Archive for the ‘Aging’ Category

Economic Downturn Good for Health

October 27th, 2009

Recession, Depression, Longevity, Health, Mortality, Institute for Social Research

When the economy tanks, not everything goes into the toilet. Though it seems as counterintuitive as Magnetic Hill, where cars in neutral roll up the mountain, history shows that during economic recessions, longevity increases and health improves. In fact, according to a new study out of the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, the Great Depression ushered in a considerable leap in life expectancy, but as soon as the economy looked sunny again, life expectancy took a nosedive.

The study focused on the two decades between 1920 and 1940, a period of extreme economic volatility. During the years of the Depression, from 1929 to 1933, the gross domestic product dropped five percent while the population experienced a 6.2-year gain in life expectancy. The pattern held true for both genders and across ethnic groups. While life expectancy has consistency climbed since the 1920s (it was 57.1 years in 1929, and currently is 77 years), the gains were greatest and fastest during the years of the worst economic conditions. In the case of this study, life expectancy rose by 8.8 years during the entire 20-year span, with, as mentioned above, the majority of the increase — 6.2 years — occurring during the four years of the Depression. Of course, one needs to read life expectancy numbers with a skeptical eye since they don’t always mean what you think they mean.

Nevertheless, throughout the 20 years studied: whenever the economy improved, mortality rates went up. Whenever the economy suffered, mortality rates went down. Translated another way, according to Dr. Christopher Ruhm of the University of North Carolina, for every increase of one percent in unemployment, mortality rates drop by half a percent. And according to research director Dr. A. Tapia Granados, the same thing happened during the recession in the early 1980s and 1990s. Recessions abroad have seen the same pattern. On virtually every health parameter studied — heart disease, kidney disease, cancer, pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, infant mortality — recession ushered in improvements. The only exception was death by suicide, which did increase during the Great Depression.

"This is a pattern that is found again and again," Dr. Granados confirmed. "The basic finding … is that mortality rates tend to evolve in parallel to the economy. When the economy goes up, mortality tends to go up. When the economy goes down, mortality rates tend to go down, too."

The scientists have no definitive explanation for the unexpected phenomenon, but they do have some theories. First, they cite the fact that fewer people drive automobiles when the economy is bad. This means that fewer die in automobile accidents, which helps mortality statistics. It also means that air pollution from vehicular emissions decreases, reducing deaths triggered by particulate matter. Along a similar line of reasoning, when companies shut down, they add less pollution to the air, and so in times of low productivity air quality improves. Then again, wouldn’t the health benefits of better air quality be reflected several decades down the line after long term non-exposure?

An article in US News and World Report suggests that recession cuts into people’s cigarette and alcohol budget, and the less people drink and smoke, the healthier they stay. It’s a good theory, but there’s a credibility gap given the fact that recent data indicates that cigarette sales have gone up for the first time in years ever since the recession hit. Recent tax increases on cigarette sales may be impacting that trend, but overall, alcohol, tobacco, and chocolate are among the few items still selling well in spite (or possibly because of) the economy. And again, as with air quality, wouldn’t the mortality benefits show up several decades down the line? I mean, it’s not like you get cancer one month after smoking your first cigarette.

Dr. Granados postulates that the debilitating impact of working too hard explains higher mortality in boom times. "During expansions, firms are very busy, and they typically demand a lot of effort from employees, who are required to work a lot of overtime, and to work at a fast pace. Also, new workers may be hired who are inexperienced, so injuries are likely to be more common," he says. He suggests that the stress may drive people to smoke, drink, and eat unhealthy foods — but again, data shows that smoking and drinking rates stay relatively stable as the economy fluctuates. But he’s probably on target in suggesting that work demands may cause people to sleep less, and of course, there’s the general impact of stress on the body to consider — and that’s a huge factor. Then again, you might think that being out of work would be incredibly stressful, but as it turns out, it’s not that simple.

Along those lines, another study perhaps offers some clues. The University of Michigan research compared two groups of subjects, one surveyed between 1986 and 1989 and another between 1995 and 2005. The study found that those who "feared" losing their jobs suffered far more health-wise than those who had actually been laid off or fired. "In fact, chronic job insecurity was a stronger predictor of poor health than either smoking or hypertension in one of the groups we studied," the director of that study, Sarah Burgard, said.

The other viable theory that Dr. Granados puts forth is that economic distress causes people to band together. People have more time to spend socializing, and they tend to support each other more than when everyone has money. "This would improve the level of social cohesion and social support and could have a protective effect on health," he says.

One possibility that none of the experts put forth is that when people can’t afford medical treatment, they fare better simply by avoiding doctors. They aren’t subject to harmful pharmaceuticals, hospital disasters, and dangerous diagnostic and surgical procedures. While public health officials fret and sigh that people aren’t getting the care they need, in fact, doing nothing may oftentimes be healthier than going to the doctor. Given the 98,000 deaths annually from medical error in the US, less exposure to medical practitioners may have a bigger impact on declining mortality rate than those other factors named. The bottom line is that it is not a coincidence that time after time, when doctors go on strike, mortality rates drop dramatically in those cities or countries affected by the strikes.

I’m certainly not saying there’s no place for health care and that we should all just ride out whatever ailments assail us without any intervention. But if illness does come, a natural health regimen may be the safest first choice, reserving pharmaceuticals and surgeries for the most dire cases and for illnesses that won’t respond to less invasive approaches. Hopefully, this is a lesson the public can learn without having the economy completely bottom out.

:hc

Another Reason Not to Buy a Convertible

October 17th, 2009

Convertible Cars

Most dogs love to drive with their heads hanging out the window, the wind whipping the saliva out of their open mouths. Likewise, many humans believe that every dog should have his day and that driving a convertible is one of life’s drool inducing pleasures. But the open-air fun and glamour that convertibles evoke may come at a cost beyond the price-tag, because new research shows that convertible riders have an elevated risk of losing their hearing.

The study, funded by Worcestershire Royal Hospital in the UK, found that the typical noise generated by a moving convertible registers considerably higher than the threshold usually associated with hearing loss. Dr. Philip Michael, the study director, said, "If you are exposed for long periods above 85 decibels [of sound], you have the potential for hearing loss. The maximum noise [of cars tested] was at 70 miles per hour and that was 89 decibels. It has the potential for causing long-term hearing loss.”

The researchers tried out a variety of vehicles just to make sure the noise level stayed loud from one car to the next. In the name of medicine, they drove a Toyota MR2, a Mazda Miata MX5, the Audi A4 Cabriolet, a Morgan plus 4 Roadster, a Porsche 997 Carrera, an Aston Martin V-8 Vantage, and a Bentley convertible — all at 50, 60, and 70 miles per hour.

Dr. Michael found that paying a lot for a car doesn’t mean it becomes exempt from wind resistance. The expensive cars were as noisy as the cheapest once the tops went down. Also, going slower made only a minimal difference in noise level when driving on the highway. Oh, and cranking up your car’s stereo to override the wind noise doesn’t actually help.

But in the world of ear-popping noise, all is relative. While normal conversation registers at about 60 decibels, you could drive with the top down to a Rolling Stones concert and back again and get a whole lot less noise exposure than if you actually went into the concert, where the noise-level would be at about 115 decibels.

And that brings up a simultaneous study of 5,000 people in the US, which found that men have three times the risk of hearing loss related to noise compared to women. While driving a convertible may up the ante for potential deafness, so do many other activities — and apparently, men indulge in more of those activities. For instance, operating heavy equipment or machinery like chain saws or lawnmowers without ear protection can damage hearing. Men are more likely to shoot guns, to drive motorcycles, and to listen to head-banging music — in other words, to have jobs or hobbies that require noise exposure.

It’s something that most people don’t think about in the course of normal life — that turning the stereo up too high can degrade hearing over time, even if it’s Mozart on the sound waves. In fact, a significant percentage of adults do suffer from noise-induced hearing loss, including 13 percent of the subjects in the sample. According to Dr. Douglas Mattox, professor of otolaryngology at Emory University School of Medicine, "Noise-induced hearing loss is the number one preventable kind of hearing loss. We’re all born with 20,000 inner hair cells on each side of the head, and those are a non-renewable resource, and they never come back every time one is lost."

How can you lessen your chances of damaging your hearing while still having fun? First, wear earplugs or noise-canceling headphones when operating noisy machinery, playing the drums, taking off in the airplane, and when driving your convertible (assuming it’s legal to do so in your state). Next, lower your frequency of exposure. As Allison Grimes, head of the audiology department at the UCLA Medical Center says, "…if you drive eight hours a day, seven days a week you have a much greater concern than if you drive two hours on a Sunday afternoon." If you have a convertible, roll up the windows to slash the noise level, and use a wind guard. Also, eat your vegetables and fruits: another simultaneous study found that men over the age of 60 can decrease their risk of hearing loss by a full 20 percent just by consuming plenty of folates, which are found in leafy green vegetables, fruits, and beans.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention: men can also possibly preserve their hearing by remaining single. The data shows that married men suffer far more noise-induced hearing loss than single men, a fact that puzzles the researchers. Some media sources have been having fun with this fact, blaming nagging wives for the phenomenon. A more politically correct analysis might theorize that with a wife’s second income, men can afford to buy more of the toys and tools they crave — the power saws, CDs, and motorbikes. If so, perhaps they can begin diverting some of the excess funds to a folate supplement and a pair of good noise-cancelling headphones.

:hc

Optimism Adds Years: Health Blog

September 10th, 2009

Optimism, Longevity

When Norman Vincent Peale wrote the Power of Positive Thinking, he didn’t focus on longevity as one of the benefits of happy thoughts. The many imitators who have followed him, including the authors of The Secret, also don’t hype long life as a chief benefit of thinking positive. On the other hand, I actually devoted a whole chapter, “The Thought that Kills,” to the subject in Lessons from the Miracle Doctors. And in fact, several major studies over the years have backed me up and discovered that optimistic thinking does result in longer life. 

The latest study to confirm this link comes from The University of Pittsburgh, where researchers culled data from the Women’s Health Initiative study of more than 100,000 women over age 50 followed since 1994. The researchers found that optimistic subjects were 14 percent more likely to still be alive eight years into the study, and nine percent less likely to develop heart disease. Also, confirming the old sorcery idea that if you send out hostility it may come back to strangle you, the study found that women who hold hostile thoughts toward others or who are mistrustful do seem to suffer a boomerang effect, with hostility upping the risk of dying by 16 percent within the eight-year window. (What can I say? I love each and every one of you reading this.)

The researchers ascertained just how optimistic the subjects were by asking them to respond to a series of standardized statements such as, “If something can go wrong for me, it will,” “In unclear times, I usually expect the best,” “I’ve often had to take orders from someone who didn’t know as much as I did,” and, “It’s safest to trust nobody.” Apparently, even after controlling for other health issues and lifestyle factors (none of the women had cancer or heart disease at the outset), the optimists outlived the pessimists. Study director, Dr. Hillary Tindle of the University of Pittsburgh comments, “Taking into account income, education, health behaviors like controlling blood pressure and whether or not you are physically active, whether or not you drink or smoke, we still see optimists with a decreased risk of death compared to pessimists.”

As a side note, race plays a role in the happy-thoughts factor, with black women particularly vulnerable to death by misery. The pessimistic black women in the study had a whopping 33% greater risk of dying compared to their optimistic cohorts. Researchers don’t know why this discrepancy occurs. Also, earlier studies found that gender counts, with optimism playing an even greater role in longevity for men than for women.

One study that confirmed the gender factor also found a far stronger correlation between optimism and longevity than the current research. According to that study, which was led by Dr. Erik Giltay of the Psychiatric Center GGC in Delft, the Netherlands in 2004, optimists have a 55-percent reduced risk of death from all causes. The subjects included about 1000 men and women aged 65-85 who completed a 30-item “optimism” test. The most optimistic subjects not only lived longer than the least optimistic over a 15-year period; they also had a 23 percent reduced chance of death by cardiovascular event.

The authors of that study wrote in The Archives of General Psychiatry, “We found that the trait of optimism was an important long-term determinant of all causes [of death] and cardiovascular mortality in elderly subjects independent of socio-demographic characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors. A predisposition toward optimism seemed to provide a survival benefit in elderly subjects with relatively short life expectancies otherwise.”

Why does optimism seem to up the lifespan? The researchers essentially shrug their shoulders, although Dr. Tindle does put forth two theories. First, upbeat people tend to have more friends and larger social networks, which means that they probably get more support during crises. Also, they handle stress better, which means they not only stay happier, but their bodies manage the physiological impact of stress better. Then again, as I point out in Miracle Doctors, there are numerous studies that identify the direct connection between what you think and your immune system. Happy thoughts jack up your immune system. Unhappy thoughts shut it down. That alone would have a major impact on life expectancy.

So what can you do if you’re not naturally ebullient but you would like to live longer (despite your belief that it will be a long, miserable haul)? Find ways to handle your stress. One previous study of monks and nuns in Hamburg, Germany found that the monastic life leads to longevity, which the researchers attribute to the routine and lack of stress encountered by the cloistered subjects. Short of entering the monastery, though, maybe Stuart Smalley (Al Franken) was onto something. No matter what went wrong in his life, he was always able to affirm, “I’m good enough. I’m smart enough. And doggone it, people like me.”

:hc

Binge Drinking in Your Golden Years: Health Blog

August 29th, 2009

Binge Drinking, Senior Citizens

For at least some senior citizens, relaxing on the porch with a cup of tea just doesn’t cut it for entertainment — unless that tea happens to be spiked. The results of one of the largest-ever studies of substance abuse recently discovered that a surprising number of older adults enjoy binge drinking a bit too much. In fact, out of 11,000 respondents, 22 percent of men aged 50-64 and nine percent of women in that same age group had indulged in binge drinking in the previous 30 days. Plus, 19 percent of the men and 13 percent of the women drank two or more alcoholic beverages daily on an ongoing basis, which experts consider risky levels. Of those over 65, the binge-drinking numbers came in at 14 percent of men and three percent of women, with at-risk drinking on a daily basis applying to 13 percent of men and eight percent of women. Or as John Belushi said in Animal House, “Toga! Toga! Toga!”

The study, a joint project of Duke University and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, analyzed results of surveys administered between 2005 and 2006.  Binge drinking was defined as consuming five or more drinks in a single sitting. (Toga!) Since the surveys relied on self-reporting and since the brain undoubtedly goes too fuzzy to count after a few drinks, it’s possible that even higher percentages of the nation’s seniors regularly get blotto. No wonder so many elders get into car accidents — and we worry about teens!  In fact, research shows that similar percentages of 50-64 year olds binge drink as do adolescents — slightly under 20 percent of those aged 12-20 (although that percentage skyrockets once the kids hit college).

According to study director Dr. Dan Blazer of Duke University, “A surprising number of older Americans are engaging in drinking patterns that are putting their health at risk, yet these problems often go unrecognized. Middle age and older adults may be easy to miss for at-risk or binge drinking because most clinicians are focused on excessive drinking behaviors among young people, such as those in college. [Older adults] often don’t show the typical signs of alcohol dependence.”

Or perhaps, many of those signs are ascribed to other possible causes such as side effects from prescription drugs or diabetes or heart disease.

Interestingly, the data showed that the higher the income, the greater the likelihood of binge drinking. Divorced, separated, or widowed men were more likely to binge drink. In general, men binged more than women did, as did smokers and those who indulged in recreational drugs.

The Duke University researchers expressed concern that heavy drinking poses more of a risk to elderly people than it does to teens, in part because so many older people take prescription medications that may interact with alcohol. Plus, drinking can exacerbate health problems typical among the elderly, such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, and there’s a much greater chance of broken bones if elderly people fall when drunk. Dr. Blazer comments: “[Older people] don’t metabolize alcohol as quickly, they may be on medications, or they may have some health problems that alcohol may contribute to. On average, if a young person drinks five beers and an older person drinks five beers, the older person is almost certainly going to have more difficulty.”

But there is another side to this story. In contrast to Dr. Blazer’s concerns, another large-scale study a few years ago found that being over 65 doesn’t necessarily mean that drinking will have negative health consequences. That research analyzed drinking patterns of over 13,000 seniors in the US and England, and found that consuming up to two drinks a day usually caused no health problems; in fact, the subjects who had the two drinks a day fared better health-wise than those who didn’t drink at all. The director of that study, Dr. Iain Lang of the Peninsula Medical School, said, “Current guidelines on drinking for the elderly are too conservative, and a couple of drinks a day will do no harm, and will in fact have a more beneficial affect on cognitive and general health than abstinence.”  (Toga!)

(On a side note, that study found that heavy drinking among elders in the UK far exceeded the rate in the US, with 10.8 per cent of US men versus 28.6 per cent of UK men exceeding recommended daily drinking limits, and 2.9 per cent of US women versus 10.3 per cent in the UK. But that’s a subject to explore at our next toga party.)

So, to drink or not to drink, that is the question — if you’re over 50. Certainly, it isn’t safe to binge drink and then drive to Bingo, nor is it a good example for the kids. Binge drinking may impair your reputation, your judgment, and your health if pushed to the point where you’re incoherent and unsteady. But enjoying a few glasses of wine daily (as long as you avoid the heavy metals and pesticides) or an evening martini is unlikely to present much of a problem. Essentially, you can choose your study — if you love to drink, go with the UK study and make sure the rest of your health routines are clean and life-supporting. If drinking isn’t essential to your happiness, go with the Duke study, be righteous, abstain, and avoid wearing togas.

In any event, happiness correlates with longevity, and if drinking correlates to happiness for you, perhaps that’s something to consider when evaluating the Duke study and its call for needing far better mental health services for seniors.

:hc

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Older Equals Happier: Health Blog

August 15th, 2009

Aging, Mental Health

When songwriter Jeff Dayton wrote these lyrics celebrating his aging father –”I might have been younger, faster, stronger….but I’ve never been better”– he probably didn’t know he was tapping into a universal truth. Because in fact, studies show that the older you get, the happier you get and the more mentally balanced you become.

Sure, it goes against the stereotypical image of the cranky old person who can’t wait for it all to be over, hurting and miserable. But in fact, a recent review of seven studies presented at the American Psychological Association convention revealed that mental health improves with age except for those with dementia-related illnesses. According to research director Susan Turk Charles of the University of California, Irvine, the studies revealed that not only does happiness improves with age, but so does the ability to maintain emotional control.

In one of the studies, several hundred subjects were made to overhear others calling them “boring” and “untrustworthy.” While the younger subjects, who were between the ages of 18 and 40, reacted with anger and distress, the older subjects, aged 63 to 86, were more likely to shrug it off. Generally, the older the subject, the less affected he or she was by the criticism. One might argue that the seemingly detached subjects simply hadn’t turned their hearing aids on and so missed the slight, but Dr. Charles says in fact, the studies show that advancing age leads to improved anger control and perspective, and better skills at deflecting conflict.

“Research has also shown that older adults … are more likely to actively avoid or limit negative, stressful situations than do younger adults,” Dr. Charles noted. “We know that older people are increasingly aware that the time they have left in life is growing shorter… They have also had more time to learn and understand the intentions of others, which help them to avoid these stressful situations.”

The researchers did find that when faced with chronic stressors, such as the long-term illness of a loved one, age worked against subjects because they simply didn’t have the physical resources to cope. “Older adults may have more difficulty with these situations because distressing events require both psychological and physical resources,” Dr. Charles said.

Still, overall, age seems to lead to serenity and even happiness. But why? One explanation that pops up repeatedly has to do with social interaction. One of the studies found that those in their 70s and 80s were twice as likely to be involved in community activities as younger subjects. Plus, while young people may spend their time building 1000-friend networks on Facebook, the elderly focus on family and strong friendships already established, which apparently leads to less stress and more satisfaction. Also, elderly subjects often have dumped their jobs and retired, which removes a layer of stress and grants more play time.

Another finding emerging from the studies puts forth the idea that the older brain lets go of negative memories more quickly and more completely than the younger brain. While younger people mull over negative experiences, plotting revenge or wallowing in guilt, elderly people simply let the memory go. Similarly, in one of the seven studies, Professor Lauren Carstensen of Stanford University found that elderly subjects live more in the moment than younger counterparts. “Older people do not dwell in the past as popular stereotypes claim, but they do not think as much about the future as younger people do,” said Dr. Carstensen. “We argue that much of the benefit to mental health comes from living in the present — stopping to smell the roses and noticing what is good about life.”

One key fact overlooked by the study and virtually all the press coverage is that the results look rather different when viewed through the skew of gender. According to a study published in The Journal of Happiness last year, up until age 48, women out-happy men by a considerable margin, but that flips around once women pass through the gates of menopause. The researchers theorize that men have more success meeting their goals late in life — they’ve finally reached financial goals, for instance — and their happy enough in their marriages. Women, on the other hand, often haven’t met their life goals, and their marriages ultimately turn disappointing when the kids leave home, or, they find themselves widowed.

In any event, given the possibility of finding the golden road emotionally in the golden years if you don’t have dementia, it makes sense to keep the body and mind healthy so that you can partake of your well earned reward. Unfortunately, of the more than 22 million adults over age 71 in the US, more than one third show signs of mental decline. But there are things you can do to decrease your chances of being one of the declining unhappy third and to increase your chances of being able to sing, ‘I might have been younger, faster, stronger….but I’ve never been better.”

:hc

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Strenuous Exercise Makes Jane Dumb: Health Blog

July 25th, 2009

Dementia

Female marathoners who hit the roads regularly may look fit and healthy, but once they pass menopause, their brains may lag behind. Surprise! According to a new study from the University of Toronto, women who engage in "vigorous" aerobic exercise for decades experience significant cognitive decline and are at increased risk for dementia. Activities such as running distances, biking up hills, doing aerobics, playing racquetball, and swimming laps all qualify for the brain-drain category.

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Coffee Reverses Alzheimer’s: Health Blog

July 11th, 2009

Coffee, Reverse Alzheimer's

If you forgot to drink your coffee with breakfast this morning, here’s something that may jog your memory in the future. A new study has found that drinking coffee may help you to not only avoid getting Alzheimer’s, but actually reverse it. That’s right — if you help Starbucks lift its stock price by indulging in a grandé, you might simultaneously be reversing your early-onset Alzheimer’s. While earlier studies have shown that caffeine staves off memory loss, this study is the first to show that it may actually eradicate existing symptoms.

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Laser Away Wrinkles: Health Blog

June 22nd, 2009

Wrinkles, Laser

One sure sign that you’re cresting the hill is the appearance of wrinkles on your face. A recent survey of 1200 baby boomers found that 58 percent of the respondents agreed that wrinkles are the surest way to determine a person’s age.  And since few people want to look old, the business of eradicating wrinkles remains a huge industry, with anti-wrinkle cream sales soaring even as the economy tanks.

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Older Adults May Need Less Sleep: Health Blog

June 6th, 2009

Sleep, Aging

Along with the many complaints that may come with old age, insomnia ranks high on the list. Older people complain that they can’t get a good night’s sleep anymore, that they can’t sleep the way they did when younger — but their complaints may, in fact, be based on the faulty notion that they still require as much sleep as they did decades earlier. New research indicates that in fact, people over the age of 60 naturally sleep less than younger folks do. Naturally, of course, being the interpretive word here.

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Mediterranean Diet Prevents Macular Degeneration: Health Blog

June 2nd, 2009

Mediterranean Diet, Macular Degeneration

Here’s one to add to the growing list of benefits conferred by increasing your intake of Omega-3 fatty acids as epitomized by the Mediterranean diet — a dramatically lowered risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). According to the first of several recently published studies, having just one serving of fish per week lowers your risk of macular degeneration by 31 percent while a serving or two of nuts reduces risk by 35 percent. The research found an even stronger association when subjects consumed lower levels of polyunsaturated vegetable oils. And, in fact, despite what the researchers say, this is actually confirmation once again that the key here is not so much the increase in Omega-3 fatty acids, but in correcting of the ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids.

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