Ongoing independent health study in Cahokia Heights finds more ‘concerning’ results

An ongoing health study in Cahokia Heights to see how chronic flooding and sewage backups might be affecting residents’ health has uncovered more “concerning” findings in the community.

The study is led by Washington University professor Theresa Gildner and University of Colorado professor Tara Cepon-Robins, with help from other professors and research assistants.

When they started working in Cahokia Heights in 2022, they found more than 40% of the 42 adults in their initial sample had the same stomach infection from the bacteria Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori. And nearly half of them had intestinal inflammation.

They returned in 2023 and found fewer H. pylori infections, but an even higher rate of intestinal inflammation — 60% — in a sample of 52 adults.

Gildner discussed the new findings at the Cahokia Public Library on Saturday.

H. pylori is a bacteria that is thought to spread through contact with feces or contaminated food or water. It infects the stomach lining. In severe infections, it can cause ulcers. Some research has also linked long-term H. pylori infection to a higher risk of developing gastrointestinal cancer.

Intestinal inflammation is an immune response, but too much inflammation for too long can cause tissue damage and other health issues, according to the research team. Gildner said they tested some people in both 2022 and 2023 and found individuals with high levels each year.

“It is still concerning that there’s these high inflammation levels,” Gildner said. “And that’s one of the things that we want to keep following up on. Maybe H. pylori is causing that, but what else might be driving those high inflammation levels?”

Gildner said the team hypothesizes that Cahokia Heights might have had fewer infections in the latest results — 23% — because the community had less rain in 2023 than 2022.

“In 2022, it was a lot like this year where it was really wet,” Gildner said. “When we were out collecting data, it had rained a lot. There was a lot of standing water. And we know one of the ways that H. pylori can spread is in the environment through contaminated water.”

They’re planning to test their theory by analyzing whether the people who tested positive for H. pylori live in areas where more flooding occurs. They also plan to collect more data from additional participants in the coming weeks.

“Since this year’s really wet again like 2022, it’ll be interesting to see if we see higher rates of infection,” Gildner said.

At the library on Saturday, resident Arianna Norris said her block had sewage overflows for the first time since she lived there during the flooding from the heavy rainstorm that hit southwestern Illinois July 15-16. She said her shower and kitchen both smelled like sewage.

Carlye Chaney, a postdoctoral research associate at Washington University who is also involved with the study, said Saturday that they discovered new insights about residents’ health through further analysis of the 2022 participants’ experiences with flooding.

The participants who said they had visible mold in their homes had greater intestinal inflammation. And those whose homes were affected by flooding through things like roof leaks and sewage backups had fewer types of gut microbes.

“Typically, you want to have a lot of different microbes in your gut,” Chaney said. “That richer community, more microbes, is associated with better health in a bunch of different aspects like cardiovascular health and risk for other chronic diseases.

“These are preliminary results but kind of a concerning finding that greater flooding is associated with fewer gut microbes,” she added.

Gildner said additional analysis is underway on 2023 soil samples and swabs taken from residents’ kitchen faucets, which were both collected to help researchers understand how residents might be getting exposed to bacteria and other pathogens.

Researchers are working in Cahokia Heights again July 25-Aug. 9. Anyone who wants to participate in the health study can contact Gildner at gildner@wustl.edu. She said both past participants and new ones are welcome. The study is open to residents of southwestern Illinois, particularly Cahokia Heights, East St. Louis and Belleville.

The researchers are interested in studying Cahokia Heights, specifically, because deteriorating infrastructure there has caused sewage to spill from pipes into streets and homes for decades, a problem made worse by flooding .

Local, state and federal officials started working together to find money to fix it after lawsuits and media reports about the effects on residents drew more attention to the issue starting in 2020.

A total of 85 projects are now either underway, completed or being developed to address the problems with local, state and federal money, according to a comprehensive compilation of project and funding information by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Since researchers shared their initial preliminary findings and the Belleville News-Democrat reported that state and local health agencies had failed to investigate the possible health effects, U.S. Sens. Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin and U.S. Rep. Nikki Budzinski sent a letter requesting that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conduct a public health assessment in Cahokia Heights.

Durbin and Budzinski said in an April visit to the community that they hadn’t gotten a commitment from the CDC that it will conduct the assessment. The lawmakers said at the time that they would continue to follow up to make sure it happens.