By Dr Andrea Ang is a medical doctor at DA Orchard MedSuites
Most people associate inflammation with something visible – a swollen joint, a healing cut, a fever. But there’s a second, much quieter kind: chronic, low-grade inflammation that produces no symptoms at all, yet is increasingly understood as a driver of the ageing process itself, not merely a response to it. Researchers have a name for this – “inflammaging” – chronic inflammation that gradually damages tissues and accelerates biological ageing over years or decades.
“Someone can feel completely well while carrying inflammation levels that are quietly raising their risk for years.”
– Dr Ang
What makes this indicator worth testing rather than guessing at is precisely that it’s silent. Someone can feel completely well while carrying inflammation levels that are quietly raising their risk for years. Red cell distribution width (RDW), another marker sometimes measured alongside hs-CRP, has also been linked in population studies to increased cardiovascular risk and all-cause mortality⁴, offering doctors an additional data point.
The good news is that hs-CRP is one of the more responsive markers to lifestyle change. Physical inactivity, chronic stress, poor sleep, and diet quality are all well-documented contributors to elevated inflammation – and research, including recent meta-analyses on Mediterranean-style diets⁵, shows these levels can meaningfully improve with sustained changes.
DA Orchard MedSuites offers Bonsai, a longevity screen covering seven key indicators of biological ageing – including Inflammation – in one comprehensive visit. Book your screen today at DA Orchard MedSuites here.
⁴ https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43420
⁵ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41211687/
