Racial/Ethnic differences in inflammation levels among older adults 56+: an examination of sociodemographic differences across inflammation measure.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Chronic inflammation is a key biological risk factor for many widespread adult health conditions. This study examines racial/ethnic differences in inflammation across several inflammatory markers, including selected cytokines that are identified as important for aging and age-related health outcomes. METHODS: Data came from the 2016 Venous Blood Collection Subsample of the Health and Retirement Study. Using logistic regression models, we compared high-risk categories of C-reactive protein and cytokine markers (IL-6, IL-10, IL-1RA, TNFR1, and TGF-Beta), across race/ethnicity and whether these differences persisted among men and women. RESULTS: The findings provided evidence of significant race/ethnic differences in inflammatory measures, but the patterns differed across marker types. CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasize that race/ethnic differences are not consistently captured across markers of inflammation and that researchers should proceed with caution when using individual markers of inflammation in an effort to not overlook potential racial/ethnic differences in biological risk.