diff --git a/src/ydata_profiling/model/pandas/summary_pandas.py b/src/ydata_profiling/model/pandas/summary_pandas.py
index f392752df..927ffacaf 100644
--- a/src/ydata_profiling/model/pandas/summary_pandas.py
+++ b/src/ydata_profiling/model/pandas/summary_pandas.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 from ydata_profiling.model.summarizer import BaseSummarizer
 from ydata_profiling.model.summary import describe_1d, get_series_descriptions
 from ydata_profiling.model.typeset import ProfilingTypeSet
+from ydata_profiling.utils.compat import optional_option_context
 from ydata_profiling.utils.dataframe import sort_column_names
 
 
@@ -44,7 +45,7 @@ def pandas_describe_1d(
     """
 
     # Make sure pd.NA is not in the series
-    with pd.option_context("future.no_silent_downcasting", True):
+    with optional_option_context("future.no_silent_downcasting", True):
         series = series.fillna(np.nan)
 
     has_cast_type = _is_cast_type_defined(typeset, series.name)
diff --git a/src/ydata_profiling/utils/compat.py b/src/ydata_profiling/utils/compat.py
index 879316e99..b01c7db55 100644
--- a/src/ydata_profiling/utils/compat.py
+++ b/src/ydata_profiling/utils/compat.py
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
 """Utility functions for (version) compatibility"""
+
+from contextlib import contextmanager
 from functools import lru_cache
 from typing import Tuple
 
@@ -12,3 +14,16 @@ def pandas_version_info() -> Tuple[int, ...]:
     akin to `sys.version_info` for the Python version.
     """
     return tuple(int(s) for s in pd.__version__.split("."))
+
+
+@contextmanager
+def optional_option_context(option_key, value):
+    """
+    A context manager that sets an option only if it is available in the
+    current pandas version; otherwise, it is a no-op.
+    """
+    try:
+        with pd.option_context(option_key, value):
+            yield
+    except pd.errors.OptionError:
+        yield
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_pd_future_infer_string.py b/tests/unit/test_pd_future_infer_string.py
index ca9838029..aa37d121b 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_pd_future_infer_string.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_pd_future_infer_string.py
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 import pytest
 
 from ydata_profiling import ProfileReport
+from ydata_profiling.utils.compat import pandas_version_info
 
 
 @pytest.fixture()
@@ -15,6 +16,9 @@ def df():
     return df
 
 
+@pytest.mark.skipif(
+    pandas_version_info() < (2, 1, 0), reason="requires pandas 2.1 or higher"
+)
 def test_pd_future_infer_string(df: pd.DataFrame):
     with pd.option_context("future.infer_string", True):
         profile_report = ProfileReport(df, title="Test Report", progress_bar=False)