Age-Related Differences in T-Cell Subsets in a Nationally Representative Sample of People Older Than Age 55: Findings From the Health and Retirement Study.

ABSTRACT: Though T-cell immunosenescence is a major risk factor for age-related diseases, susceptibility to infections, and responses to vaccines, differences in T-cell subset counts and representation by age and sex have not been determined for a large sample representative of the national population of the United States. We evaluated the counts of T-cell subsets including total, CD4+, and CD8+ T cells and their naïve (Tn), effector memory (Tem), and effector subsets, in the context of age, sex, and exposure to cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection among 8 848 Health and Retirement Study participants, a nationally representative study of adults older than 55 years. Total T cells (CD3+) and CD4+ cells declined markedly with age; CD8+ T cells declined somewhat less. While CD4+ T cell declines with age occu

SUBMITTER: Thyagarajan B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9071411 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature