Chronic inflammation is associated with low physical function in older adults across multiple comorbidities
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Chronic subclinical inflammation may contribute to impaired physical function in older adults; however, more data are needed to determine whether inflammation is a common mechanism for functional decline, independent of disease or health status. METHODS: We examined associations between physical function and inflammatory biomarkers in 542 older men and women enrolled in four clinical studies at Wake Forest University between 2001 and 2006. All participants were at least 55 years and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, high cardiovascular risk, or self-reported physical disability. Uniform clinical assessments were used across studies, including grip strength; a Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB; includes balance, 4-m walk, and repeated chair stands); inflammatory biomarker assays for interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), and C-reactive protein (CRP); and anthropometric measures. RESULTS: Higher levels of CRP and IL-6, but not TNF-alpha, were associated with lower grip strength and SPPB scores and longer times to complete the 4-m walk and repeated chair stands tests, independent of age, gender, and race. More importantly, these relationships were generally independent of disease status. Further adjustment for fat mass, lean mass, or percent body fat altered some of these relationships but did not significantly change the overall results. CONCLUSIONS: Elevated CRP and IL-6 levels are associated with poorer physical function in older adults with various comorbidities, as assessed by a common battery of clinical assessments. Chronic subclinical inflammation may be a marker of functional limitations in older persons across several diseases/health conditions.
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Low-grade chronic inflammation, characterized by elevations in plasma CRP, TNF-α, and particularly IL-6, is an independent risk factor for disability, impaired mobility, and slow walking speed.
“low-grade chronic inflammation, characterized by elevations in plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor Alpha (TNF-α), and particularly interleukin-6 (IL-6),(Brinkley, Leng, Miller, Kitzman, Pahor, Berry, Marsh, Kritchevsky, and Nicklas 2009;Cesari, Penninx, Pahor, Lauretani, Corsi, Guralnik, and Ferrucci 2004;Ferrucci, Harris, Guralnik, Wacholder, Tracy, Corti, Penninx, Pahor, Wall”
From Successful aging: Advancing the science of physical independence in older adults (2015) · cites this paper as Brinkley et al. 2009
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- Authors
- Brinkley, T. E., Leng, X., Miller, M. E., Kitzman, D. W., Pahor, M., Berry, M. J., Marsh, A. P., Kritchevsky, S. B., & Nicklas, B. J.
- Affiliations
- Wake Forest University Health Sciences (US)
- University of Florida (US)
- Venue
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2009-02-04
- Volume
- 64A
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 455-461
- ISSN
- 1079-5006 (ISSN-L)
- 1758-535X
- PMC
- PMC2657165
- OpenAlex
- W2122409222
- Cited by
- 311
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 13 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 15 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 27 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 18 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 22 · 2013: 22 · 2012: 18
- FWCI
- 12.85
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- The Journals of Gerontology Series A (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- Wake Forest School of Medicine
- National Institute on Aging (R01 HL/AG68901, #R37AG18915, R01AG020583, R21AG068901, R37AG018915, P30AG-21332, R01AG027529, P30AG028740, P30AG021332)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (R01HL053755, R01HL068901, R01 HL53755)
- National Center for Research Resources (M01RR-07122, M01RR007122)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Nutrition and Health in Aging
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Geriatrics and Gerontology › Frailty in Older Adults
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases
- Keywords
- chronic inflammation, physical function, older adults, C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, TNF-α, grip strength, Short Physical Performance Battery, functional decline, comorbidities, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, congestive heart failure, physical disability, body composition
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Body Composition, C-Reactive Protein, Cardiovascular Diseases, Chronic Disease, Female, Humans, Inflammation, Male, Middle Aged, Physical Fitness, Probability, Sensitivity and Specificity, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Cohort Studies, Exercise, Geriatric Assessment, Interleukin-6, Comorbidity, Multivariate Analysis, Linear Models, Hand Strength, Inflammation Mediators, Pulmonary Disease, Chronic Obstructive
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