Category Archives: Longevity

(CBS News) A new report shows that quitting smoking might make you live longer - regardless of how old you are.

The study, which was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine on June 11, looked at results from17 studies conducted in seven countries. Even seniors lived longer if they were willing to part with their cigarettes.

According to the researchers, smoking is one of the 10 leading risk factors for death, and takes the lives of 12 percent of males and six percent of females of the world. If current rates continue, one billion deaths due to smoking are expected in the 21st century.

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Researchers reviewed studies that ranged in duration from three to 50 years and looked at anywhere from 863 participants to more than 877,000 people. One study showed that 59 percent of non-smokers were alive at age 80, compared to 26 percent of smokers. Another study showed that those who had quit before the age of 40 had the same death rates as those who had never smoked.

The researchers also found that smokers who were 60 years and older were 83 percent more likely to die at any given age than those in the same age group who had never smoked. Some causes of death - such as cancers of the mouth, pharynx, and larynx - increased up to 10 times for current smokers in that age group. Those who quit smoking still had a higher risk of dying at any given age compared to those who never picked up the habit - 34 percent - but it was much lower than those who never quit.

However, for those willing to quit, mortality was comparable with never-smokers the longer they had stopped using cigarettes.

"These results strongly suggest that smoking cessation is effective for mortality reduction also at older age, a suggestion that should be corroborated by intervention studies, ideally with interventions specifically designed and developed for this target group," the researchers wrote.

A weaker, yet similar correlation was also found for those who were 80 and older.

The researchers suggested that even people who smoked their whole lives without negative consequences should be encouraged to quit. Because the retirement age has been pushed back due to the need to work longer, the individual and public health burden of smoking-related illness will increase unless strides are made to help people stop.

Continued here:
Quitting smoking, even after 60, may boost longevity

Posted: Jun. 11, 2012 | 1:59 a.m. Updated: Jun. 11, 2012 | 8:32 a.m.

Do as they say. Not as they do.

The paychecks of some Clark County commissioners include a salary bonus they asked employees to do without in tough economic times.

And even if commissioners wanted to change it, state law says they're entitled to it.

Commissioners are paid an annual salary of $72,488. After four years, they earn longevity pay of 2 percent for each year they have served, capped at 20 percent.

But commissioners have expressed appreciation for unions that agreed to eliminate their longevity pay - an annual raise that rewards employees for their years of service - for new hires in recent contract negotiations.

If re-elected in November, commissioners Steve Sisolak and Larry Brown would be eligible for the pay.

"It clearly sends a message to people," Sisolak said. "It's definitely symbolic. We have to be cognizant of that fact. We're asking everybody else to make concessions. We've asked so much of so many groups, I think it would only be fair to participate in that."

While they have discretion over their base pay, the longevity pay component is written into state law for elected county officials throughout Nevada, meaning Clark County commissioners would have to lobby the Legislature for change or donate to charity to get rid of it.

Some have called the bonus "archaic" because the county isn't hiring as much and should not need to persuade employees to stick around in an economy with few jobs. Others characterize it as a necessity to reward loyal employees who know how county operations run.

Continued here:
Longevity Pay Still On Books For County Commissioners

By Patricia Reaney

NEW YORK, June 7 (Reuters) - Genetics may be the best predictor of longevity, but lifestyle choices, including staying connected with family and friends, are key components to reaching the age of 100, according to a new poll released on Wednesday.

More than 80 percent of 100 men and women who have already hit the milestone said being socially active had helped them get there, and a similar number of baby boomers believe it will help them reach their 100th birthday.

"Scientifically we know that the formula, the best predictor, for how long someone will live has traditionally been how long their immediate relatives have lived, so we know genetics is a strong factor," said Dr. Rhonda Randall, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare, which conducted the survey.

"But we are seeing more and more that lifestyle choices -- physical exercise, diet, staying engaged, having a social purpose -- are becoming a stronger and stronger influence," she said in an interview.

Like their children and grandchildren, centenarians have turned to the Internet to stay connected.

About a quarter of 100-year-olds questioned in the telephone survey said they had access to the Web, double the number just a year ago. Of those, more than half use the Internet to view and share photos, and nearly as many send and receive email and search the Internet for information.

Centenarians were also almost as likely as baby boomers to have used an online dating service -- 6 percent of boomers, compared with 4 percent of the oldest generation.

"They are all realizing that the keys to longevity are around mental, physical and emotion health," said Randall.

About 10 percent of the 100-year-olds have watched a video on YouTube or listened to music on an iPod, according to the poll, but only 3 percent have used Facebook, and just one of them has used Twitter.

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How To Reach 100: Lifestyle Choices Vie With Genetics In Longevity

Living to very old age may be "in the genes" as the saying goes, and a recent study published in the journal Aging suggests that certain personality traits make up a major part of the mix of longevity genes.

Researchers found that having a positive attitude and a sense of humor could play a role in living a longer, healthier life. They developed a questionnaire designed to identify certain genetically-based personality traits and used it to assess 243 Ashkenazi Jewish adults between 95 and 107 years of age. The investigators chose this population because their genetic similarity would make it easier to account for genetic differences in personality.

"The results indicated they had two things -- a positive attitude for life, meaning they are optimistic, easygoing, extraverted, laughed more and expressed emotions rather than bottling them up," said Dr. Nil Barzilai, a study co-author and director of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine's Institute for Aging Research.

The study participants also were less neurotic and more conscientious than a representative sample of other Americans.

Based on census data, centenarians make up about .2 percent of the U.S. population, but the number has been rapidly increasing, the authors wrote.

Previous research has suggested that the oldest adults may be genetically predisposed to living longer and healthier both physiologically and psychologically and that personality can affect a person's physical health.

"There's an interaction between personality and physiology," said Dr. Gary Small, director of the UCLA Center on Aging. Small was not involved in Barzilai's study, but has done research in this area. "It makes sense that being more positive causes less stress and seems to get people on the right track to live better."

The genes, it turns out, play a less important role in determining longevity.

"Several studies have found that genetics accounts for only about one-third of how long and well we live," said Small, who is also co-author of "The Alzheimer's Prevention Program."

Barzilai added that it's still not known precisely how personality influences longevity.

More here:
Positive Attitude Linked to Long Life

We've long known that exercising and eating fruits and veggies can, over the long-term, help improve both the quality and quantity of our years. But the effect of healthy behaviors on longevity among those who have already reached senior citizen status may also be strong. That's especially true when a produce-heavy diet and exercise routine have been combined, according to new research.

A study in this month's Journal of the American Geriatrics Society finds that women in their 70s who live in senior citizen communities may still be able to improve the length of their years with an exercise and healthy eating plan. The researchers studied the exercise and eating habits of 713 women, aged 70 to 79, as part of the Women's Health and Aging Studies.

They found that women with both the highest level of physical fitness, as measured by survey responses, and the highest consumption of fruits and vegetables (measured via a blood test) were eight times less likely to die than the women who performed the worst in both of these categories.

Each category, individually, was also effective. All told, women who were in the most active group at the start of the study were 71 percent less likely to die over the five-year period of study than the least active group. And among those who survived, their average serum carotenoid levels -- the compound researchers looked for in the blood tests to gauge high-produce diet -- was 12 percent higher than in the group who died.

So what's the takeaway? It's never too late to up the veggie, fruit and exercise quotients in your life -- and to great effect. This study proves that the returns to women in their 70s are significant, and that could be a good impetus for improved programming at senior facilities and among geriatric doctors.

Programs and policies to promote longevity should include interventions to improve nutrition and physical activity in older adults, lead author Dr. Emily J Nicklett, from the University of Michigan School of Social Work said in a statement.

Inspired? Check out this list of exercises that have been found to increase longevity.

In 2008, a small Swiss study found that sedentary people who switched from taking escalators and elevators to taking the stairs cut their risk of dying prematurely by 15 percent.

"This suggests that stair climbing can have major public health implications," lead researcher Dr. Philippe Meyer, told the BBC.

An earlier look at data from the Harvard Alumni Health Study also found that climbing 35 or more flights of stairs a week significantly increased longevity when compared to people who climbed fewer than 10 stories a week.

Flickr photo by mariachily

Biking to work is a great way to squeeze exercise into your day, spend some time outside and even save on gas money. But a leisurely ride, while it might leave you less sweaty upon arrival at the office, won't do as much for your lifespan as if you really ride it out.

A study of Copenhagen cyclists found that men who pedaled the fastest lived more than five years longer than slower cycling men, and the fastest women cyclists lived almost four years longer.

Flickr photo by terren in Virginia

A 2009 analysis of data from the Aerobics Center Longitudinal Study found that men who swam regularly had about a 50 percent smaller risk of dying than sedentary men -- but swimmers also had a lower mortality rate than men who walked and ran for their exercise.

Flickr photo by West Point Public Affairs

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Exercise, Diet Improve Longevity For Older Women

You've heard the constant drumbeat about the need to eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, maintain your proper weight, get enough sleep, drink in moderation, and quit smoking if you want to live long and well. Now scientists have discovered proof positive that this regimen really does work for women.

As reported in the online resource PLoS ONE, a cross-sectional analysis of the now-classic Nurses' Health Study done by Qi Sun, M.D of the Harvard School of Public Health and colleagues found that women who led healthy lifestyles had longer telomeres than those who didn't. Telomeres are buffers on the ends of chromosomes that help keep the chromosomes from deteriorating during cell division. If telomeres become too short, cellular senescence, or old age, can result. Previous research has shown that artificial lengthening of telomeres in laboratory mice and worms has successfully reversed signs of aging. The studies have never been replicated in humans, but Dr Sun's work suggests that we don't need to wait for a science fiction style medical miracle to keep our telomeres from shortening over time. Instead, all we have to do is buy into the healthy practices we all know by now are good for us.

As Dr. Sun and his colleagues wrote in their conclusion: "Adherence to a healthy lifestyle, defined by major modifiable risk factors, was associated with longer telomere length." Why not commit right now to making any changes in your health habits that have room for improvement? But don't overwhelm your good intentions by trying to do everything at once. Pick one area as a starting place and work on that until you're successful. Then move on to another goal. Before you know it, you'll be living the long telomere lifestyle and giving yourself the best chance possible of a celebrating many more healthy birthdays to come!

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Good Health Habits=Longevity