Children of Centenarians Live Longer, Have Less
Heart Disease, Stroke Diabetes
Survival rate shows longevity runs in families,
results indicate physiological and genetic reasons
Mildred Health, a 100-year-old
newspaper woman honored as Americas Oldest Worker for
2008 - sidebar
Nov. 20, 2008 Senior citizens, at some point, are no longer in awe
of the pretty face or fat pocketbook their envy turns to the
centenarians, those among us who live to be 100 years old. A new study
says that if your parents were centenarians, or even as close as age 97,
you are probably going to live a long life, too.
Death rates for 8 of the 10 leading causes of death
in U.S. all dropped significantly in 2006; Alzheimers passed diabetes
becoming the sixth leading cause of death
The study appearing in the November issue of
Journal of American Geriatrics Society says centenarian offspring
retain important cardiovascular advantages from their parents compared
to a similarly-aged group.
The findings show that centenarian offspring have a
78 percent lower risk for heart attacks, 83 percent lower likelihood of
stroke and an 86 percent lower risk of developing diabetes mellitus.
Additionally, the study found that centenarian
offspring who were followed in the study were 81 percent less likely to
die than the reference group of similarly-aged patients during the
follow-up period.
The survival rate is evidence that longevity runs
in families, and the results reinforce the notion that there may be
physiological and genetic reasons that longevity runs in families.
The authors claim the study is the first to assess
the health of centenarian offspring over time and could be important for
future research, as the subjects may be used as a model of healthy
aging.
The results are consistent with previous research,
which suggested that the avoidance or delay of cardiovascular disease
and cardiovascular risk factors, including high blood pressure and
diabetes, runs strongly in the families of centenarians, particularly
amongst their children.
Dellara F. Terry, co-author of the study, points
out that offspring of centenarians maintain these cardiovascular
advantages throughout their lives.
"These advantages persisted over the several years
of the study when they are compared to a similarly-aged group whose
parents did not survive to very old age," Terry said.
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
