- Extensive exposure to antibiotics or learning disabilities also increase the danger
- The latest research into the disease is led by a team from the University of Manchester
Being poor or having a pre-existing health condition increases the risk of sepsis, researchers said yesterday.
A history of extensive antibiotic exposure or a learning disability also increases the danger to individuals.
Sepsis is a life-threatening condition in which the body overreacts to an infection and begins to attack its own tissues and organs.
The latest research, led by a team from the University of Manchester, examined NHS data on 224,000 cases of sepsis in England between January 2019 and June 2022.
It found that people from the most deprived communities were 80 percent more likely to develop sepsis than their counterparts in the wealthiest areas. The risk for people with a learning disability was again much greater.
Being poor or having a pre-existing health condition increases the risk of sepsis, researchers say (Stock Image)
Higher risks were seen associated with cancer, diabetes, smoking and weight problems (stock image)
The same applied to victims of chronic liver disease and chronic kidney disease. Higher risks were seen associated with cancer, diabetes, smoking and weight problems.
Co-author Professor Tjeerd van Staa said: ‘This study highlights the urgent need for sepsis risk prediction models to take into account chronic disease status, deprivation status and learning disabilities, together with severity of infection. There is an urgent need to improve sepsis prevention, including more accurate targeting of antimicrobials to higher-risk patients.”
Co-author Dr Colin Brown, head of sepsis at the UK Health Security Agency, said: ‘Tackling inequalities is a core part of our public health approach and a deeper understanding of who serious bacterial infections affect will help us make the best targeted interventions to tackle these. ‘
The Manchester study appeared in the journal eClinicalMedicine.
The Mail has campaigned for better diagnosis and treatment of c. The UK Sepsis Trust said the disease affects 245,000 patients and claims 48,000 lives a year.
In adults, sepsis may initially feel like the flu, gastroenteritis, or a respiratory infection. Early symptoms include fever, chills and chills, a fast heart rate, and rapid breathing.