the 90+ study
Sabine_Stroehm
Posts: 19,251 Member
Did anyone catch the 60 Minutes segment updating the findings in the 90+ study?
Here's the gist of the study:
http://www.mind.uci.edu/research/90plus-study/
Basically it started in 1981, following some folks over time. In 2003 it took the remaining living folks from the original 1981 study and began formally studying them. Their question was: how do people get to be 90+ years old.
They look at many indicators including many lifestyle factors, and conduct various physical and cognitive tests on the subjects every few months.
Here were some of the major findings so far:
People who drank moderate amounts of alcohol or coffee lived longer than those who abstained.
People who were overweight in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did.
Over 40% of people aged 90 and older suffer from dementia while almost 80% are disabled.
Both are more common in women than men.
About half of people with dementia over age 90 do not have sufficient neuropathology in their brain to explain their cognitive loss. People aged 90 and older with an APOE2 gene are less likely to have clinical Alzheimer’s dementia, but are much more likely to have Alzheimer’s neuropathology in their brains.
They defined moderate alcohol as 2 drinks a day and moderate coffee as 1 cup a day. They defined overweight as ""not underweight". They also noted that folks with LOW blood pressure were more likely to have tiny strokes leading to dementia than those with normal blood pressure. Vitamin use appeared to have NO effect whatsoever.
They stated repeatedly that physical activity was hugely important. The doctor interviewed said the key was 45 minutes a day (not necessarily all at once) of some sort of physical activity.
Here's the 60 minutes segment: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/living-to-90-and-beyond/
Here's the gist of the study:
http://www.mind.uci.edu/research/90plus-study/
Basically it started in 1981, following some folks over time. In 2003 it took the remaining living folks from the original 1981 study and began formally studying them. Their question was: how do people get to be 90+ years old.
They look at many indicators including many lifestyle factors, and conduct various physical and cognitive tests on the subjects every few months.
Here were some of the major findings so far:
People who drank moderate amounts of alcohol or coffee lived longer than those who abstained.
People who were overweight in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did.
Over 40% of people aged 90 and older suffer from dementia while almost 80% are disabled.
Both are more common in women than men.
About half of people with dementia over age 90 do not have sufficient neuropathology in their brain to explain their cognitive loss. People aged 90 and older with an APOE2 gene are less likely to have clinical Alzheimer’s dementia, but are much more likely to have Alzheimer’s neuropathology in their brains.
They defined moderate alcohol as 2 drinks a day and moderate coffee as 1 cup a day. They defined overweight as ""not underweight". They also noted that folks with LOW blood pressure were more likely to have tiny strokes leading to dementia than those with normal blood pressure. Vitamin use appeared to have NO effect whatsoever.
They stated repeatedly that physical activity was hugely important. The doctor interviewed said the key was 45 minutes a day (not necessarily all at once) of some sort of physical activity.
Here's the 60 minutes segment: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/living-to-90-and-beyond/
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Replies
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Gotta bump that for others to see. Some good info, pick the best lowest hanging fruit you might say and deal with that first.
Like get active.0 -
They defined overweight as ""not underweight".
Woah.0 -
I think it would totally suck to live past 90. I'm not going out like that.0
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I can tell you that if I live to 90+ I won't be at all in their sample cohort. You couldn't get me to live in a Leisure World gated community if I'm still able to get my hands on rat poison. No way in hell.
It's a strange cohort.0 -
My paternal grandmother lived to be 102, and her mother lived to be 99. My maternal grandmother lived to be 98, and my mom is still living and active at 83. She drives a car, goes shopping, does her own housework, balances her checkbook (without a computer). She has two sisters who passed in their 90s, one brother who died at 93, and one who is 90+ still living. All of them kept their mental faculties until their deaths. I would say they fit the profiles of the subjects of this study -- staying physically and mentally active, normal weight (not overweight but not underweight), enjoying wine and desserts. None of them were smokers.
My dad took early retirement (he was a teacher) became less and less physically and mentally active; he did have dementia and passed away at 86. He also smoked in his younger days.
If I could be as active as these older folks, I can see living that long. I am in a parish where many of the 80+ people are mentally , physically, and socially active. I often felt more comfortable with these older women, who were well-educated and talked about social issues, than with some of the suburban moms in my neighborhood when my kids were growing up. I lost a couple of dear older friends who were guides and mentors to me.
One thing I'm doing after watching this study -- is not following the CRON (calorie restricted with optimal nutrition diet) which recommends that I eat 20% below my BMR. I had been trying this experimentally for a while because I had read about its association with longevity. However, apparently being very thin and eating at this level has nothing to do with long-term health or longevity for older people. CR encourages to be on the lower end of the BMI (below 22, and ideally close to 18-20); if that were the case, then very thin elderly people would be the longest-lived.0 -
Yeah, it's interesting stuff. Move more! (and no real emphasis on particular eating styles per se.) An no, you don't have to live in leisure world for the data to be interesting and relevant.Gotta bump that for others to see. Some good info, pick the best lowest hanging fruit you might say and deal with that first.
Like get active.
cheers0 -
SMOKING was one of the big factors in the study, interestingly. I would imagine, especially with women, that CRON could lead to hip fractures, which we know lead to bad stuff...My paternal grandmother lived to be 102, and her mother lived to be 99. My maternal grandmother lived to be 98, and my mom is still living and active at 83. She drives a car, goes shopping, does her own housework, balances her checkbook (without a computer). She has two sisters who passed in their 90s, one brother who died at 93, and one who is 90+ still living. All of them kept their mental faculties until their deaths. I would say they fit the profiles of the subjects of this study -- staying physically and mentally active, normal weight (not overweight but not underweight), enjoying wine and desserts. None of them were smokers.
My dad took early retirement (he was a teacher) became less and less physically and mentally active; he did have dementia and passed away at 86. He also smoked in his younger days.
If I could be as active as these older folks, I can see living that long. I am in a parish where many of the 80+ people are mentally , physically, and socially active. I often felt more comfortable with these older women, who were well-educated and talked about social issues, than with some of the suburban moms in my neighborhood when my kids were growing up. I lost a couple of dear older friends who were guides and mentors to me.
One thing I'm doing after watching this study -- is not following the CRON (calorie restricted with optimal nutrition diet) which recommends that I eat 20% below my BMR. I had been trying this experimentally for a while because I had read about its association with longevity. However, apparently being very thin and eating at this level has nothing to do with long-term health or longevity for older people. CR encourages to be on the lower end of the BMI (below 22, and ideally close to 18-20); if that were the case, then very thin elderly people would be the longest-lived.0 -
okI think it would totally suck to live past 90. I'm not going out like that.0 -
I guess I'm a bit offended by the poster who would rather take rat poison than end up living to 90+ and being in an elder community. One might call that attitude "ageism." Perhaps I feel that way because at 55, I am closer to that end of life than some of the posters to these forums. But I have had many wonderful relationships with elders who were active into their 80s and 90s. One elderly man who is in one of the community organizations I'm involved with got the city council to create an anti-foreclosure ordinance that held banks accountable for maintaining abandoned properties. Another elder, a woman, now deceased, introduced me to community organizing. She went to meetings and rallies until she couldn't drive anymore; then, I would drive her, and her companionship was a great blessing to me. The elder housing community she moved to had trips to so many activities she enjoyed -- theater, HD opera, concerts -- and she was allowed to keep her little dog who kept her active in her daily walks. Every time I visited her, she would get several phone calls with dinner invitations from various friends. My own grandmother was my best buddy -- we would talk for hours on the phone when she was still in her own home (at age 99!).
Everyone has his or her own opinion about what makes a quality life. But to assume that just because one is of a certain age one no longer enjoys life or is of value to society does our elders a great disservice.0 -
I think it would totally suck to live past 90. I'm not going out like that.
This is the way I want to go out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE2BX0ghres
That 82+ year old guy squats more than I can currently deadlift. I want to be like him when I grow old.0 -
I just want to be the healthiest I can for as long as I can. That's what I took from the study. :drinker:0
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I guess I'm a bit offended by the poster who would rather take rat poison than end up living to 90+ and being in an elder community. One might call that attitude "ageism." Perhaps I feel that way because at 55, I am closer to that end of life than some of the posters to these forums. But I have had many wonderful relationships with elders who were active into their 80s and 90s. One elderly man who is in one of the community organizations I'm involved with got the city council to create an anti-foreclosure ordinance that held banks accountable for maintaining abandoned properties. Another elder, a woman, now deceased, introduced me to community organizing. She went to meetings and rallies until she couldn't drive anymore; then, I would drive her, and her companionship was a great blessing to me. The elder housing community she moved to had trips to so many activities she enjoyed -- theater, HD opera, concerts -- and she was allowed to keep her little dog who kept her active in her daily walks. Every time I visited her, she would get several phone calls with dinner invitations from various friends. My own grandmother was my best buddy -- we would talk for hours on the phone when she was still in her own home (at age 99!).
Everyone has his or her own opinion about what makes a quality life. But to assume that just because one is of a certain age one no longer enjoys life or is of value to society does our elders a great disservice.
I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say that the person was probably speaking about the higher majority of people who need to be taken care of at that age - not those still able to function on their own. I don't think I would want to continue living if I wasn't able to go to the bathroom on my own or bathe myself. I would never want that burden on anyone else and I wouldn't want to be remembered that way. Just my two cents.0 -
Wouldn't you say that since more people are staying active and taking care of their bodies, the chances of more people living healthily into their 90s is higher?0
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Wouldn't you say that since more people are staying active and taking care of their bodies, the chances of more people living healthily into their 90s is higher?
It's possible. It's also possible to eat well/exercise and die young.0 -
It is.Wouldn't you say that since more people are staying active and taking care of their bodies, the chances of more people living healthily into their 90s is higher?
It's possible. It's also possible to eat well/exercise and die young.
But the study looks at who lived to the 90s and who didn't. And those were the results.
They seemed active and happy.0 -
And not everyone who smokes dies of cancer, but I'm not taking up that habit anytime soon.0
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Missed this reply, and yes, good point.And not everyone who smokes dies of cancer, but I'm not taking up that habit anytime soon.
I'll never understand that sort of thread. It's akin to saying: you can put money in a 401k but you might die early.
Clearly folks are looking for a reason not to do make appears to be the wiser choices. oh well.0
This discussion has been closed.
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