Prior evidence has shown poverty can increase mental illness, heart disease,stroke, and mortality risks. Separately, chronic inflammation from factors like poor diet, obesity, inactivity, toxins or autoimmune disorders also heightens disease and death risks. However, new US research found the collective impact of facing both poverty and chronic inflammation more than doubles heart disease mortality risk and triples cancer mortality risk over 15 years. This is far beyond what would be expected from simply adding the individual effects.
Poverty Indicators: POVERTY was assessed using factors like education, income, employment, home ownership and access to amenities. Those in the lowest quartile across markers were categorized as disadvantaged.
Assessing Inflammation: Inflammation was measured via blood markers like C-reactive protein levels and white blood cell counts. Participants in the top quartile were classified as having chronic inflammation.
