Inflammaging
The low-grade chronic inflammation that accompanies ageing. A real observation, a popular explanation, and a marketing category — in that order.
thinPlausible, under-studied. Treat as a hypothesis.Revised 18 Sept 2026
Measurable in blood, and not yet a target anyone has hit usefully.Photograph: Marcelo Leal / Unsplash
Definition
A chronic, low-grade, sterile elevation of inflammatory signalling that develops with age in the absence of infection. Typically described in terms of circulating markers such as C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 sitting persistently above young-adult levels.
What is well established
- The phenomenon itself. Inflammatory markers do rise on average with age across populations, and the rise is not explained by overt infection.
- The association. Higher markers predict frailty, cardiovascular events, cognitive decline and mortality in cohort studies.
That is a solid observational base, and it is where the solidity stops.
Why this entry is rated thin
Three problems, none of them minor:
Causation is unresolved. Inflammation could drive the decline, be produced by it, or both. Adipose tissue, senescent cells, gut permeability, chronic viral infection and accumulated tissue damage have all been proposed as sources, and they are not mutually exclusive.
The markers are non-specific. C-reactive protein rises with obesity, smoking, poor sleep, periodontal disease, a cold last week, and the ordinary consequences of being unwell. A raised value is a signal that something is going on, not a diagnosis.
No intervention has convincingly moved the outcome by targeting it. Broad anti-inflammatory drugs carry their own risks and are not used for this purpose. The specific anti-inflammatory trials that have shown cardiovascular benefit did so in selected high-risk patients, not as an anti-ageing strategy.
“Reduce inflammation” is a description of a mechanism, not an instruction.
What “anti-inflammatory diet” is worth
The foods usually named — vegetables, pulses, oily fish, olive oil, nuts, wholegrains, less processed meat and less refined sugar — are the same foods recommended for cardiovascular health on much stronger evidence. Eating them is sensible. Attributing the benefit specifically to inflammation is an inference, and the supplements sold on that inference are ahead of any trial.
The interventions with the best claim to lowering markers are the same ones that appear throughout this reference: not smoking, regular exercise, adequate sleep, and not carrying excess visceral fat.
Open questions
Essentially all of the mechanistic ones, plus whether any marker is worth measuring in an asymptomatic person. At present, outside of research, the honest answer is no.