Understanding inflammaging and how preventative health data could help lessen its impact

By Dominique Kent, CEO, Bluecrest

As women, we spend much of our lives juggling, I know this from my own experience.

Running a business, raising a family, caring for parents as they get older, the list is endless. Somewhere in the mix, our own health slips down the priority list.

That is why the idea of inflammaging resonates so strongly with me.

It is a quiet, creeping process in the body: low-level inflammation that builds up over time and accelerates ageing.

Unlike a sprained ankle or a winter flu, you cannot feel it happening.

Yet it’s there, silently increasing the risk of conditions that affect so many women in later life such as heart disease, osteoporosis and dementia.

My background before Bluecrest was in the care sector where I saw first-hand what happens when people live longer but not necessarily well.

Too many spent their final years dealing with pain, frailty and loss of independence.

It shaped my belief that the goal for us all should not just be about lifespan but healthspan: the years we live in good health, able to do the things we enjoy and remain independent.

Inflammaging is a direct and silent threat to this, so it’s something that needs to be addressed.

We as women face some particular challenges here. Hormonal changes during menopause remove a natural buffer against inflammation. Autoimmune conditions, which are often inflammatory, are far more common in women.

There are pressures outside of our biologies too, which often fall more heavily on women: stress, trauma, poor sleep, carrying the invisible load of family responsibilities.

All of these add to the inflammatory burden.

The danger is that inflammaging is invisible, you don’t wake up one day and feel it.

Instead it builds, and its impact often only shows when something serious has developed. This is what makes it so risky.

We already know that women’s health issues are often picked up late, misdiagnosed or brushed aside. Add a hidden process like inflammaging into the mix and you see why prevention is so important.

That focus on prevention is what drew me to Bluecrest.

The NHS has made prevention a key part of its long-term plan, and rightly so. If we can spot risks earlier, through small and regular interventions, we can act earlier. That is good for individuals and for the health system.

Inflammaging links directly to so many of the chronic conditions that we see in the headlines, the ones that put the heaviest strain on the NHS, so tackling it at source makes sense.

At Bluecrest, I see how empowering it can be when women come for a health check.

Often it is the first time in years they have put themselves at the top of the list, rather than convincing their husbands or parents to get checked out.

The results are not always perfect, but even when they show areas of concern, women tell me they feel in control.

They leave with a plan, and with knowledge which can be a huge turning point.

I also think about this in the context of business.

Midlife is often when women are at the peak of their careers, yet it is also when health issues start to appear. If hidden risks like inflammaging go unaddressed, we lose women from the workforce at a time when their skills and leadership are most needed.

For me, that’s why prevention is not just a personal issue, it is an economic one.

The good news is that there are things we can do.

A balanced diet, regular exercise, proper sleep and managing stress all help reduce inflammation. Stopping smoking and cutting back on alcohol make a difference too.

But it is unrealistic to leave it all to the individual – and we’ll fail if we add this to an already never-ending list of responsibilities that women take on.

This is where femtech has such a vital role to play.

For too long, women have lacked access to the kind of information that would allow them to make confident and informed health decisions. Now we are seeing new technologies emerge that can change that.

From wearable devices that track sleep and stress, to apps that monitor cycle changes, to biomarker tests that give an early picture of cardiovascular or metabolic risk, women can increasingly access the data they need to understand their own bodies and act sooner.

At Bluecrest, we see how powerful it is when women are given personalised health information alongside the expertise and support to understand it. It shifts prevention from being a vague idea into something tangible.

When data is made accessible, women are more likely to act, whether that is adjusting lifestyle choices, speaking to a GP, or booking follow-up tests.

For femtech to really deliver, though, it has to be part of a bigger ecosystem.

Women need healthcare services that take their concerns seriously, workplaces that respect their health needs, and innovations that are affordable and fit in with their lives.

You’re not going to go and get your inflammation levels checked if you have to take a day off work or caring responsibilities and travel 50 miles to get there.

Data is only empowering when it is clear, trusted and connected to practical next steps.

That is the opportunity now: to combine the science of inflammaging with the growing power of technology, so that women can extend not only lifespan but healthspan, with more years lived in good health and independence.

As a female CEO, I feel a responsibility to use my voice on issues like this.

Women’s health has too often been overlooked, underfunded and under-researched.

Inflammaging may be silent, but it does not have to remain invisible.

By naming it, understanding it, and taking action early, we can give women more years of healthy, independent life.