Editor's note: Don't dare to live too long to avoid illness and suffering from illness in the future? A new study in the British Journal of Medicine shows that longevity is not the main cause of disease in the elderly, and unhealthy living habits are the key. The abusive habit that makes people live short is also a risk factor that increases dementia risk. What good living habits can make people live for a long time but not get sick? There is a saying among middle-aged people: "Why pay attention to health? I don't want to be too tired anyway, it's very hard!"
As the average human life continues to prolong, the risk of chronic diseases increases in life. Taking dementia as an example, past studies have proven that the risk of dementia in people increases with age. Thinking about the possibility of getting sick in the old age may make people wonder: Can you avoid the pain of illness if you don’t live or leave early?
However, in 2022, a paper published in The BMJ, "Healthy lifestyle and life expectancy with and without Alzheimer’s dementia: population-based cohort study) pointed out that the abusive habits that make people short-lived are also risk factors that increase dementia risks. People who do not take care of their own health must have longer time to be dementia in their shorter lives.
The 5 health indicators of the past 20 years are related to the content of this study.The Chicago Health and Aging Project was conducted by the Medical Center of Rush University in the United States. The research team started in 1993 and recruited Chicago people to participate until the case was concluded in 2012. In the past 20 years, the final number of valid samples for the study was 2,449 people. All participants are over 65 years old, with backgrounds covering different ethnic groups, gender and educational levels.
In order to evaluate the correlation between lifestyle, average life and dementia, the researchers issued a question paper asking the subject to rated five major aspects of the performance, including:
1. Diet habits
The subjects will receive a "MIND Diet" evaluation scale, which will fill in the frequency of taking specific foods over the past year. If you fully comply with the guidelines for eating, you can get a full score of 15 points. In this study, if the recipient scored in the top 40% of the total recipients, it could be considered healthy eating habits.
Med Diet emphasizes the use of all grains, beans, green and non-green vegetables, beans, and fruits. The meat is mainly fish and poultry, and eat less red meat. Oil types should consume olive oil to reduce the amount of cream intake, and avoid foods with lower nutritional value such as quick food, alcohol, desserts. This diet combination is rich in Vitamin, Vitamin E, Omega-3 fatty acids, and ketone compounds. It is beneficial to brain health and can reduce the chance of dementia.
2. The cognitive activity
research team asked the subjects to fill out a question paper and asked them to report their frequency of participating in the 7 cognitive activities, including: reading, museum visits, playing cards, writing, punctuation, and playing chess. Past research shows that working on these cognitive activities can help stimulate the brain, enhance cognitive ability, and reduce memory decline.
The higher the frequency of these activities, the higher the scores the subject has been in these activities over the past year. The score falls in the top 40% of all subjects, and can be seen as having healthy cognitive activity.
3. The higher the frequency of physical activity with medium and high intensity, the lower the chance of dementia. The research team used the 1985 U.S. Health Survey questions and asked the subjects to fill in their own time during their past year, working on six medium and high-strength physical activities. Including walking, gardening, bare hands or heavy training, riding and swimming. According to the guidance issued by many authoritative institutions such as the American Academy of Careers and the World Health Organization, it is considered healthy for adults to have at least 150 minutes of moderate and high-strength physical activities a week.
4. Smoking
Researchers asked the subject to self-evaluate the frequency of smoking: never smoked, had smoked (now quit smoking) and had smoked habits. Those who have never smoked or quit smoking can be regarded as having a healthy living habit.
5. Drink
This item is a smoker, and the subject is asked to evaluate the amount of alcohol. According to the US Diet Guidelines from 2020 to 2025, people who drink less will have a lower chance of developing dementia in the future. Women's daily alcohol consumption should be controlled below 15 grams, while men should be controlled below 30 grams.
Among the above 5 indicators, if the subject reaches the health gate for the project, he or she can get 1 point. The scores of all subjects range from 0 to 5 points. The higher the score, the healthier the lifestyle.
During the study period, the subjects were subjected to undergo a cognitive function test every 3 years to evaluate their degree of degeneration in different aspects such as memory, language, attention, observation, and sense of direction. If there are 2 or more obvious functional degenerations in the self-evaluation results, the research team will ask the subject to further medical examination to confirm whether it is dementia.
Longevity is not a synonym for old age and illness! The more health-conscious, the shorter the life of dementiaAt the end of the study period, 339 of the 2,449 participants participated in the study were dementia. The research team found that the average life of men and women of 65-year-old subjects who meet the above 4 to 5 health indicators is 23.1 and 24.2 years respectively, and the average time for dementia in the remaining life is 1.4 years (accounting for 6.1% of their life) and 2.6 years (accounting for 10.8% of their life).
Relatively, among the five health indicators, the average life of men and women who meet only one or even completely do not meet is 17.4 and 21.1 years respectively. The average life time for dementia in their remaining lives is 2.1 years (accounting for 12% of their life) and 4.1 years (accounting for 19.3% of their life). According to the analysis of the research team, according to the statistical results, compared with the recipients who meet the five health indicators, only those who meet one or even completely do not meet the patient will have a shorter average life and will suffer from dementia longer. As the years grow older, the correlation between healthy living habits and average life and dementia risks is more obvious. For women of 85 who meet the 4-5 health indicators, the average life is 8.5 years, and the average life time for dementia in their remaining life is 2.6 years. However, the average life of women of the same age who meet only one or not meet health indicators is 7.2 years, and the average life time for dementia in their remaining lives is 4.4 years. Unhealthy women with high aging account for almost twice the proportion of their life dementia in their entire lives.
The same discovery is also suitable for men of high age. If a man of 85 meets 4 to 5 health indicators, the average annual number of dementia is 1.5 years, accounting for 17.7% of his remaining life. For men who meet only one or do not meet health indicators, the average annual number of years of dementia is 2.4 years, which is equivalent to 46% of the remaining life.
Researchers pointed out that from a statistical perspective, women have a longer average life expectancy and a higher chance of developing dementia throughout their lives. However, living a long and poor life does not necessarily require a high-quality plan for the elderly who are sick and ill. Maintaining a good habit of living can prolong a healthy life and allow people to enjoy a good quality of life to the end!