guesses about why industrialized groups experience more inflammaging, Cohen said. McDade, who has previously studied inflammation in the Tsimane group, speculated that populations in nonindustrialized regions might be exposed to certain microbes in water, food, soil and domestic animals earlier in their lives, bolstering their immune response later in life. At the same time, people in urbanized, industrial environments are 'exposed to a lot of pollutants and toxins,' many of which have 'demonstrated pro-inflammatory effects,' he said. Diet and lifestyle could also play a part: The Tsimane tend to live in small settlements with their extended family and eat a largely plant-based diet, he said. There might also be good and bad types of inflammation, Cohen said. While the Indigenous populations did experience inflammation from infection, those levels weren't tied to chronic disease later in life. That could mean that the presence of inflammation alone isn't as bad as we thought, he added. It's not clear if people can do anything to manage inflammaging late in life. People who want to age more healthily may be better off eating better and exercising more to regulate immune response in the long run, instead of focusing on drugs or supplements advertised to target inflammation, Cohen said. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- Health
- The Hindu
Study compares industrialised, indigenous groups, finds inflammation not always linked with ageing
Inflammation may not always be related to ageing and appears to be a consequence of industrialised lifestyles, researchers said, after they found high levels of inflammation in two indigenous populations, which neither increased with age nor led to chronic conditions. The findings, published in the journal Nature Aging, challenge current notions around persistent inflammation related to ageing -- or "inflammaging", the authors said. "These results point to an evolutionary mismatch between our immune systems and the environments we now live in. Inflammaging may not be a direct product of ageing, but rather a response to industrialised conditions," lead author Alan Cohen, associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University, US, said. They added that a holistic approach, looking at culture, environment and lifestyle factors, needs to be taken while studying ageing processes. "In industrialised settings, we see clear links between inflammaging and diseases like chronic kidney disease," Cohen said. "But in populations with high infection rates, inflammation appears more reflective of infectious disease burden than of ageing itself," the lead author said. The researchers looked at four populations -- two industrialised ones from Italy and Singapore and two indigenous, non-industrialised communities, called the 'Tsimane' of the Bolivian Amazon and the 'Orang Asli' of peninsular Malaysia. Inflammation levels due to ageing were found to be similar between the two industrialised populations studied, but did not hold in the indigenous groups, where inflammation was found to be driven largely by infection rather than age. Further, the inflammation seen in the native communities did not increase with age and also did not result in chronic diseases -- such as diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer's -- a regular feature of modern, industrialised societies, the researchers said. "Infammaging, as measured in this manner in these cohorts, thus appears to be largely a byproduct of industrialised lifestyles, with major variation across environments and populations," the authors wrote. They added that chronic diseases are rare or even absent among native populations, meaning that even when the young in these communities have profiles that look similar on the surface to those of older industrialised adults, they do not lead to disease. "These findings really call into question the idea that inflammation is bad per se. Rather, it appears that inflammation – and perhaps other aging mechanisms too – may be highly context dependent," Cohen said. "On one hand, that's challenging, because there won't be universal answers to scientific questions. On the other, it's promising, because it means we can intervene and change things," the author said. The study analysed a group of 19 cytokines -- proteins created during immune and inflammatory responses -- and found patterns in line with ageing among the Italian and Singaporean individuals, but not among the 'Tsimane' and 'Orang Asli'. The immune systems of the indigenous populations were shaped by persistent infections and distinct environmental exposures, the researchers said.
New York Times
30-06-2025
- Health
- New York Times
A Common Assumption About Aging May Be Wrong, Study Suggests
A new analysis of data gathered from a small Indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon suggests some of our basic assumptions about the biological process of aging might be wrong. Inflammation is a natural immune response that protects the body from injury or infection. Scientists have long believed that long-term, low-grade inflammation — also known as 'inflammaging' — is a universal hallmark of getting older. But this new data raises the question of whether inflammation is directly linked to aging at all, or if's linked to a person's lifestyle or environment instead. The study, which was published today, found that people in two nonindustrialized areas experienced a different kind of inflammation throughout their lives than more urban people — likely tied to infections from bacteria, viruses and parasites rather than the precursors of chronic disease. Their inflammation also didn't appear to increase with age. Scientists compared inflammation signals in existing data sets from four distinct populations in Italy, Singapore, Bolivia and Malaysia; because they didn't collect the blood samples directly, they couldn't make exact apples-to-apples comparisons. But if validated in larger studies, the findings could suggest that diet, lifestyle and environment influence inflammation more than aging itself, said Alan Cohen, an author of the paper and an associate professor of environmental health sciences at Columbia University. 'Inflammaging may not be a direct product of aging, but rather a response to industrialized conditions,' he said, adding that this was a warning to experts like him that they might be overestimating its pervasiveness globally. 'How we understand inflammation and aging health is based almost entirely on research in high-income countries like the U.S.,' said Thomas McDade, a biological anthropologist at Northwestern University. But a broader look shows that there's much more global variation in aging than scientists previously thought, he added. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
