Studies show that COVID-19, cancer, Alzheimer's, heart disease, and diabetes have one common factor and root: inflammation. This is now a key factor in many other diseases that have been emerging recently, and it's a process that everybody needs to understand and study more if we want to try and reduce risks.
This root has been identified as a major problem in COVID-19 cases, which explains why older people and those who have lifestyle diseases are most at high risk.
Understanding "Inflammation"
For scientists and medical experts, inflammation is a huge clue to what lies beneath the huge number of coronavirus deaths in the United Kingdom now total 32,065 compared to Spain's 26,744, and Italy's 30,560. These numbers reflect the seriousness of the underlying chronic disease.
However, doctors are hopeful that knowledge gained from studying COVID-19 will help us further understand inflammatory processes and suggest different ways to approach this pandemic that has plagued millions of people all over the world.
When we talk about inflammation, this is a sign of the human body's natural response to an infection. When the immune system is mobilized, activity by the defensive cells causes by-products like skin redness and heat or even a fever to occur when the entire system is involved.
Obesity, cancer and other chronic diseases
However, it should also be noted that obesity and chronic disease can cause inflammation as well.
According to Daily Mail, "Overweight people - almost two out of three Britons fall into this group - have been shown to have higher levels of inflammatory messenger molecules called cytokines, which interfere with and damage normal cell functions. A major research review, published in 2016 by the American Society for Nutrition, concluded that obesity and the health problems associated with it - such as high blood pressure, raised blood sugar levels and tummy fat - have a 'substantial impact' on the health of the immune system and defense against disease."
Research that was published last week by an Oxford University team that identified and analyzed health records from more than 17.4 million people, has calculated that the most severely obese and overweight people are three times more likely to suffer and die of coronavirus.
The body's immune system has a total of two lines of defense, innate immunity, which includes cell types that are on the lookout for foreign fungus, bacteria, and viruses. The second line is something that is more unique to each person that has developed over time to identify and destroy any kind of invader that has tried to invade our body in the past.
"The problem is that innate immunity starts to deteriorate from the age of about 50 and goes into a steep decline from 70. Adaptive immunity also starts to fail, with specialist antibody cells 'forgetting' to recognize the invaders they are meant to protect against. This malfunction occurs even in otherwise healthy older people, and the immune system tries to compensate for the deficit by over-producing cytokines, which buzz about looking for trouble - but in doing so cause inflammation," The Daily Mail added.
A spokesperson for the World Cancer Research Fund, Kate Allen, said that having a healthy weight is very critical in trying to reduce risks from cancer.
Fifteen of the most common cancers, which include colon, prostate, and breast are more common in people who are overweight caused by the inflammation.
