News
To "Thrive" in Old Age, Make Lifestyle Changes Now
If you plan to "thrive" when you are 65, you need to invest in your health decades earlier. A new study in the October issue of the Journals of Gerontology, Medical Sciences finds that fewer than 10% of people aged 65-85 maintain exceptional emotional and physical health throughout their golden years. These so-called "thrivers" share specific behavioral and lifestyle characteristics that may hold the key to healthy aging, according to study authors at Portland State University, the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research, Oregon Health & Science University and Statistics Canada.
"Important predictors of 'thriving' were the absence of chronic illness, higher income, having never smoked and drinking alcohol in moderation," said Mark Kaplan, PHd, lead author and professor of Community Health at Portland State University. "We also found that people who had a positive outlook and lower stress levels were more likely to thrive in old age," added Kaplan.
"Many of these factors can be modified when you are young or middle-aged," said David Feeny, PhD, co-author and senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. "It seems like common sense, but now we have evidence that if you never start smoking, drink moderately, take care of your health and finances, you're more likely to have exceptional mental and physical health during your retirement years," added Feeny.
This is the first study to evaluate which factors help older people maintain exceptional health over a long period of time. Most previous studies have focused on factors that contribute to poor health, and they have made those determinations based on one-time surveys.
This study included 2,432 Canadian residents, aged 65-85, who filled out an extensive health survey every other year, starting in 1994 and continuing through 2004. One measure, called the Health Utilities Index, asked people to rate their abilities in eight categories, including vision, hearing, speech, ambulation, dexterity, emotion, cognition and pain. "Thrivers" were those who rated themselves as having no or only mild disability in all eight categories on at least five of the six surveys.
If respondents reported moderate or severe disability on any of the six surveys, they were classified as "non-thrivers." Just over half (or 50.8%) of the respondents started out as "thrivers", but by the end of the 10 years, only 8% of the respondents were considered thrivers. By the end of the study period, just under half (47%) of the respondents were classified as non-thrivers. The rest (36%) had either died or were institutionalized (9%).
"Even though the study was conducted in Canada, the findings are certainly applicable to the United States and other industrialized nations," says Bentson McFarland, MD, PhD, co-author and professor of Psychiatry, Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. "Our population here in the United States is similar demographically to Canada's, and both health care systems rely on the same underlying technologies," says McFarland.
The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging. Authors include Mark S. Kaplan, PhD, and Nathalie Huguet, PhD, from Portland State University; Heather Orpana, PhD, from Statistics Canada and the University of Ottawa; David Feeny, PhD, from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and Health Utilities Incorporated; Bentson H. McFarland, MD, PhD, from Oregon Health & Science University; and Nancy Ross, PhD, at McGill University.
Author David Feeny has a proprietary interest in Health Utilities Incorporated (HUInc.), Dundas, Ontario, Canada. The HUInc. survey instrument used in this study was developed in cooperation with the Canadian government. Neither Feeny nor HUInc. received any monetary reimbursement for use of the survey.
Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (www.kpchr.org)
Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research, founded in 1964, is a not-for-profit research institution dedicated to advancing knowledge to improve health. It has research sites in Portland, Honolulu, and Atlanta.
Portland State University
Portland State University serves as a center of opportunity for over 27,000 and graduate students. Located in Portland, Oregon, one of the nation's most livable cities, the University's innovative approach to education combines academic rigor in the classroom with field-based experiences through internships and classroom projects with community partners. The University's 49-acre downtown campus exhibits Portland State's commitment to sustainability with green buildings, and many of the 125 bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees incorporate sustainability into the curriculum. PSU's motto, "Let Knowledge Serve the City," inspires the teaching and research of an accomplished faculty whose work and students span the globe.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (#08-072)
Source: Mary Sawyers (503-335-6602)
Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research
"Important predictors of 'thriving' were the absence of chronic illness, higher income, having never smoked and drinking alcohol in moderation," said Mark Kaplan, PHd, lead author and professor of Community Health at Portland State University. "We also found that people who had a positive outlook and lower stress levels were more likely to thrive in old age," added Kaplan.
"Many of these factors can be modified when you are young or middle-aged," said David Feeny, PhD, co-author and senior investigator at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research. "It seems like common sense, but now we have evidence that if you never start smoking, drink moderately, take care of your health and finances, you're more likely to have exceptional mental and physical health during your retirement years," added Feeny.
This is the first study to evaluate which factors help older people maintain exceptional health over a long period of time. Most previous studies have focused on factors that contribute to poor health, and they have made those determinations based on one-time surveys.
This study included 2,432 Canadian residents, aged 65-85, who filled out an extensive health survey every other year, starting in 1994 and continuing through 2004. One measure, called the Health Utilities Index, asked people to rate their abilities in eight categories, including vision, hearing, speech, ambulation, dexterity, emotion, cognition and pain. "Thrivers" were those who rated themselves as having no or only mild disability in all eight categories on at least five of the six surveys.
If respondents reported moderate or severe disability on any of the six surveys, they were classified as "non-thrivers." Just over half (or 50.8%) of the respondents started out as "thrivers", but by the end of the 10 years, only 8% of the respondents were considered thrivers. By the end of the study period, just under half (47%) of the respondents were classified as non-thrivers. The rest (36%) had either died or were institutionalized (9%).
"Even though the study was conducted in Canada, the findings are certainly applicable to the United States and other industrialized nations," says Bentson McFarland, MD, PhD, co-author and professor of Psychiatry, Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. "Our population here in the United States is similar demographically to Canada's, and both health care systems rely on the same underlying technologies," says McFarland.
The study was funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging. Authors include Mark S. Kaplan, PhD, and Nathalie Huguet, PhD, from Portland State University; Heather Orpana, PhD, from Statistics Canada and the University of Ottawa; David Feeny, PhD, from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research and Health Utilities Incorporated; Bentson H. McFarland, MD, PhD, from Oregon Health & Science University; and Nancy Ross, PhD, at McGill University.
Author David Feeny has a proprietary interest in Health Utilities Incorporated (HUInc.), Dundas, Ontario, Canada. The HUInc. survey instrument used in this study was developed in cooperation with the Canadian government. Neither Feeny nor HUInc. received any monetary reimbursement for use of the survey.
Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (www.kpchr.org)
Kaiser Permanente's Center for Health Research, founded in 1964, is a not-for-profit research institution dedicated to advancing knowledge to improve health. It has research sites in Portland, Honolulu, and Atlanta.
Portland State University
Portland State University serves as a center of opportunity for over 27,000 and graduate students. Located in Portland, Oregon, one of the nation's most livable cities, the University's innovative approach to education combines academic rigor in the classroom with field-based experiences through internships and classroom projects with community partners. The University's 49-acre downtown campus exhibits Portland State's commitment to sustainability with green buildings, and many of the 125 bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees incorporate sustainability into the curriculum. PSU's motto, "Let Knowledge Serve the City," inspires the teaching and research of an accomplished faculty whose work and students span the globe.
# # #
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (#08-072)
Source: Mary Sawyers (503-335-6602)
Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research
