Social Inequalities in Inflammation: Age Variations in Older Persons

Systemic inflammation is an important risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and inequalities by race/ethnicity, gender, and education have been documented. However, there is incomplete knowledge as to how these disparities present across age, especially in late life. This study assesses whether differences in C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammation, are contingent on age among older persons.

Data are from the 2006/2008 Health and Retirement Study ( n = 10,974) biomarker assessment. CRP was regressed on interactions between age and other status characteristics.

Racial/ethnic differences in inflammation do not vary significantly by age. However, gender and education differences are greatest at younger ages and then narrow steadily with increasing age.

There is considerable heterogeneity in how disparities in inflammation present across age and characteristics such as race/ethnicity, gender, and education. Understanding status differences in the influence of age on factors affecting late-life health is useful for health disparities research.