Chronic inflammation was thought to increase with age. It does. But there’s a plot twist. A new study published in Nature Aging compared 4 geographically and genetically distant groups: + industrialized societies (Italy and Singapore) + indigenous communities (Bolivian Amazon and rural Malaysia) Chronic inflammation, also known as “inflammaging” markers increased with age only in the 2 industrial groups. For the 2 indigenous cohorts, inflammation was driven by active infections and parasites. Inflammaging markers did not predict age-related diseases (cardiovascular, kidney, metabolic disease) in this community. The results suggest age-related inflammation is neither universal nor predestined to our biology. It’s an outcome of poor lifestyle choices in modern societies, and very likely preventable.