What are the keys to “successful” or optimal aging? A latest study followed greater than 7000 middle-aged and older Canadians for about three years to discover the aspects linked to well-being as we age.

They found that those that were female, married, physically lively and never obese and people who had never smoked, had higher incomes, and who didn’t have insomnia, heart disease or arthritis, were more likely to keep up excellent health across the study period and fewer prone to develop disabling cognitive, physical, or emotional problems.

As a baseline, the researchers chosen participants who were in excellent health at the beginning of the roughly three-year period of study. This included the absence of memory problems or chronic disabling pain, freedom from any serious mental illness and absence of physical disabilities that limit day by day activities -; in addition to the presence of adequate social support and high levels of happiness and life satisfaction.

We were surprised and delighted to learn that greater than 70% of our sample maintained their excellent state of health across the study period. Our findings underline the importance of a strength-based quite than a deficit-based deal with aging and older adults. The media and research are likely to ignore the positive and just deal with the issues.”

Mabel Ho, first writer, doctoral candidate on the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work (FIFSW) and the Institute of Life Course and Aging

There was considerable variation within the prevalence of successful aging based on the respondents’ age at first of the study. Three quarters of the respondents who were aged 55 to 64 at the beginning of the study period maintained excellent health throughout the study. Amongst those aged 80 and older, roughly half remained in excellent health.

“It’s remarkable that half of those aged 80 and older maintained this extremely high bar of cognitive, physical, and emotional well-being across the three years of the study. That is wonderful news for older adults and their families who may anticipate that precipitous decline is inevitable for those aged 80 and older.” says Mabel Ho. “By understanding aspects related to successful aging, we are able to work with older adults, families, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to create an environment that supports a vibrant and healthy later life.”

Older adults who were obese were less likely to keep up good health in later life. In comparison with older adults who were obese, those that had a traditional weight were 24% more prone to age optimally.

“Our findings are in step with other studies which have found that obesity was related to a spread of physical symptoms and cognitive problems and that physical activity also plays a key role in optimal aging,” says co-author David Burnes, Associate Professor on the University of Toronto’s FIFSW and a Canada Research Chair in Older Adult Mistreatment Prevention. “These findings highlight the importance of maintaining an appropriate weight and interesting in an lively lifestyle throughout the life course”.

Income was also as a vital factor. Only about half of those below the poverty line aged optimally in comparison with three-quarters of those living above the poverty line.

“Although our study doesn’t provide information on why low income is vital, it is feasible that inadequate income causes stress and likewise restricts healthy selections reminiscent of optimal nutrition. Future research is required to further explore this relationship,” says senior writer Esme Fuller-Thomson, Director of the Institute for Life Course & Aging and Professor on the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.

Lifestyle aspects are related to optimal health in later life. Older adults who never smoked were 46% more likely to keep up a superb state of health in comparison with current smokers. Previous studies showed that quitting smoking in later life could improve survival statistics, pulmonary function, and quality of life; lower rates of coronary events, and reduce respiratory symptoms. The study found that former smokers did in addition to those that had never smoked, underscoring that it is rarely too late to quit.

The study also found that engaging in physical activity was vital in maintaining good health in later life. Older adults who engaged in moderate to strenuous physical activity were 35% to 45% more prone to age well, respectively.

The findings indicated that respondents who never or rarely experienced sleep problems at baseline were 29% more likely to keep up excellent health across the study.

“Clearly, good sleep is a vital factor as we age. Sleep problems undermine cognitive, mental, and physical health. There is robust evidence that an intervention called cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) may be very helpful for people living with insomnia,” says Esme Fuller-Thomson.

The study was recently published online, within the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. It uses longitudinal data from the baseline wave (2011-2015) and the primary follow-up wave (2015-2018) of knowledge from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA) to look at aspects related to optimal aging the primary two waves. Within the CLSA, there have been 7,651 respondents who were aged 60 years or older at wave 2 who were in optimal health in the course of the baseline wave of knowledge collection. The sample was restricted to those that were in excellent health at baseline, which was only 45% of the respondents.

Source:

Journal reference:

Ho, M., et al. (2022) Successful Aging amongst Immigrant and Canadian-Born Older Adults: Findings from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). International Journal of Environmental Research. doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013199.