Inflammaging is a fairly new term, first coined by Franceschi et al in the year 2000! You might have also seen it written as inflamm-ageing. It is a state of low grade or “sub-clinical” inflammation that occurs with aging. These changes are attributed to changes in our immune system and inflammaging is thought to play a role in the development of many age-related diseases, including frailty.
What is inflammation?
Inflammation is our body’s normal response to an acute infection or injury. It helps to fight pathogens or repair injuries. When it becomes chronic i.e., being present for more than 12 weeks/3 months, the build up of inflammatory chemicals can lead to cell and tissue damage.
What causes this chronic inflammation with age?
The exact cause is not fully understood, but it seems to be multi-factorial:
- Lifestyle factors: obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, environmental toxins
- Genetic factors: some people are more predisposed to raised inflammatory markers as they age
- Chronic infections
- Age and age-related altered immune system responses
What are the symptoms?
Inflammaging doesn’t cause noticeable, typical symptoms in a specific pattern and symptoms vary from person to person. The presentation can be:
- Mild e.g., unexplained fatigue, muscle aches or joint pain;
- Severe e.g., heart disease, stroke, cancer, Alzheimer’s and dementia, diabetes, auto-immune conditions (Rheumatoid Arthritis).
How is Inflammaging diagnosed?
There is no specific diagnostic test and diagnosis is usually based on:
- Age
- Lifestyle factors
- Medical history and symptoms
- Blood tests looking at the pro-inflammatory chemical markers
- Physical examination
How is Inflammaging treated?
There is no cure but there are multiple ways of managing the condition and thus reducing the risk of developing other health problems or affecting daily function and quality of life.
Treatment or management options include:
- Losing weight or maintaining a healthy weight
- Eating a healthy diet
- Stopping smoking
- Avoiding exposure to environmental toxins, including excessive alcohol consumption
- Regular exercise (World Health Organisation recommendations)
- Stress management
- Having regular health check ups
- Medications (to be supervised by a qualified health professional)
Inflammaging and the future
Researchers are still learning about Inflammaging, however, there is growing evidence that the condition plays a role in the development of various chronic age-related diseases. Future research is focused on therapeutic intervention for Inflammaging and could lead to new treatments for a number of age-related diseases.