Research

Hormonal

Aging causes a chronic, low-grade inflammatory state (inflammaging) driven by senescent cells and immune dysregulation, which impairs vaccine efficacy and increases susceptibility to infection.

As you age, your immune system naturally shifts into a state of chronic, low-grade inflammation (inflammaging) due to the accumulation of senescent cells and altered immune signaling. This state reduces your ability to respond effectively to vaccines and increases infection risk. While you cannot stop aging, maintaining a lean body mass and regular exercise can help reduce the burden of senescent cells and lower pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, potentially preserving some immune function.

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Aging of the immune system is characterized a profound change in the functionality of both innate and adaptive immune system, and accompanied by the onset of a chronic, low-grade inflammatory status, and by a reduced capability to trigger an effective response to vaccine, which is typical of elderly people.
Marcello Pinti et al. · European Journal of Immunology · 2016

Why this rating

Based on a comprehensive review of multiple human and animal studies cited in the text.

Source

Aging of the immune system: Focus on inflammation and vaccination

Marcello Pinti et al. · European Journal of Immunology · 2016

DOI 10.1002/eji.201546178

narrative_reviewCited 443×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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