New Delhi, Aug 5 || Chronic inflammation may be associated with an increased risk of frailty, social disadvantage, and cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to a study.
The study, published in the journal Communications Medicine, looked at 74 inflammation-related proteins in blood samples from more than 2,000 women aged between 37 and 84 years and explored how inflammation was linked to frailty, area-level social deprivation, and CVD risk.
The researchers identified 10 inflammatory proteins that were associated with both frailty and living in a deprived area.
Of these, four proteins that are involved in cellular signaling, growth, and movement (TNFSF14, HGF, CDCP1, and CCL11) were also linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
"To better understand how frailty and deprivation contribute to heart disease, we took a data-driven approach, screening a large number of inflammatory proteins in the blood. By identifying overlapping biological markers linked to both social and health vulnerability, we were able to uncover a potential shared pathway between these risk factors," said Dr. Yu Lin, Research Associate in the Department of Twin Research and Genetic Epidemiology at King's College London.