Are you on a path to ideal aging?

   What is really cool about this recent study from Akbaraly et al is not what they found but what they were looking for and how they defined those things (the constructs).
Here is the citation:

Akbaraly, T., Sabia, S., Hagger-Johnson, G., Tabak, A. G., Shipley, M. J., Jokela, M.,  Kivimaki, M. (2013). Does Overall Diet in Midlife Predict Future Aging Phenotypes? A Cohort Study. The American Journal of Medicine, 126(5), 411-419.e413.

And you can see the study summary abstract by clicking here  

   My goal today is to explain the variables they used and the assumptions behind them such that you might consider your lifestyle in the same context.

   The researchers wanted to see if a persons diet pattern and score on the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) in mid life - 30 to 60 years old, impacted how they aged, beginning at age 60.  First of all, seeing a study that used the AHEI made me happy and the index should sound familiar to you.  See past posts and a good explanation of the system that scores your diet's quality here.

   Akbaraly et al studied more than 5000 adults.  At one time during the 16 years of study, they asked the participants to complete a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ).  They used a statistical program to assign people to one of two dietary patterns based on their FFQ.  They also  gave them a score on the AHEI.  The two dietary patterns were "Healthy Foods" and "Western Type".  You might already guess that the Healthy Foods group also scored best on the AHEI. 

   The Healthy Foods group consumed more fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and fish while the Western Type group consumed more fried foods, processed food and red meat, plus pies, sweetened desserts, chocolates, refined grains, high-fat dairy products, and condiments (like that crazy fattening mayonnaise!).  

   You can consider the diet patterns the predictors.  What do they predict?  The type of aging one might experience.

   The researchers created 5 categories of aging.and assigned people to one of them at the end of the study (2007-2009). The first is IDEAL aging, next is where a person has nonfatal heart and circulation diseases, then fatal heart and circulation disease (i.e., the person died from heart attack or stroke before 2007), the fourth type is death from another cause, and the fifth is referred to as usual or natural aging - these people have the usual chronic diseases (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, cancer) that are NOT really normal as in many cases they could have been prevented.

   The Healthy Foods diet was associated with better health and functioning in older age.  A high score on the AHEI reduced the chances of dying too soon.  A premature death is one that  occurs before age 75 in most high income countries.  (BTW -In this study they concentrated on the diet and 'made like' everyone weighed the same and exercised the same).

   But don't you most want to know what it means to have aged Ideally?  I will tell you - as I am well on my way of doing just that thing :)  - knock on wood please.

At the end of the study, the ideal agers:

1)  were alive, and

2)  did not have any chronic diseases (e.g., diabetes (or blood sugar levels requiring medicine), cancer, coronary (heart) disease, or stroke risk/history, or 

3) mental health problems (determined by responses to  questions on a trusted survey)

4) had good thinking and memory skills (they were tested for this - including word recall and basic math), and

5) normal blood sugar levels (for ones age and sex), and

6) good lung function (for age and sex), tested with the forced expiratory volume (FeV1) Remember that?  See this post.

and 

7) had normal or above normal walking speed for age and sex

   There are things that happen to us when we get older that we have no control over - like our hair turns grey or gets thinner, we get some wrinkles and age spots (more if we don't take care of our skin), but disease in old age is NOT inevitable - you can reduce your chances of some of the 'usual' diseases of aging by eating well and exercising - NOW.

   Remember too, it's only a healthy lifestyle if you engage in it everyday - and it only helps you as long as you do it (minor and infrequent indulgences allowed :))

Genes and Aging

Last Friday, August 5, 2011, the radio show Science Friday, had as a guest, a researcher who studies genetics and aging.  In fact, he is currently engaged in a long term study regarding the characteristics, biological and otherwise, of persons who live past the age of 100 (more often women than men).

I was so happy when I heard the exchange below that I knew I would have to tell you about it.  Of course, I was falling asleep while listening to the show, so I had to find the transcript.  What you can't get from the text below is HOW Dr.Nir Barzilai Director, Institute for Aging Research 

Albert Einstein College of Medicine  Bronx, New York,   gave. his "Absolutely Not" answer.  It was very passionate and it thrilled me to pieces, as it would of course.

The full interview is only about 12 minutes and you can listen to it by going to this website and clicking the arrow on the top left of the page, under the word LISTEN.

The exchange below is from Ira Flatow the host, and Dr. Barzilai

FLATOW: No kidding. So can you then make the blanket statement that forget about all this exercise and good food?

MEDICINE: Absolutely not. You know, those people are rare. They are unique. They are one out of 10,000. And they can do it because they have the genes. Whatever we know is still right for the rest of us, the people who are not naturally going to be 100, if we want to live healthy longer, if we want to get over the age of 80, if we want to live eight years more than others, we do have to go and do all those lifestyle interventions.

Let's Talk About Sex

The research that I am referring to today can be found in the online version of BMJ and this particular article is available for free. Lindau and Gavrilova 340 (92): c810. (2010)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/reprint/340/mar09_2/c810

The researchers are from Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Chicago, 5841 S Maryland Avenue, MC2050, Chicago, IL 60637, USA, and Chicago Core on Biomeasures in Population-Based Aging Research, University of Chicago Centre on Demography and Economics of Aging.

The scientists reviewed data from two different sources, surveys and interviews of two large groups of men and women in the USA. The purpose of the study was to investigate sexual activity and satisfaction as we age.

I am thrilled with a new concept that they present. You are familiar with the term active aging and active or healthy life expectancy etc etc. The purpose of my blog is to support and encourage healthy active aging. These researchers have determined markers of "sexually active life expectancy." How cool is that? And what exactly determines your sexually active life expectancy? According to the researchers any amount of sexual activity with a partner (snicker snicker) counts. So if you stop having any sex at all, your sexually active life years are over.

The researchers determined that on average, at age 55 - (life expectancy at that age is about 24 more years for men and 27 more years for women) men have about 15 more years of sexually activity and women have only ten. But there are MANY reasons why that might be. Let me also say that the study discusses any sexual activity, satisfying sexual activity, interest in sexual activity and frequency of sexual activity. Also, I did not read every word of this study, but in what I did read, I could not find any statement on whether or not this was only a heterosexual study, but it appears to be.

So, men who are healthy in middle age tend to live longer than men who are not. These men are usually married in later life and engage in sex with that partner on a pretty regular and satisfying basis. Men in this group have more interest in sex than women tend to at the same age, and also have options for enhancing their sexual ability through the use of pharmaceutical therapies.

On the other hand, many women who are in old old age, 80 and up - tend to be widowed and thus do not report sexual activity as it seems that in the group of people studied, having a partner (or being in a relationship) was one of the biggest predictors of sexual activity.

Men who are in poor health do not share the same sexually active life expectancy. Women, even unhealthy women, tend to live longer than men. Women's sexual health has not gotten the same attention as men's, but perhaps this study will provide some impetus for that. OF note, women have hormonal shifts in late middle age that lesson sexual desire and enjoyment - this is something that may be addressed in the future.

In this study they did find that men's attitudes now are very different than they were ten years ago and that this could be related to ED drugs.