Age-related Changes of Immune Reactivity in Inhabitants of Mountainous Area in Kyrgyzstan

Abstract

To study the immune reactivity in people of different ages living at different heights of the mountainous area. The following task was solved to achieve the aim of the research: to study of the age-related features of immune reactivity in healthy individuals living in low- and high-mountainous regions. Modern and classical methods of immunological analysis were used to determine the immune status and natural resistance in humans. The article presents the results of the study of immune reactivity in 116 people of both sexes aged from 16 to 63 years old that were divided into 3 age groups living at different altitude zones — in the low mountains (930 m above sea level) and in the highlands (2800 m above sea level). Results. Comparative evaluation of immune reactivity in low-mountain areas in two age groups (II–III) revealed significant changes, compared with the first age group. In the third age group, there is a distinctly pronounced decrease in all the basic indices of phagocytosis, as well as the level of lysozyme and complement. For all age groups in the highlands compared with the low-mountain range, there is a decrease in the number of all T-lymphocytes, their subpopulations and functional activity of all types of cells participating in phagocytosis. An increased concentration of circulating immune complexes (CIC) was detected. The revealed quantitative changes in the immunity indices in all age groups examined indicate a reduction in the reserve capacity of the body’s immune defenses with age, but more significantly in high-altitude inhabitants.