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Can We Live till 100?
 

People who do not have chronic illness have a better chance of living till or even beyond 100, but for others who have chronic disease, living till 100 seems rather impossible for them!

Nevertheless, a surprising finding that appeared on February 11, 2008 in the Archives of Internal Medicine suggested that even people who develop diabetes or heart disease late in life can have a chance of reaching the age of 100. Researchers from the University of Rochester argued that the aggressive treatment by doctors on the older people, instead of just taking it as an ageist approach that assumes they would not benefit, makes this possible.

In the study, more than 500 women and 200 men who had reached 100 were interviewed by phone and their health conditions were assessed. The results showed that about two-thirds of them had been free from significant age-related diseases, while the rest had developed diseases including heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes before reaching 85. Nevertheless, many of the latter functioned nearly as well as their disease-free peers.

Interestingly, the male participants functioned better than the female ones. About 75 percent of the men could bathe and dress themselves, as compared to only about 33 percent of the women could do so.

One possible reason for such a difference, as quoted by the researchers, is probably because men had to be in exceptional condition to reach the age of 100 but women might just be physical and socially good at living with chronic and disabling conditions.

One of the healthy women in the study, who managed to avoid chronic disease and is 104 now, does not take any medicines, does not smoke and drink. She lived alone and took care of herself until late 2006 when she fell in her home. She does get regular medical attention from a doctor and nurse, who regularly visit her. Perhaps, genes also contributed as her maternal grandparents lived to the age of 100 and 107.

However, not all scientists accept the theory that longevity is solely due to genes. In fact, the Harvard University researchers believe it is lifestyle that makes a big difference.

They carried out a large study of 2,375 men for 25 years or until death starting in their early 70s. Their findings showed that those who avoided such risk factors as smoking, inactivity, obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure raised their chances of living into their 90s. As a matter of fact, there was a 54 percent of chance for them to live that long.

But their survival rate decreased with each risk factor. Those who had all the 5 risk factors had only a 4 percent chance of living till 90s. For those who did not have lifestyle-related ailments also increased their chances of functioning well physically and mentally 2 decades later.

About 40 percent of participants in the study survived to at least 90 years old. Among these survivors, 24 percent had none of the five risk factors mentioned.
More than 55,000 centenarians are living in the United States, and Americans who are 85 and older are the country's fastest-growing group of older adults. As such, the researchers urge doctors to become adept at treating the oldest of the old, who are becoming the bread and butter of the clinical practice of internal medicine.

Though the finding did not highlight whether people who are already 70 stop smoking, lose weight and exercise will raise longevity, the researchers do believe it is never too late to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

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