Immune Aging, Immunosenescence, and Inflammaging: Implications for Vaccine Response in Older Adults

ABSTRACT Background and Aims Population aging is a significant demographic change while vaccines are mostly made for children and young adults and their effectiveness might be low in the older population. Age‐associated decline in the immune function (immunosenescence) is a process that may lead to...

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Main Authors: Shahab Falahi, Amir Abdoli, Azra Kenarkoohi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2025-07-01
Series:Health Science Reports
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.71119
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author Shahab Falahi
Amir Abdoli
Azra Kenarkoohi
author_facet Shahab Falahi
Amir Abdoli
Azra Kenarkoohi
author_sort Shahab Falahi
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Background and Aims Population aging is a significant demographic change while vaccines are mostly made for children and young adults and their effectiveness might be low in the older population. Age‐associated decline in the immune function (immunosenescence) is a process that may lead to poor vaccine response in the older population. This comprehensive review aims to discuss changes in the immune system with age and their impact on vaccine response to develop strategies to enhance vaccine efficacy in the elderly. Methods This literature review on how the immune system changes with age and affects vaccine responses in older adults was carried out by examining English‐language publications. The search involved relevant keywords such as “Antibody response,” “Vaccine Efficacy,” “Vaccine Response,” “Immune Aging,” “Immunosenescence,” “Inflammaging,” and “Older Adults” across multiple databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Results Age‐related changes in the immune system, such as structural changes in lymphatic tissues, a decrease in the number of naive cells, an increase in the number of dysfunctional memory cells, along with a change in the microbiota profile and its contribution to inflammaging and an increase in the number of senescent cells are factors that lead to vaccine effectiveness decreases with age. Conclusion A deeper understanding of age‐related alterations and their effect on vaccine efficacy can provide new insights into the enhancement of vaccine‐induced immunity in the older population.
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spelling doaj-art-dee88dc526694847876d17cf54cd1aae2025-08-20T04:02:06ZengWileyHealth Science Reports2398-88352025-07-0187n/an/a10.1002/hsr2.71119Immune Aging, Immunosenescence, and Inflammaging: Implications for Vaccine Response in Older AdultsShahab Falahi0Amir Abdoli1Azra Kenarkoohi2Zoonotic Diseases Research Center Ilam University of Medical Sciences Ilam IranZoonoses Research Center Jahrom University of Medical Sciences Jahrom IranZoonotic Diseases Research Center Ilam University of Medical Sciences Ilam IranABSTRACT Background and Aims Population aging is a significant demographic change while vaccines are mostly made for children and young adults and their effectiveness might be low in the older population. Age‐associated decline in the immune function (immunosenescence) is a process that may lead to poor vaccine response in the older population. This comprehensive review aims to discuss changes in the immune system with age and their impact on vaccine response to develop strategies to enhance vaccine efficacy in the elderly. Methods This literature review on how the immune system changes with age and affects vaccine responses in older adults was carried out by examining English‐language publications. The search involved relevant keywords such as “Antibody response,” “Vaccine Efficacy,” “Vaccine Response,” “Immune Aging,” “Immunosenescence,” “Inflammaging,” and “Older Adults” across multiple databases, including Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Results Age‐related changes in the immune system, such as structural changes in lymphatic tissues, a decrease in the number of naive cells, an increase in the number of dysfunctional memory cells, along with a change in the microbiota profile and its contribution to inflammaging and an increase in the number of senescent cells are factors that lead to vaccine effectiveness decreases with age. Conclusion A deeper understanding of age‐related alterations and their effect on vaccine efficacy can provide new insights into the enhancement of vaccine‐induced immunity in the older population.https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.71119antibody responseimmune agingimmunosenescenceinflammagingolder populationvaccine efficacy
spellingShingle Shahab Falahi
Amir Abdoli
Azra Kenarkoohi
Immune Aging, Immunosenescence, and Inflammaging: Implications for Vaccine Response in Older Adults
Health Science Reports
antibody response
immune aging
immunosenescence
inflammaging
older population
vaccine efficacy
title Immune Aging, Immunosenescence, and Inflammaging: Implications for Vaccine Response in Older Adults
title_full Immune Aging, Immunosenescence, and Inflammaging: Implications for Vaccine Response in Older Adults
title_fullStr Immune Aging, Immunosenescence, and Inflammaging: Implications for Vaccine Response in Older Adults
title_full_unstemmed Immune Aging, Immunosenescence, and Inflammaging: Implications for Vaccine Response in Older Adults
title_short Immune Aging, Immunosenescence, and Inflammaging: Implications for Vaccine Response in Older Adults
title_sort immune aging immunosenescence and inflammaging implications for vaccine response in older adults
topic antibody response
immune aging
immunosenescence
inflammaging
older population
vaccine efficacy
url https://doi.org/10.1002/hsr2.71119
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AT amirabdoli immuneagingimmunosenescenceandinflammagingimplicationsforvaccineresponseinolderadults
AT azrakenarkoohi immuneagingimmunosenescenceandinflammagingimplicationsforvaccineresponseinolderadults