AI-Based Investigation into the Intersection of Nutrition and Health Inequality

A new study led by the University of East Anglia (UEA), in collaboration with the University of Exeter and others, is investigating inflammation, a key biological factor behind many chronic health conditions, including diabetes, arthritis, and high blood pressure. The research aims to explore how inflammation may link food and nutrition to these diseases and why they are more common in certain socioeconomic and ethnic groups.

A groundbreaking £4.8 million, eight-year study will use artificial intelligence (AI) to explore the relationship between diet, health inequalities, and the development of several chronic diseases.

More than 25 % of adults in the United Kingdom have two or more long-term health issues. This project will employ advanced analytical methods to analyze large-scale national and international datasets, aiming to identify new strategies to prevent the progression of multiple chronic diseases, particularly in the most vulnerable populations.

About one in four of the UK population have multiple long-term conditions. It is one of the greatest challenges facing individuals and health services, both now and for the coming decades, and is associated with a reduction in quality of life, increases in use of health services, and reduced life expectancy. Prevention of onset and progression of multiple long-term conditions is a priority area of major strategic importance for the Department of Health.

Alex Macgregor, Lead Researcher and Professor, Norwich Medical School, University of Exeter

Macgregor added, “We have a multi-disciplinary team of scientists with expertise in clinical research, nutrition, and data science who will use advanced computing to examine the reasons why some people are prone to developing multiple long-term conditions.”

Our findings will help create strategies and policies to prevent multiple long-term health problems in the people most at risk. As part of the program, we will also test how well these new strategies and policies work in helping these vulnerable communities.

Chris Fox, Co-investigator and Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, University of Exeter

Health Minister Karin Smyth said: “Long-term health conditions are one of the many challenges facing our NHS, and I am determined we harness artificial intelligence to tackle them. This ground-breaking research will help identify patients most at risk as well as the most appropriate treatments, ensuring they receive the highest quality care. We can only fix our broken NHS by building a healthy society, helping people live well for longer.”

'Inflammation, Nutrition, and the Evolution of Multiple Long-Term Conditions – an AI-Based Analysis of Intersectionality in Longitudinal Health Data (the InflAIM program),' is an eight-year research initiative.

The National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Programme Grants for Applied Research stream supported the research.

The research is a national collaboration between epidemiologists, computer scientists, statisticians, nutritionists, clinicians, social scientists, and policymakers. It involves a wide range of institutions, including the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Brunel University London, Queen Mary University of London, and the Universities of Southampton, Chester, Hertfordshire, and Durham.