Age-specific incidence rates of stroke, myocardial infarction, hip fracture, and cancer from age 60 for persons born between 1912 and 1922, by age at death, in Stockholm County, Sweden. Explanation: Solid lines show the smoothed figures, while the dotted line for the age of 65 shows the observed figures. The light gray area represents the 95% confidence interval. The x-axis represents the chronological ages of everyone tracked from age 60 to death or centenary. The numbers on each line represent the age at death. Credit: GeroScience (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s11357-024-01330-w
Swedes are getting older. Thirty years ago, 85-90 year olds were rare, but now the majority reach that age – and two percent even get to see a hundred candles on their birthday cake.
“Centenarians are the age group that is now increasing the most,” says Karin Modig, associate professor at the Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska Institutet, who researches aging and health.
In a study published in the news GeroScienceshe and her colleagues show that it is possible to predict who has the greatest chance of living to a very old age at a young age. The study is based on approximately 44,000 Swedes who underwent a health examination between 1985 and 1996, aged between 64 and 99. Of these, 1,224 people lived to be 100 years old.
“The results suggest that growing very old is not just a matter of chance; it also appears to be related to lifestyle,” says Modig.
By looking at known biomarkers previously linked to aging and disease, the researchers found that the centenarians had better health than their peers as early as their 60s. All but two biomarkers examined can be associated with increased chances of reaching the age of 100. Low iron levels reduce the risk, as does low total cholesterol, which can be a sign of disease processes in the body.
Four of the biomarkers proved particularly important: Creatinine levels, which indicate kidney health, were almost always normal at age 60 in those who lived to be 100 years old. The same applied to liver markers and uric acid levels, a marker for inflammatory processes. Individuals with the lowest uric acid levels had a four percent chance of living to 100 years, while those with the highest levels had a 1.5% chance. The blood sugar level also rarely exceeded 6.5 mmol/liter.
The results suggest it may be possible to increase your chances of living to 100 years by changing your lifestyle, she said.
“At the same time, life is not about living according to an algorithm; everyone has to find a balance between risk factors and health factors,” she says.
More information:
Yuge Zhang et al., Do People Live to 100 by Surviving, Delaying, or Avoiding Disease? A life course comparison of centenarians and non-centenarians from the same birth cohorts, GeroScience (2024). DOI: 10.1007/s11357-024-01330-w
Quote: Predicting who will live to be 100: study shows it could be possible (2024, September 10) retrieved on September 11, 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-09-predicting-who-will-live-to .html
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