Cytomegalovirus linked to aging markers in US adults
Cytomegalovirus infection was linked to a 0.36 higher estimated ratio of experienced to inexperienced helper immune cells than no infection.
Limit: Immune-cell ratios were estimated from DNA rather than measured by direct cell counts
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational cohort study of 935 US adults linked cytomegalovirus, a persistent virus, to markers of faster biological aging and immune-system aging. The sample was 55% assigned female. Researchers tested blood collected at a median age of 28 for infection antibodies. They assessed aging about 10 years later, at a median age of 38, using chemical marks on DNA to estimate biological age and relative amounts of immune cells.
Cytomegalovirus infection and higher antibody levels showed the most consistent associations. Infection was linked to a 0.36 higher estimated ratio of memory helper immune cells, which remember past threats, to naive cells, which have not encountered their target. Epstein-Barr virus, herpes simplex virus type 1 and the bacterium Helicobacter pylori showed more limited links, particularly with DNA-based aging measures.
Why it matters
Persistent infections can keep the immune system stimulated over time. The authors called for research to clarify how infection timing and burden relate to biological aging and immune function across life.
Caveats
This observational study cannot establish cause and effect, and its immune-cell ratios were DNA-based estimates rather than direct cell counts. The analysis excluded participants identifying as Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native or “Some other race or origin.”
- Cytomegalovirus infection
- Helicobacter pylori infection
- Cellular senescence
- DNA methylation
- Epstein-Barr virus infection
- Humans
The paper
A Pathogen Penalty? Associations Between Persistent Infections and Biological Aging in the US
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Columbia University
The Journal of Infectious Diseases, Dec 11, 2025, Open access
