Researchers in the Quadram Institute are part of a pioneering £4.8m, eight-year programme that will harness artificial intelligence (AI) to investigate the link between nutrition, health inequality and the development of multiple long-term conditions.

Led by the University of East Anglia (UEA), and with the support and engagement of an extensive patient network and funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR), the study is investigating inflammation, which is a key biological driver that underlies many chronic health conditions, such as diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure.

Inflammation could also explain how diet and nutrition are linked to these conditions and why they are more common in certain social and ethnic groups.

The Food and Nutrition National Bioscience Research Infrastructure (FN-NBRI) in the Quadram Institute will contribute their expertise in nutrients and dietary bioactives.

By applying cutting-edge analytical methods to large scale national and international datasets, the project will identity new ways to slow the progression of multiple long-term health problems in people most at risk.

Lead researcher Prof Alex Macgregor, of UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “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.

“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.”

‘Inflammation, nutrition, and the evolution of multiple long-term conditions – an AI-based analysis of intersectionality in longitudinal health data (the InflAIM programme)’ started on the February 1, 2024, and will run for eight years.

Co-investigator Professor Ailsa Welch, of UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Unlike current personalised nutrition plans that often focus on short-term results and a limited group of people, this project aims to be thorough and inclusive.

“By looking at long-term health and including a wide range of individuals, we aim to address everyone’s needs, not just those who are already health conscious.”

Dr Maria Traka, head of the Food and Nutrition NBRI said “We are working to assess the relationships between dietary factors and multi-morbidity, focusing on the role of nutrients, as well as dietary bioactives.”

“Bioactives are derived from plants and have many beneficial health benefits, and many fruits and vegetables are rich sources of them. By combining our data in nutrition and bioactive composition with AI models (e.g. natural language processing) we expect to understand key drivers of disease and identify preventative strategies based on diet.”

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 groundbreaking 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.”

The study, led by UEA, is a national collaboration between epidemiologists, computer scientists, statisticians, nutritionists, clinicians, social scientists, and policymakers. It is supported by Evergreen Life (a national health and wellbeing platform) and the Richmond Group of Charities (a coalition of 13 leading health and social care organisations in the voluntary sector), alongside a wide range of institutions including the Quadram Institute, Norfolk and Waveney ICB, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Brunel University London, Queen Mary University of London and the Universities of Exeter, Southampton, Chester, Hertfordshire and Durham.

Read more on the UEA website

Read more on the InflAIM project’s website