Modern lifestyles may explain the 'inflammation age' as we get older

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-08-20 09:01

International

Tsimane' people of Bolivian Amazonia. (Photo: Isabel Virginia Sánchez), Credit:Simon Fraser University - Communications & Marketing, adapted from original, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

A study of two indigenous communities in the Bolivian Amazon suggests that lifestyle, not ageing alone, is driving the chronic inflammation that can occur as we age. As we age, we develop chronic low-level inflammation, which has been linked to diseases, including cardiovascular disease, dementia and cancer, but it has been unclear whether it is an inevitable part of human ageing, or if it comes from our modern lifestyles. The researchers found that the Tsimane community, a group that forages and grows their own food, showed minimal age-related inflammation markers, while the neighbouring Moseten group, who have experienced greater lifestyle shifts due to proximity to the local market, showed more pronounced inflammation associated with age. The results add to growing evidence suggesting lifestyle, not ageing alone, drives chronic inflammation.

Media release

From: The Royal Society

Inflammation age – Age-related chronic inflammation (inflammaging) may not be inevitable and could be related to lifestyles in industrialised societies. Researchers compared two indigenous communities in the Bolivian Amazon. The Tsimane, a forager-horticulturist group, showed minimal age-related inflammation markers, while the neighbouring Moseten, who have experienced greater lifestyle shifts due to proximity to the local market, showed more pronounced inflammation associated with age. The results add to growing evidence suggesting lifestyle, not aging alone, drives chronic inflammation.

Inflammaging is minimal among forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Inflammaging refers to the development of chronic inflammation in late life. It is unclear whether this is an inevitable part of human aging, or if it results from an evolutionary mismatch with industrialized lifestyles and environments. We assessed whether the Tsimane forager-horticulturalists in the Bolivian Amazon develop inflammaging. We found only a slight increase in pro-inflammatory signaling. Next, we compared the neighboring Moseten, who are genetically closely related but have experienced greater lifestyle shifts. The Moseten showed more pronounced inflammaging. Our results suggest minimal inflammaging in the Tsimane and highlight the importance of lifestyle shifts in exacerbating its development.

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conference: Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: Arizona State University, USA

Funder: Funding was provided by the NIH/National Institute on Aging (R01AG054442 and RF1AG054442) and the NSF (1748282). J.S. acknowledges IAST funding from the French National Research Agency (ANR) under estthme eInntvs for the Future (Iensvtissements d’Avenir) program, grant ANR-17-EURE-0010. Funding sources had no role in research conduct, study design or article preparation.

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