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Did you know that when you use biomarkers & other clinical tools to identify patients for treatments, those tools may also partly capture social factors & conditions experienced across the life course?
Buckle-up for a thread on social-to-biological processes
Buckle-up for a thread on social-to-biological processes
Research suggests that many classic biochemical biomarkers are socially patterned from early life onwards
For example, let’s look at CRP, an inflammatory biomarker often used in medical practice to see if people have an infection or elevated inflammation...
For example, let’s look at CRP, an inflammatory biomarker often used in medical practice to see if people have an infection or elevated inflammation...
It turns out that socioeconomic factors in childhood are associated with teenagers' CRP
Childhood socioeconomic conditions are associated with increased chronic low-grade inflammation over adolescence: findings from the EPITeen cohort study https://adc.bmj.com/content/105/7/677.abstract?casa_token=dTyT72ylpa4AAAAA%3AjKml1tI6dU1g0cM4Rx-M4TxeU77AMO5LUZl9mfTF34UM5cxw7yRAO6kBVjoj-V9_8dmYQKNxJXGNbiw
Childhood socioeconomic conditions are associated with increased chronic low-grade inflammation over adolescence: findings from the EPITeen cohort study https://adc.bmj.com/content/105/7/677.abstract?casa_token=dTyT72ylpa4AAAAA%3AjKml1tI6dU1g0cM4Rx-M4TxeU77AMO5LUZl9mfTF34UM5cxw7yRAO6kBVjoj-V9_8dmYQKNxJXGNbiw
These associations may remain across the life course & across contexts
Multi-cohort study identifies social determinants of systemic inflammation over the life course https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08732-x
Multi-cohort study identifies social determinants of systemic inflammation over the life course https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-08732-x
We are not really sure why...
socially structured environmental factors affect many things: how the immune system develops; differentially exposes people to conditions affecting their physiological stress responses etc... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953619307762
socially structured environmental factors affect many things: how the immune system develops; differentially exposes people to conditions affecting their physiological stress responses etc... https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0277953619307762
But the different sources of evidence across time, context & study design do point towards *socially located biologies* & the importance of an embodiment dynamic over the life course https://hal-univ-tlse3.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-01922349
Have you noticed that I’ve not mentioned genetics?
Nope, I’m not talking about genetic differences here, but socially driven biological responses https://twitter.com/shell_ki/status/1266308275009736709?s=20
Nope, I’m not talking about genetic differences here, but socially driven biological responses https://twitter.com/shell_ki/status/1266308275009736709?s=20
A final word, just to mix it up & show you that things are not all that clear-cut either (that’s science for you!)
We looked at whether social patterns were observed for other inflammatory biomarkers compared with CRP (TNF-alpha, IL6, Fib)...
We looked at whether social patterns were observed for other inflammatory biomarkers compared with CRP (TNF-alpha, IL6, Fib)...
revealing that they were not anything as socially patterned. So… it depends on the biomarker https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0889159120304062?via%3Dihub
When biomarkers are used to select patients into studies, or treatment plans, they could also be selecting patients socially-speaking, across class, gender, race/ ethnicity & more. It’s something to be aware of when designing studies & of course... more research is needed!
Want to know more? I recommend you read pretty much everything that Prof N Krieger has written, this is one of my favourites:
Living and Dying at the Crossroads: Racism, Embodiment, and Why Theory Is Essential for a Public Health of Consequence https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4985119/
Living and Dying at the Crossroads: Racism, Embodiment, and Why Theory Is Essential for a Public Health of Consequence https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4985119/
