Chronic Inflammation Has A Bad Track Record

In a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, chronic inflammation is associated with type 2 diabetes, cognitive impairment, brain atrophy, and cardiovascular disease as well as periodontal disease. These are all health ailments that can make your life miserable, costly and shorter.Inflammation is also the precursor to cancer. Chronic inflammation refers to an area of the body that is either constantly inflamed or has recurring inflammation. The body sends white blood cells to the area to fight off the inflammation. This weakens the immune system if it can't be healed by the body. Typically, the use of anti-inflammatory medications is used to fight off the inflammation.According to the study, "there is an association between elevated interleukin 6 (IL-6) levels and subsequent disease in a large group of healthy, middle-aged individuals." IL-6 controls cytokines (cells of the immune system which carry signals locally between cells) and inflammatory areas. These conditions can affect the brain and muscles.The study was designed to track the process of aging in a group of individuals who did not have a history of cancer, stroke, or myocardial infarction (heart problems or a heart attack). At the end of the study, the results were quite amazing. It showed inflammation had a direct result on the health of the test subjects including periodontal disease.


At the end of the study the results were:

721 (23.7%) of the 3044 participants met standards for successful aging

321 (10.6%) had cardiovascular disease

147 (4.8%) had died from non-cardiovascular causes

1855 (60.9%) had the normal aging characteristics
The results showed, "Individuals who had elevated IL-6 levels had a 47% reduced likelihood of successful aging compared with those who had normal IL-6 levels."What all that means is those with lower levels of IL-6 aged normally, and those with higher level suffered from health issue such as periodontal disease caused by chronic inflammation.The result showed 60% of the test subjects had normal aging since they didn't suffer from chronic inflammation. This study also shows how you can stop or slow periodontal disease by keeping your inflammation down. Periodontal disease starts with inflamed gums and if not cared for, the attachment of the gums to the teeth are destroyed, forming a pocket that furthers the difficulty of curing the disease.Keeping inflammation down also leads to less chance of diabetes, heart problems, and will allow the body to gracefully age, according to the study by Ricki Lewis, PhD.