Study Says Inflammation Greater For Older Adults

Older adults who experience pain may experience inflammation faster and at a higher magnitude compared to younger adults, a new study has suggested. The inflammation for older adults is also said to last longer compared to what their younger counterparts have to face. The study was published in Experimental Gerontology.

"Early treatment of an injury even with over-the-counter anti-inflammatories may be a good idea," said senior study author Joseph Riley, Ph.D via Science Daily. Riley is the director of the pain clinical research unit in the University of Florida Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence.

Older Adults Experience More Inflammation When Pain Is Induced

The researchers found that when older adults feel pain, proteins that deal with inflammation increased more than in younger adults. The proteins also stayed longer in the bodies of the older adults.

Additionally, the researchers also find out that anti-inflammatory cytokines "peaked later for older adults than younger adults." Cytokines, according to Neuroscience News, are proteins that soothe inflammation.

The subjects of the study were eight healthy older adults with an average age of 68 and nine healthy younger adults with an average age of 21. Researchers induced pain through applying heat to the feet or a cold ice bath, according to Science Daily. They studied inflammation in the blood by using a catheter.

Older Adults At Risk For Pain Undertreatment

"Pain in the absence of disease is not a normal part of aging, yet it is experienced daily by a majority of older adults in the United States," according to a disclosure published in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing which can be viewed via Medscape. Older adults are said to be up for higher risk for undertreatment due to a number of factors such as inadequate education of medical personnel, cost, heath care system barriers and patient-related obstacles.

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