Chronic low-grade inflammation慢性低度炎症 · 看不见的代谢底色

Place · Level 3 · Condition

不是急性发炎 · hs-CRP 是窗口 · 内脏脂肪 + UPF + 睡眠不足是推手 · 跟心血管/糖尿病/抑郁/老化都连

Chronic low-grade inflammation

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慢性低度炎症 · 不是上火

Chronic Low-Grade Inflammation (CLGI) is not the colloquial Chinese 'shang huo' (heat-up), nor acute inflammation (red/swollen/hot/painful). It's sustained low-level immune activation maintained for years, often symptomless, quietly driving most modern chronic diseases. Furman 2019 Nature Medicine positions it as 'the central etiology across the life span.'

Acute vs chronic low-grade inflammation:

Acute (cut / infection): hours-days, high intensity, protective, resolves and returns to baselineChronic low-grade: months-years, low intensity, pathogenic, doesn't resolve, persistently wears the body down
Lab windows:

hs-CRP (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein): most common inflammation screen< 1 mg/L: low burden1-3 mg/L: moderate> 3 mg/L: high (after excluding acute infection)interleukin-6: A pro-inflammatory signal molecule (cytokine) released by immune cells during inflammation. / tumor necrosis factor alpha: A strong pro-inflammatory signal molecule that runs high in chronic inflammation.: research markers, not routine clinicalFibrinogen / ferritin (with iron status): adjunctsNLR (neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio): simple, from a CBC
hs-C-reactive protein: A liver protein that rises with inflammation — a common blood marker for 'is the body inflamed'. practical points:

Not a 'health score where lower is always better' — read the trend, after excluding acute eventsAvoid infections / surgery / heavy exercise 2-4 weeks before testing, otherwise result distortsNot a single-disease diagnosis — reflects overall inflammatory burdenLarge individual variation (genetically set baseline) — repeat 2-3× for stability
Connections to modern chronic disease (Furman 2019):

atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease: The plaque-clogged-artery family of disease — heart attack, stroke, peripheral artery disease.: inflammation drives atherosclerosis (Libby 2017, CANTOS 2017 RCT used anti-IL-1β to reduce events)Type 2 diabetes: adipose-tissue inflammation → insulin resistanceMASLD: hepatic inflammation → fibrosisDepression and anxiety: 'neuroinflammation' hypothesis — elevated IL-6 correlates with depressive symptomsDementia / Alzheimer's: neuroinflammation + Aβ depositionSome cancers: IBD → colon cancer, HBV/HCV → liver cancerAccelerated biological aging ('inflammaging')

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本站提供科普与一般性建议，不替代医师诊断或处方；有症状或正在服药请咨询合格医师。 Educational content, not medical advice — consult a clinician for diagnosis or treatment.

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