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Healthy Living Into Old Age Can Add
Up to Six Years to Your Life
Living
a healthy lifestyle into old age can add five years to women's lives and six
years to men's, a study finds.
It
is well known that lifestyle factors, like being overweight, smoking and heavy
drinking, predict death among elderly people. But is it uncertain whether these
associations are applicable to people aged 75 years or more.
So
a team of researchers based in Sweden measured the differences in survival
among adults aged 75 and older based on modifiable factors such as lifestyle
behaviours, leisure activities, and social networks.
The
study involved just over 1,800 individuals who were followed for 18 years
(1987-2005). Data on age, sex, occupation, education, lifestyle behaviours,
social network and leisure activities were recorded.
During
the follow-up period 92% of participants died. Half of the participants lived
longer than 90 years.
Survivors
were more likely to be women, be highly educated, have healthy lifestyle
behaviours, have a better social network, and participate in more leisure
activities than non-survivors.
The
results show that smokers died one year earlier than non-smokers. Former
smokers had a similar pattern of survival to never smokers, suggesting that
quitting smoking in middle age reduces the effect on mortality.
Keeping Physically Active Shows
Strongest Association With Survival
Of
the leisure activities, physical activity was most strongly associated with
survival. The average age at death of participants who regularly swam, walked
or did gymnastics was two years greater than those who did not.
Overall,
the average survival of people with a low risk profile (healthy lifestyle
behaviours, participation in at least one leisure activity, and a rich or
moderate social network) was 5.4 years longer than those with a high risk
profile (unhealthy lifestyle behaviours, no participation in leisure
activities, and a limited or poor social network).
Even
among those aged 85 years or older and people with chronic conditions, the
average age at death was four years higher for those with a low risk profile
compared with those with a high risk profile.
In
summary, the associations between leisure activity, not smoking, and increased
survival still existed in those aged 75 years or more, with women's lives
prolonged by five years and men's by six years, say the authors.
These
associations, although attenuated, were still present among people aged 85 or
more and in those with chronic conditions, they add.
"Our
results suggest that encouraging favourable lifestyle behaviours even at
advanced ages may enhance life expectancy, probably by reducing
morbidity," they conclude.
###
The
above story is based on the August 30, 2012 news release by BMJ-British Medical Journal
This
study has been published online Aug. 30 in the British Medical Journal:
D.
Rizzuto, N. Orsini, C. Qiu, H.-X. Wang, L. Fratiglioni. Lifestyle, social factors, and survival after age 75: population based
study. BMJ, 2012;345:e5568 DOI:
10.1136/bmj.e5568
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