Plasma levels of interleukin-6 and the cluster of differentiation 4/cluster of differentiation 8 ratio in frailty among community-dwelling older people

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Frailty has become a major health problem among Indonesian elders. Immunosenescence specifically inflammaging are essential components in the development of frailty. Early screening and timely tailored intervention may effectively prevent or delay the adverse outcomes in elders. AIM: This study measured the cluster of differentiation (CD)4/CD8 ratio from the immunosenescence pathway and plasma interleukin (IL)-6 levels as inflammatory markers from the inflammaging pathway and observed the correlations between robust and frail elders groups. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey. Using multistage random sampling, we enrolled 64 participants across Malang city, divided into frail and robust groups. We analyzed the plasma IL-6 levels and CD4/CD8 ratio using an independent t-test and the Mann–Whitney U test. RESULTS: Significant differences between frail and robust elders were found in age and education level, with the frail participants being older than the robust (p = 0.001) and lower educational level (p < 0.001). However, plasma IL-6 levels (p = 0.936) and the CD4/CD8 ratio (p = 0.468) were not statistically different between the groups. CONCLUSION: Plasma level of IL-6 was found to increase similarly in both groups, while CD4/CD8 ratio was normal and not statistically different between the robust and frail group in elders.