How does inequality affect the risk of developing serious diseases?

(Dennis Thompson – HealthDay News) – Chronic inflammation and poverty are a double whammy that dramatically increases the risk of death from another notorious duo: heart disease and cancer.

People with chronic inflammation living in poverty will face more than double the risk of dying from heart disease, the leading cause of death in the United States, over the next 15 years, according to a new study.

They also have nearly three times the risk of dying from cancer, the second leading cause of death in the U.S., said lead researcher Arch Mainus III, a professor of health research, management and policy in the College of Public Health and Health Professions in the College of Public Health. University of Florida.

“We found that poverty and high levels of inflammation act synergistically, giving people with both factors essentially a double whammy,” Mainus said in a university press release. “This makes them more likely to die, and in a relatively short period of time, as little as 15 years.”

It is normal for people to experience short periods of inflammation that are part of the body’s healthy short-term immune response, the researchers explained in background notes.

But chronic inflammation lasts for months or years, and previous research has shown that it can increase the risk of developing health problems such as cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease.

Another study by Mainous estimates that up to 35 percent of U.S. adults suffer from chronic inflammation, the researchers noted.

Chronic inflammation can be caused by a number of different factors: poor diet, stress, lack of exercise, poor sleep, smoking, aging, obesity, autoimmune diseases or exposure to toxins.

In the new study, researchers assessed data from a routine national survey conducted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which combines a questionnaire with laboratory tests.

The team focused on adults age 40 and older whose family income was below the U.S. poverty line and whose laboratory tests showed elevated markers of chronic inflammation.

The researchers followed these adults for 15 years, using death records to see how many died and from what causes.

The results show that people with chronic inflammation and poverty had a 127 percent increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease and a 196 percent increased risk of death from cancer compared with people without either factor.

Those who had only one of the factors – chronic inflammation or poverty – had about a 60% higher risk of death.

The new study is published in the January 16 issue of Frontiers in Medicine.

The results highlight the need for regular testing for chronic inflammation, especially among vulnerable populations, Mainus said. There are currently no guidelines for this type of detection.

“Researchers have been studying chronic inflammation for 25 years, and we have a lot of data on its role in disease and mortality,” Mainus said. “We know it’s a problem, but we don’t do anything.”

“We need to bring the basic science of chronic inflammation into the doctor’s office by developing screening guidelines so physicians can identify chronic inflammation in their patients and work to treat the underlying causes,” Mainous added. “It’s time to move beyond documenting the health problems that inflammation can cause and try to address those problems.”

More information. The Mayo Clinic offers more information about chronic inflammation.

SOURCE: University of Florida, press release, January 16, 2024.

*Dennis Thompson, HealthDay Reporters © 2024 The New York Times.