Frailty is a geriatric syndrome defined as a status of extreme vulnerability to stressors, leading to a higher risk of negative health-related outcomes. “Inflammaging”, an age-related state of low-grade chronic inflammation, is characterized by an increased concentration of pro-inflammatory cytokines and acute phase proteins. Inflammaging has been postulated as an underlying mechanism of frailty, and several studies tested the relationship between frailty and concentration of inflammatory mediators. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to test whether inflammatory mediators are overproduced in frail older adults. Among the 758 articles identified in the literature search, 50 were included in the systematic review, and 39 in the three meta-analyses, i.e., C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin 6 (IL6), and tumor necrosis factor α. To reduce heterogeneity, meta-analyses were restricted to studies identifying frailty by the Fried et al. [1] [J. Gerontol. A. Biol. Sci. Med. Sci. 56, M146–56] phenotypic criteria. Quantitative analyses measuring the association between frailty and biomarker concentrations showed significant differences when frail subjects were compared to non-frail and pre-frail subjects for CRP and IL6. This work established strong association between inflammatory biomarkers and frailty, confirming the role of age-related chronic inflammation in frailty development.

衰弱是一种老年综合症，被定义为对压力源极度脆弱的状态，导致与健康相关的负面结果的风险更高。“发炎”是与年龄相关的轻度慢性发炎状态，其特征在于促炎性细胞因子和急性期蛋白的浓度增加。发炎已经假定其是脆弱的潜在机制，并且多项研究测试了脆弱与炎症介质浓度之间的关系。这项系统评价和荟萃分析的目的是测试在脆弱的老年人中炎症介质是否过量产生。在文献检索中鉴定的758篇文章中，有50篇被纳入系统评价，39篇纳入了3种荟萃分析，即C反应蛋白（CRP），白介素6（IL6）和肿瘤坏死因子α。为了减少异质性，Fried等人将荟萃分析局限于识别脆弱性的研究。[1] [J. Gerontol。A.生物学 科学 中 科学 56，M146–56]表型标准。定量分析脆弱性和生物标志物浓度之间的关系的定量分析显示，将脆弱受试者与非脆弱受试者和脆弱前受试者的CRP和IL6进行比较时，存在显着差异。这项工作建立了炎症生物标志物与衰弱之间的密切联系，证实了年龄相关的慢性炎症在衰弱发展中的作用。