Inflammation in Teen Males Tied to Lower Intelligence, Early Death

Swedish scientists from the Karolinska Institute have linked a large-scale study of 50,000 young men 18-20 years old, with low-grade inflammation of body cells to lower scores on standardised intelligence tests, even after excluding those with signs of current illness.Their deaths for the following 35 years were also recorded.

Understand that the body is always in a certain state of inflammation, as bacteria fight off disease and our cortisol levels rise under stress.

“Although we knew that inflammation associated with infection or cardiovascular disease could impair brain function, this is the first time that similar associations have been shown in healthy young people,” said Dr Karlsson. “This suggests that even low levels of inflammation can have detrimental consequences for health and brain function,” he added.

Researchers are examining numerous states of inflammation that impair brain function, from toxins to stress to the food we eat. Just two examples are: Child Abuse May Compromise Immune System, Shorten Life; and Comfort Food, Obesity and Severe Brain Degeneration, with brain scans of obese, unhealthy people.

A compromised immune system is intimately linked with obesity. This study was run in Sweden, which does not have an obesity problem in its teen population.

Scientists there found a higher degree of inflammation in farm children than sons of non-manual workers. These signals point of multiple environmental factors, as well as socio-cultural risks in the personal lives of teens, that trigger inflammation in the body, as part of its natural defense mechanism. via Science Daily.