Environmental Public Health Commons^™

Chronic Disease And The Inflammatory Body Burden: Social And Environmental Factors And Implications For Longevity, Catherine L. Zeman, Junu Shrestha, Raihan Khan, Ashley N. Oginz Wilson, Lisa A. Beltz

Department of Health Sciences - Faculty Scholarship

Everyday our body’s immune and detoxification systems are working to protect us from pathogens, cancerous cells, foreign substances, and chemical exposures. Declining trends in per capita longevity in the US suggest that these systems are being stressed beyond their natural resiliency. Several of these trends are discussed in light of funding for preventive vs. illness care. The authors then use a systems and interdisciplinary approach to introduce the immunobiological and biotransformation systems, and the concept of the exposome for those unfamiliar. The science of the immune and detoxification systems is explored considering the idea of chronic low-level inflammation. Additionally, new …