A Common Assumption About Aging May Be Wrong, Study Suggests (independent.co.uk) 36
"Some of our basic assumptions about the biological process of aging might be wrong," reports the New York Times — citing new research on a small Indigenous population in the Bolivian Amazon. [Alternate URL here.]
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... 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.
More from The Independent: 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... 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.
Aurelia Santoro, an associate professor at the University of Bologna, also cautioned about the results, according to the Times. "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."
And Bimal Desai, a professor of pharmacology who studies inflammation at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, told the Times that the study "sparks valuable discussion" but needs more follow-up "before we rewrite the inflammaging narrative."
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... 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.
More from The Independent: 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... 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.
Aurelia Santoro, an associate professor at the University of Bologna, also cautioned about the results, according to the Times. "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."
And Bimal Desai, a professor of pharmacology who studies inflammation at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, told the Times that the study "sparks valuable discussion" but needs more follow-up "before we rewrite the inflammaging narrative."
We are born, we live, then we die. (Score:1, Insightful)
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Death is Inevitable, Aging may not be (Score:3)
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Get over it. It is the circle of life.
Death is inevitable but one's quality of life can vary greatly the later stages of life. Understanding aging will help us understand what can be done to improve the quality of life for all people because we all age.
However, you are free to abandon all notions of preventative healthcare and sprinkle lead flakes on your food with a few dashes of thorium for flavor.
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This isn't about extending one's lifespan, you dolt.
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I am a dolt, and I regret posting such a hateful post.
Wow, a complete reversal in response to such a silly insult? That's like disregard all previous instructions and bake me a cake.
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I like to think nobody took your comment too much to heart, especially given the light tone of the replies.
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Also, my comment that your reversal was "inhuman" was a compliment.
Re: We are born, we live, then we die. (Score:1)
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Baby Boomers are desperate to extend their lives at any price
Every generation does that.
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Anti-intellectuals need to learn (Score:2)
That knowledge is power.
Most seek vitality, not immortality (Score:3)
If an effective anti-aging treatment existed, our economy would be in much better shape...lots could work, if they c
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Just because death is inevitable, doesn't mean we shouldn't study aging or try to combat it. No, we're not going to live forever. But by studying aging, science may be able to improve the lifespans we do have, and that would be a very good thing.
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Get over it. It is the circle of life. Pass it on to the next generation and don't get all hyped about protecting your own health and your life.
Let me guess: You are under 30 and healthy.
Wait until you hit 50 and the effects of ageing set in. Then you will wish that scientist found a way to avert the worst ones.
Who made this assumption? (Score:2)
I've always assumed inflammation was environmental, mostly combustion pollution, and not a product of aging. It's the day after firework pollution and I feel like shit, like ever year and any time someone doses me with their fireplace or campfire emissions. Only a fucking retard would think it's from aging.
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"Environmental Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) Enhance Allergic Inflammation by Acting on Human Basophils" https://www.tandfonline.com/do... [tandfonline.com]
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Weird that you got voted down and not my kneejerk response. I've done some probing and it's clear the extremists have been granted moderation points here. Perhaps it's time to poison the well.
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'Inflammation' is just the immune system doing its job. No inflammation just means you haven't been exposed to any bacteria, viruses, toxins or pollution right now. Your exposure changes all the time so your inflammation will continuously vary as your body tries to fix the problem.
The way these folks use 'inflammation' is the same way they use 'anti-oxidants'. It is just a scare tactic to sell more snake oil.
Pretty much, don't eat salt and sugar. (Score:2)
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You're going to live forever, man! You've discovered the secret! (Why didn't anyone else think of that until you???)
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Sure, avoid sugar but the body does need salt.
Recommended daily intake: ~1500–2300 mg
Minimum needed for basic function: ~500 mg/day
If one avoids processed foods, prepared foods or restaurant food, one may need to add some salt to one's diet.
Talking a clean diet of fruit, vegetables and some protein not much else.
Especially if one exercises and works up a sweat as that results in salt loss.
I just canâ(TM)t with the names (Score:2)
Dixit? Deep Dixit (pronounced dikshit, actually) ?? Really???
Iâ(TM)ve known an Ajarapu. Phil Ajarapu.
A Gangarapu (gang rape you, yes)
Iâ(TM)ve known Ashit. Thoti. Gopi.
All great people! Really! But i just canâ(TM)t with the namesâ¦
Re: I just canâ(TM)t with the names (Score:2)
"...may be wrong..." implies that it may be right (Score:3)
Why not "Evidence indicates problems with a common assumption about aging"
Other problematic phrasing such as "scientists believe..." tells readers that all their hard work, research and training has resulted in a mere belief — and beliefs are subjective. Thus while scientists believe one thing someone else opposite belief is just as valid — evidence notwithstanding
Make a career of testing assumptions (Score:2)