|
E-mail this page to a friend!
Aging News & Information
Researchers Learn What It Takes for Men to Reach Age
85 - One Major Surprise
No smoking, excessive drinking, hypertension or
obesity but need spouse
November 14, 2006 Men who want to live to at
least age 85 now have a specific strategy that will help them get there
but they need to start at age 54 to exactly fit this model. But give
or take a few years probably does not change the formula proposed by
this research, which says avoiding smoking, excessive drinking,
hypertension and being overweight should just about achieve the goal.
One problem, if you are not married you just probably are not going to
make it to 85.
| |
Related Stories |
|
| |
Hope I die before I get old? Wrong Idea!
Attitudes about aging contradict reality - people become happier over
time
June 13, 2006 - Back when he was 20 years old in
1965, rock star Pete Townshend wrote the line "I hope I die before I get
old" into a song, "My Generation" that launched his band, the Who, onto
the rock 'n' roll scene. But a unique new study suggests that Townshend
may have fallen victim to a common, and mistaken, belief: That the
happiest days of people's lives occur when they're young.
Read more...
Women Age Faster but Live Longer - Is Testosterone
the Cause?
 Males allocate resources to intrasexual and intersexual competition
June 5, 2006 - It has been widely assumed that men
age earlier than women, as evidenced by their higher mortality rates and
shorter average life spans. But three Northern Michigan University
biology professors contend that the opposite is true. They say theory
and data suggest that females begin to exhibit signs of physiological
decline earlier than males, and that higher mortality figures are not
necessarily correlated with the rate at which we age.
Read more...
Low Calorie Diet Wins over Exercise in Extending
Life Up to 50 Percent
Diet and exercise prevent of age-related disease,
but reducing calories needed to slow aging
May 31, 2006 If you prefer dieting to exercise,
you may be in luck, assuming you, like most senior citizens, are seeking
ways to live longer. A new study found that only calorie restriction
not exercise increases the maximum lifespan up to 50 percent.
Read more...
Read more
Aging News & Information |
|
The researchers found that high grip strength and
avoidance of overweight, hyperglycemia, hypertension, smoking, and
excessive alcohol consumption were associated with both overall and
exceptional survival.
High education and avoidance of
hypertriglyceridemia (elevated triglyceride level) were associated with
exceptional survival, but lack of a marital partner was associated with
death before age 85 years.
Bradley J. Willcox, M.D., of the Pacific Health
Research Institute and Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu, presented the
findings of the study today at a Journal of the American Medical
Associatin media briefing on mens health in New York. The study will be
in the November 15 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on mens health.
Background
Persons alive at age 85 years or older are the
fastest-growing age group in most industrialized countries and are among
the largest consumers of health care resources.
Identifying strategies for remaining healthy,
vigorous, and disability-free at older ages has become a major priority,
according to background information in the article. Studies with
substantial numbers of long-lived participants and characteristics
associated with longer survival are rare but essential to identify risk
factors for health and survival at older ages.
About the study
Dr. Willcox and colleagues examined potential
biological, lifestyle, and sociodemographic risk factors present at
middle-age to identify risk factors for healthy survival. The study
included 5,820 Japanese-American middle-aged men (average age, 54) in
the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program/Honolulu Asia Aging Study.
The participants were free of illness and
functional impairments and were followed for up to 40 years (1965-2005)
to assess overall and exceptional survival. Exceptional survival was
defined as survival to a specified age (75, 80, 85, or 90 years) without
incidence of 6 major chronic diseases and without physical and cognitive
impairment.
The diseases were coronary heart disease, stroke,
cancer (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer), chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, Parkinson disease, and treated diabetes.
Of the 5,820 original participants, 2,451
participants (42 percent) survived to age 85 years and 655 participants
(11 percent) met the criteria for exceptional survival to age 85 years.
Factors associated with both overall and
exceptional survival included a high grip strength and avoidance of
overweight, hyperglycemia, hypertension, smoking, and excessive alcohol
consumption. In addition, high education and avoidance of
hypertriglyceridemia (elevated triglyceride level) were associated with
exceptional survival, and lack of a spouse was associated with death
before age 85 years.
Risk factor models based on cumulative risk factors
(survival risk score) suggest that the probability of survival to age 85
years is as high as 69 percent with no risk factors and as low as 22
percent with 6 or more risk factors. The probability of exceptional
(healthy) survival to age 85 years was 55 percent with no risk factors
but decreased to 9 percent with 6 or more risk factors
Anthropometric [measurement and study of the human
body and its capacities] measures from this study, such as grip
strength, suggest that it is important to be physically robust in
midlife. This is consistent with theories of aging that suggest that
better-built organisms last longer and that physiological reserve is an
important determinant of survival, the authors write. This may also be
a marker of physical fitness.
In summary, we have identified several potentially
important risk factors for healthy survival in a large group of
middle-aged men. These risk factors can be easily measured in clinical
settings and are, for the most part, modifiable. This study suggests
that common approaches that target multiple risk factors simultaneously,
such as avoidance of smoking or hypertension, and approaches that
enhance insulin sensitivity, such as maintaining a lean body weight, may
improve the probability of better health at older ages. This may be
especially important for men, few of whom survive to oldest-old age,
the researchers conclude.
Editor's Note: This study was supported by a
contract from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and
contract and grants (including Hawaii Lifespan Study) from the National
Institute on Aging, and a grant from the Hawaii Community Foundation.
Click to More Senior News on the
Front Page
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
