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Aging and low-grade inflammation reduce renal function in middle-aged and older adults in Japan and the USA

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of low-grade inflammation on age-related changes in glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in middle-aged and older white Americans, African-Americans, and Japanese adults. Serum creatinine, C-reactive protein (CRP), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were determined for 1570 adult participants in two surveys of aging in the USA and Japan (N = 1188 and 382, respectively). Kidney function declined with age in both countries and was associated with IL-6 and CRP. IL-6 and CRP also influenced the extent of the arithmetic bias when calculating the GFR using the chronic kidney disease epidemiology (CKD-EPI) formula with just serum creatinine. Younger African-Americans initially had the highest GFR but showed a steep age-related decrement that was associated with elevated inflammation. Japanese adults had the lowest average GFR but evinced a large effect of increased inflammatory activity when over 70 years of age. Importantly, our results also indicate that low-grade inflammation is important to consider when evaluating kidney function solely from serum creatinine.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Aging (5R37 AG027343, P01 AG020166) to conduct the Midlife in Japan (MIDJA) and Midlife in the US (MIDUS) studies. The specimen collection was facilitated by the General Clinical Research Centers program (M01-RR023942 [Georgetown], M01-RR00865 [UCLA]), and at UW from the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) program of the National Center for Research Resources (1UL1RR025011). The contributions of Drs. G Love, M. Karasawa, and N. Kawakami and Ms. D. Brar in specimen collection and processing are gratefully acknowledged.

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  1. University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA

    Reagan Costello-White, Carol D. Ryff & Christopher L. Coe

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  1. Reagan Costello-White
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  2. Carol D. Ryff
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  3. Christopher L. Coe
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Correspondence to Christopher L. Coe.

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Costello-White, R., Ryff, C.D. & Coe, C.L. Aging and low-grade inflammation reduce renal function in middle-aged and older adults in Japan and the USA. AGE 37, 75 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-015-9808-7

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