Chronic inflammation and poverty are a one-two punch that dramatically raises the risk of death from another notorious duo — heart disease and cancer.

People with chronic inflammation living in poverty face more than double the risk of dying from heart disease, the leading killer in the United States, within the next 15 years, a new study reports.

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

“We found that poverty and high levels of inflammation act synergistically, giving people with both factors basically a double whammy,” Mainous said in a university news release. “It makes them far more likely to die and in a relatively short period of time, just 15 years.”

It’s normal for people to suffer brief periods of inflammation, which is part of the body’s healthy short-term immune response, 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 like cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes and kidney disease.

Another study by Mainous estimates that as many as 35% of U.S. adults suffer from chronic inflammation, the researchers said.

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

For the new study, researchers evaluated data from a regular national survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which combines a questionnaire with lab tests.

The team focused on adults aged 40 and older whose household income was lower than the U.S. poverty line and whose lab tests showed elevated markers of chronic inflammation.

Researchers tracked these adults for 15 years, using death records to see how many died and for what causes.

People with both chronic inflammation and poverty had a 127% increased risk of dying from heart disease and a 196% increased risk of dying from cancer, compared to people without either factor, results show.

Those with just one of the factors – either chronic inflammation or poverty – had about a 60% increased risk of death.

The new study was published Jan. 16 in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.

The results highlight the need for routine chronic inflammation screenings, particularly in vulnerable populations, Mainous said. There currently are no guidelines for such screenings.

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

“We need to translate the basic science on chronic inflammation to the doctor’s office through the creation of screening guidelines so physicians can identify chronic inflammation in their patients and work to treat the underlying causes,” Mainous added.  “It is time to move beyond documenting the health problems that inflammation can cause to trying to fix these problems.”

More information

The Mayo Clinic has more about chronic inflammation.

SOURCE: University of Florida, news release, Jan. 16, 2024

Source: HealthDay

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