United States: Inflammation is a good sign that something is wrong, however, when this inflammation is chronic people get set up for lots of health problems.
No matter if it is a red, swollen toe from stubbing it or a runny, stuffed-up nose, inflammation is very common.
Plain and simple, that is your immune system acting ‘on the spot’ to fight off infections and remove toxins or foreign objects or pathology within the body.
However, this inflammation is chronic and can last for months or even years consecutively, and in some instances, it does last for years.
Observational data show that inflammation is almost universally associated with various health conditions including primary inflammatory joint diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and secondary inflammatory bowel diseases for example ulcerative colitis, as well as recent research-based evidence points towards inflammation and impacts on cognitive and brain health.
As published in Neurology in July, having higher inflammation when young or middle-aged could signal memory and thinking problems in later years.
For instance, the study participants with high degrees of C-reactive protein – the liver-produced protein that is associated with inflammation – had more midlife cognitive problems.
In addition, a study published in JAMA Psychiatry in August revealed that chronic inflammation raised children’s risk of developing mental disorders including depression and psychosis when they were young adults.
Since widespread inflammation is as toxic as it is common—34 percent of American adults are affected by it, according to one study—users would expect their inflammation levels to be a part of annual check-ups, but they are not.
More frequently than not, inflammation can persist and remain poorly managed.
When a person is inflamed, cells associated with the immune system for instance white blood cells infiltrate tissue and release inflammatory proteins and other enzymes.
According to Thad Stappenbeck, MD, PhD, the chair of Inflammation and Immunity at Cleveland Clinic, in several ways, inflammation’s bodily impact appears majorly to mental well-being, which is something the researchers are “still learning about, honestly.”