Association among inflammaging, body composition, physical activity, and physical function tests in physically active...

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Immunology
• Exercise Physiology

Background:

• Inflammaging, a chronic low-grade inflammation, is linked to sarcopenia and frailty in aging.
• Increased body fat promotes a pro-inflammatory state, exacerbating inflammaging.
• Regular physical exercise can mitigate inflammaging and its associated health risks.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between inflammaging and physical factors in active older women.
• To compare inflammatory markers and body composition across different weight groups.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study of 70 older women (mean age 72.66 years) categorized into eutrophic, overweight, and obese groups.
• Assessed body composition (fat mass, skeletal muscle mass), physical activity levels (IPAQ), physical function (handgrip, sit-up, squat jump), and serum cytokine concentrations (IL-6, TNF-α, IL-10, IL-8).

Main Results:

• Eutrophic women had higher free fat mass (FFM%), lower body fat, more physical activity, and better physical function.
• Eutrophic women exhibited higher IL-6 and IL-10/cytokine ratios, indicating better inflammatory regulation than overweight women.
• Obese women had higher body fat, lower FFM%, and elevated IL-6 compared to overweight women.

Conclusions:

• Eutrophic older women demonstrate effective regulation of systemic inflammation, positively associated with physical parameters.
• Overweight and obese older women show impaired inflammaging regulation, linked to reduced physical activity and increased body fat.