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.