as a population, we are living longer than we ever have before, but this is often accompanied by an extended period of time not feeling well. for many people, getting old means pain, fatigue and other changes in physical and mental health that can be worrying. and while our current understanding of the aging process is limited, the amount of growth in research and development in this field is promising and could give us the power to maintain or improve our quality of life into old age.
‘inflammaging’
aging feels different to everybody, but there are some significant aspects commonly shared by all at some point in their lives. some of the first physical signs people experience are increasing aches and pains in their joints and muscles which can be attributed to an overall increase in inflammatory factors in our blood as we age — often referred to as “inflammaging.”
while this increase in inflammation is often associated with conditions like arthritis and skeletal aging, it can also contribute to various other conditions such as diabetes, alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis, irritable bowel syndrome (ibs), cancer, and many others. additionally, negative covid-19 outcomes in older people is caused primarily by an overactive inflammatory response to infection. when a young person is infected with a pathogen, they tend to recover quickly, dispose of damaged cells, and restore the tissues that have been damaged. but an older person exposed to the same pathogen is much more likely to accumulate aging immune cells, which leads to chronic inflammation.
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