Surprising factors that predict whether people will live two, five, or 10 more years longer after age 70.
A study reveals that longevity can be predicted by factors such as the ability to climb stairs, cholesterol levels, smoking and doing grocery shopping or heavy housework.
This is in contrast to the traditional model that depends on medical conditions like heart disease and cancer for predicting life expectancy.
The model may help practitioners to foresee whether patients over 70 have a chance to live two, five, or 10 years longer.
Professor Virginia Byers Kraus, the study’s first author, said:
“This study was designed to determine the proximal causes of longevity—the factors that portend whether someone is likely to live two more years or 10 more years.
Properly applied, these measures could help determine the benefits and burdens of screening tests and treatment for older people.”
The research team analysed 1,500 blood samples of older adults along with doing several interviews and questionnaires concerning participants’ health histories and habits such as cognitive function, depression, sleep, alcohol use, smoking, and physical activity.
The study identified 17 variables that predict how long a person will live.
Physical function was the leading predictor of longevity at any length of time (two, five, and 10 years).
Cognitive function and age (being younger) had strong effects for predicting living 5 and 10 years longer.
Fewer years of smoking (top ranked for non-smokers) and physical function such as brisker walking pace, gardening, climbing stairs, household cleaning, and grocery shopping were the strongest factors for predicting 10 years longevity.
Unexpectedly, medical conditions such as heart disease or cancer were not detected as one of the key predictors for longevity.
Higher levels of HDL cholesterol was a dominant factor for predicting living two years longer.
Professor Kraus explained:
“This was especially surprising.
We hypothesize that these very small HDL particles are the size that is best at scavenging and clearing endotoxin, a potent inflammation-causing molecule from gut microbes, from the circulation [VBKMP1].
The small particle may also be best able to get into the nooks and crannies of cells to remove the bad cholesterol, so having more of them could provide this protective benefit.”
The study was published in the journal eBioMedicine (Kraus et al., 2022).
