‘Inflamm-aging’: The Surprising Ways Your Immune System Changes as You Age

If you live long enough, you’ll see signs of aging, like wrinkles and gray hair. And increasingly, researchers are understanding more about what changes happen under the surface of your skin as you age. We’re also getting a better handle on why health problems like heart disease, dementia, and cancer become more common with advancing years.  

But why exactly does this happen? It turns out that much of the answer lies in the immune system. Your immune system helps you fight infections and stay healthy. But it has another important role in the aging process. Among other age-related changes, inflammation increases as you get older (“inflamm-aging”).

Will this understanding help delay normal aging and increase your life span and health span (the number of years that you’re healthy)? Maybe. We’ll dig into what the experts know about the immune system and aging.

What happens to the immune system as you age? 

Your immune system changes as you get older, and this means that everyone notices health changes over the years. You may find that you get sick more often, vaccines may not work as well, or you may notice you don’t recover as quickly from illness or injuries.

The cause of this involves age-related changes to the immune system, including: 

• Increased inflammation levels (“inflamm-aging”)

• Increased innate immunity (the part of the immune system that reacts quickly to a threat, including white blood cells and inflammatory chemicals or cytokines)

• Decreased adaptive immunity (the part of the immune system that makes antibodies to fight specific threats or respond to vaccines)

At what age does the immune system start to weaken?

It’s hard to know for sure when your immune system starts to change, and it can depend on many factors. In general, scientists start to see changes in the immune system in people’s 50s. Unfortunately, there’s not a good test to know the status of your immune functioning or the “age” of your immune system. 

What is ‘inflamm-aging’? 

Inflamm-aging refers to the inflammatory changes that happen as you age. This is a growing area of research, and we’re continuing to learn more about how diseases of aging are related to this inflammatory process.

Scientists don’t totally understand why and how inflammation increases with age. But there are some theories, including: 

• Increased stress: Aging leads to stress in the body, which can cause inflammation.

• Oxidative stress: Damage to cells as a result of free radicals and low antioxidants leads to inflammation.

• Cytokines: These inflammatory chemicals may increase with age and lead to a long-term inflammatory state.

• DNA damage: This occurs more commonly with increasing age and can lead to mutations and an inflammatory response.

• Autophagy: This is when cells remove abnormal cells, and it can lead to inflammation.

• Stem cell aging: Stem cells age with time, and this can lead to an inflammatory reaction.

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Is inflammation bad? 

Not necessarily. Inflammation is a healthy and normal response that helps our bodies respond to injury. But inflammation can be harmful when it lasts long term and becomes “chronic.” 

Chronic inflammation is associated with many of the diseases related to older age, such as:

• Alzheimer’s disease

• Parkinson’s disease

• Heart disease

• Type 2 diabetes

• Osteoporosis

• Cancer

What increases the risk for inflammation?

In addition to age, there are additional risk factors that can lead to chronic inflammation, including:

• Obesity

• A diet high in sugars, trans fats, and saturated fats

• Smoking

• Low levels of estrogen or testosterone 

• Stress

• Sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea

• Trauma or adverse childhood experiences

What are biomarkers for aging?

There aren’t clear ways to track inflammation with age yet. But researchers are studying some blood tests (biomarkers). These biomarkers are also called “immunomes,” because they refer to proteins and genes that are part of the immune system. 

Some potential markers of inflamm-aging include:

• Immune cells, such as T cells or B cells

• Cytokines (inflammatory chemicals), such as IL-6, IL-10, or TNF-alpha 

• MicroRNAs, molecules that help control gene expression

This is an area of ongoing research and the Stanford 1000 Immunomes Project is a large study (1,000 people) looking at the causes and biomarkers of aging. Based on this data, they identified different markers of immunity and healthy aging and developed a “clock”  to help predict how health might change with age.

Are there ways to test my inflammation levels now?

It can be hard to measure inflammation because many of the tests we have aren’t specific, meaning they can be elevated for many reasons. These tests may tell you if you have certain abnormal lab values that suggest inflammation, but they don’t tell you where or why there’s  inflammation. 

The lab tests that can be markers of inflammation include:

• Complete blood counts, including white blood cell count

• High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) 

• Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)

• Fibrinogen

It’s important to talk about your overall health and immune health with your healthcare provider. Taken out of context, usually these lab results are not very helpful in assessing a person’s health. 

How can I decrease my inflammation levels as I age?

There aren’t solid recommendations for how to decrease the inflammation that comes with aging. Researchers are currently studying some interventions that may have benefits for slowing inflamm-aging: 

• Calorie restriction (eating less): Limiting the amount of calories you eat can decrease oxidative stress on the body and decrease inflammation.

• Zinc: Zinc may have effects on the immune function and inflammation. Levels of zinc tend to go down as you age. Zinc is in some foods (like meat, beans, seeds, and nuts) as well as supplements.

• Resveratrol: Resveratrol is in grapes (and wine), and some studies have found that this may help prevent aging and reduce inflammation. 

• Metformin: Metformin is a medication that can treat Type 2 diabetes, but scientists have also found that it increases longevity in animal studies. This may be due to its effect on genes and its anti-inflammatory effects.

Researchers are still studying all of these, and we don’t yet know if they are safe or effective in humans. So be sure to talk with your healthcare provider about the right strategies for you.

How can I boost my immune system?

In addition to decreasing inflammation levels with age, there may also be some ways to improve your immune function with age. Some lifestyle changes can help with immune function, like eating: 

• Less sugar and foods with a high glycemic index

• More fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants and polyphenols (an anti-inflammatory diet)

• Less saturated and trans fats

• More fiber

• A diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids, includings nuts

Other lifestyle changes that can boost immune system function include:

• Drinking green and black tea

• Exercising regularly

• Taking certain supplements, such as vitamin D, vitamin C, probiotics, zinc, turmeric, or omega-3 fatty acids

Why trust our experts?

Written by:

Christina Palmer, MD

Christina Palmer, MD, is a board-certified family physician with a special interest in chronic care management, women’s health, mental health, and preventive care. She has over 10 years of experience in primary care research, innovation, and practice.

Edited by:

Sophie Vergnaud, MD

Sophie Vergnaud, MD, is the Senior Medical Director for GoodRx Health. An experienced and dedicated pulmonologist and hospitalist, she spent a decade practicing and teaching clinical medicine at academic hospitals throughout London before transitioning to a career in health education and health technology.

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