Understanding inflammation blood tests
Inflammation is a natural part of the body's immune response, helping to fight infections and heal injuries. However, when inflammation becomes chronic, it can contribute to a range of serious health conditions, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even certain types of cancer. Identifying and monitoring inflammation through blood tests can play a crucial role in early detection, treatment, and ongoing health management.
In this article, we explore how inflammation blood tests work, the most commonly used markers, and how these tests can aid in diagnosing and monitoring inflammatory conditions.
What is inflammation?
Inflammation is part of the body’s natural immune response to injury, disease, or infection.
When working as it should, the immune system releases inflammatory cells, which initiate an inflammatory response in your body to trap germs or toxins. This response helps to stop the spread of infection or disease and starts healing the process.
Inflammation should only be a temporary measure. Once the threat has been dealt with, the inflammatory cells should switch off, allowing the inflammation to subside. This is known as acute inflammation, and although it can cause short-term pain, swelling, or discolouration of the skin, it is a normal part of the healing process.
Chronic inflammation
When inflammation becomes prolonged and the inflammatory response doesn’t shut off for various reasons, it can pose a threat to health. This is known as chronic inflammation, and it can cause your body to harm healthy tissues and lead to a range of chronic health conditions, from autoimmune disorders to some types of cancer.
What blood tests can be used to detect inflammation?
When experiencing inflammation, the body often produces more of certain types of protein from the inflammation site, which circulate in the blood. This means that it is possible for healthcare professionals to test for inflammation by using blood tests to analyse the amount of specific proteins in your blood.
The most commonly used inflammation blood tests include:
CRP
C-reactive protein, known as CRP, is a protein made in the liver that rises when inflammation is present. CRP is often referred to as an acute phase protein as it typically spikes in the early stages of an inflammatory response.
A CRP value of less than 3 mg/l is typically classed as normal, levels over 3mg/l can be used to identify an increased risk of cardiovascular disease on a high-sensitivity reactive protein test and levels up to 100mg/l can indicate bodywide inflammation.
ESR
An ESR test indicates the amount of protein in the blood, as higher protein levels can indicate the presence of inflammation.
An ESR test measures how fast red blood cells settle to the bottom of a vertical tube of blood. The denser red blood cells are, the quicker they fall, so a quicker rate can indicate inflammation.
However, when looking at ESR levels, it’s important to note that women typically have higher rates than men and rates usually increase with age.
PV
An increase in protein in the blood during inflammation can increase the viscosity or thickness of your blood. This means it is possible to test for indications of inflammation in the body by testing the thickness of your blood.
A plasma viscosity test calculates the viscosity of your blood by measuring the force needed to send plasma down a thin tube in a given time. The more force needed, the thicker your blood and the more protein present, which can indicate inflammation.
A PV test can be used to monitor similar conditions to an ESR test but is most commonly used in hospital settings to help diagnose and monitor temporal arteritis or rheumatoid arthritis.
Other tests
Other tests sometimes used by healthcare professionals to help diagnose the presence of inflammation in your body include:
- Ferritin blood test – ferritin levels in the body can rise in response to inflammation, so a ferritin blood test can sometimes help indicate an inflammatory response.
- Procalcitonin (PCT) blood test – procalcitonin is a precursor to the hormone calcitonin. It is normally produced by the thyroid, but when you have a bacterial infection, it can also be produced by other organs in the body. As a result, higher than normal levels can indicate inflammation.
A PCT blood test is often used in hospital settings to diagnose, monitor and track the progress of bacterial infections like pneumonia and sepsis.
Inflammation blood tests are non-specific, which means they can indicate the presence of inflammation, but they cannot diagnose the cause. As a result, it’s important inflammation blood tests are reviewed alongside your symptoms, medical and family history and any other tests you’ve had done.
What conditions can inflammation blood tests help detect?
Inflammation blood tests can be used to help detect a range of inflammatory conditions, including:
- Bacterial infections
- Abscesses
- Auto-immune conditions like rheumatoid arthritis
- Tissue injury and burns
- Some forms of cancer
- Muscular and connective tissue disorders
- The rejection of an organ transplant
Why should you consider having inflammation blood tests help detect?
Although inflammation blood tests are non-specific tests, so can’t be solely used to diagnose specific conditions, they can be helpful in:
- Indicating the presence of inflammation
- Indicating whether further tests are needed to pinpoint the cause of inflammation
- Ruling out other health conditions
- Monitoring the progress of inflammatory conditions
- Enabling healthcare professionals to adjust your treatment
However, it is also important to understand the limitations of inflammatory blood tests. It is possible to receive false negative results in which inflammation doesn’t show up on your blood test, but inflammation is present, as well as false positives where inflammation is indicated but not present. That’s why it is so important that inflammation blood tests are interpreted by healthcare professionals alongside other tests you have taken and your medical history.
Understanding more about your health
Although inflammation blood tests can be beneficial in offering insights into your health when you are experiencing certain symptoms, if you are keen to learn more about your general health and wellbeing, why not book a Private Health MOT?
At Bluecrest Wellness, our comprehensive full body health assessments provide valuable insights into key health metrics and potential risk factors, empowering you to take a proactive approach to your wellbeing. By identifying early signs of inflammation and other health concerns, our assessments help you make informed decisions to maintain optimal health and reduce the risk of inflammation-related conditions.
Alongside a comprehensive Results Report that explains your results in data, you’ll get free 24/7 access to a GP helpline for a year following your assessment.
