A healthy lifestyle in your 70s can significantly increase your chance of living to 90 or beyond, research published today suggests
.A study of 2,350 men with an average age of 72, recruited between 1981 and 1984 as part of the Physician's Health Study in the US, found that those who exercised regularly, did not smoke and who managed their weight lived longer than those who did not follow a healthy lifestyle.
The participants were assessed annually until 2006, by which time a total of 970 men (41 per cent) lived to age 90 or older. A number of modifiable biological and behavioural factors were associated with survival to an exceptional age, the authors said.
"Smoking, diabetes, obesity and hypertension significantly reduced the likelihood of a 90-year life span, while regular vigorous exercise substantially improved it. Furthermore, men with a lifespan of 90 or more years also had better physical function, mental wellbeing and self-perceived health late in life compared with men who died at a younger age," they said.
In a detailed analysis, Dr Laurel B Yates and colleagues of Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston estimated that a 70-year- old man who did not smoke and had normal blood pressure and weight, and who exercised two to four times a week had a 54 per cent probability of living to age 90.
However, if he had a sedentary lifestyle, his probability of reaching late old age dropped to 44 per cent and if he was obese, his chances of hitting 90 were 26 per cent. And, while smoking dropped a 70-year-old's chances of reaching 90 to 22 per cent, having three different adverse factors, such as sedentary lifestyle, obesity and diabetes, reduced his probability to 14 per cent.
Writing in the current issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, the authors conclude: "Although the impact of certain mid-life mortality risks in elderly years is controversial, our study suggests that many remain important, at least among men. Thus, our results suggest that healthy lifestyle and risk management should be continued in elderly years to reduce mortality and disability."
In a separate study, researchers from the Boston University School of Medicine found that while fewer men than women survive to extreme old age, the male centenarians they studied appeared to have a better level of mental and physical functioning than their female counterparts.
"One explanation for this may be that men must be in excellent health and/or functionally independent to achieve such extreme old age," the authors state. "Women, on the other hand, may be better physically and socially adept at living with chronic and often disabling health conditions."
Interestingly, not all of those who reached 100 had avoided chronic disease in their lives; many had lived with heart disease, diabetes and stroke without becoming disabled.