To live to be a hundred years old is easier than you thought
The widespread opinion that life expectancy is determined primarily by heredity and good health has been refuted by American scientists from the Boston Medical Center. The results of their research showed that the contribution of genes to life expectancy is only 25%, and the chances of changing the second hundred are not only in relatively healthy people, but also in patients with various chronic diseases.
During the study, the researchers called 523 women and 216 men aged 97 and over. It turned out that about two-thirds of the respondents do not suffer from serious diseases, and a third already by the age of 85 had a "full bouquet" of hypertension, diabetes and other typically senile diseases. Despite the many sores, they lead approximately the same lifestyle as their healthier peers.
Male centenarians cope with household chores better than women: about three-quarters of them dress themselves and wash in the shower. Among women, only one in three could boast of this. According to scientists, this is a consequence of the fact that men, by virtue of their nature, in order to live to such years, had to have remarkable health, while women survive due to better mental and physical adaptation to chronic diseases.
To find out the contribution of various factors to life expectancy, researchers from Harvard University observed 2,357 men, starting at the age of 70, for 25 years or until their death. About 40% of the surveyed lived up to 90 years or more. The parents of many of them died at a very old age, but genes, as it turned out, only partially determine the physical condition of a person and the duration of his life. The lifestyle contribution turned out to be much more important: 24% of centenarians had none of the five main risk factors – smoking, obesity, reduced physical activity and high blood pressure, which together make a 54 percent contribution to longevity. Those men who had all five of these factors were only 4% likely to live to 90 years.
The authors remind that all the main enemies of longevity are regulated. And that it's never too late to start taking care of your health, but it's not worth waiting for seventy years to quit smoking and overeat and start exercising and taking (if necessary) medications prescribed by a doctor for chronic diseases.
Articles by Dellara F. Terry et al. Disentangling the Roles of Disability and Morbidity in Survival to Exceptional Old Age and Laurel B. Yates et al. Modifiable Factors Associated With Survival and Function to Age 90 Years are published in the February issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru Based on Lindsey Tanner's report "Reaching 100 Is Easier Than Suspected", Associated Press, February 12, 2008.
13.02.2008