Aging-related inflammation is not universal across human populations

(www.publichealth.columbia.edu)

126 points XzetaU8 | 3 comments | 01 Jul 25 05:52 UTC | HN request time: 0.614s | source

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dinkblam ◴[01 Jul 25 12:31 UTC] No.44433255[source]▶

the confusing things for a layman is the different kinds of messages we receive from those pop-science outlets.

on one hand they claim chronic or recurring inflammation is THE big health problem, and if we could it under control everything we'd be much healthier.

on the other hand there are messages like inflammation is good for your body because it keeps it working and e.g. the reason vegetables are so healthy is because they are basically indigestible and therefore cause mild inflammation, ergo good.

so what is it now? or are there different kinds of inflammation?

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esperent ◴[01 Jul 25 12:42 UTC] No.44433351[source]▶

>>44433255 #

> they claim chronic or recurring inflammation is THE big health problem

> on the other hand there are messages like inflammation is good for your body because it keeps it working

There's no contradiction here. The first one is chronic, it's long term.

The second one is acute, it's short term, to heal or to deal with invaders.

Also, as the comment below mine points out, even this split is a massive simplification. There's many different types of inflammation, some good, some required for survival, and some which can do damage over time if they never get shut off.

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more-nitor ◴[01 Jul 25 14:05 UTC] No.44434044[source]▶

>>44433351 #

maybe we're using the word "imflammation" to describe too much stuff?

I mean, we name viruses & bacterias by their category/shape/etc, so shouldn't we do something similar to inflammation? eg. blue, vege-inflammation, red inflammation, pink-diamond-shaped inflammation inflammation-from-burn, etc?

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1. moritzwarhier ◴[01 Jul 25 14:52 UTC] No.44434473[source]▶

>>44434044 #

The article about this study does exactly that?

> The study used a panel of 19 cytokines—small immune-signaling proteins—to assess inflammation patterns. While these markers aligned with aging in the Italian and Singaporean datasets, they did not replicate among the Tsimane and Orang Asli, whose immune systems were shaped by persistent infections and distinct environmental exposures.

[...]

> The authors call for a reevaluation of how aging and inflammation are measured across populations and emphasize the need for standardized, context-aware tools. "Factors like environment, lifestyle—such as high physical activity or a very low-fat diet—and infection may all influence how the immune system ages," said Cohen. "Understanding how these elements interact could help develop more effective global health strategies."

Not sure how you think your fictitious categories would help or present any new ideas. The study already does what you call for, but using science instead of imagination.