Dietary fiber intake tied to successful aging, research reveals

Credit: Wikipedia.

Most people know that a diet high in fiber helps to keep us "regular." Now Australian researchers have uncovered a surprising benefit of this often-undervalued dietary component.

02 jun 2016--A new paper published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences by scientists from The Westmead Institute for Medical Research—reports that eating the right amount of fiber from breads, cereals, and fruits can help us avoid disease and disability into old age.
Using data compiled from the Blue Mountains Eye Study, a benchmark population-based study that examined a cohort of more than 1,600 adults aged 50 years and older for long-term sensory loss risk factors and systemic diseases, the researchers explored the relationship between carbohydrate nutrition and healthy aging.
They found that out of all the factors they examined—which included a person's total carbohydrate intake, total fiber intake, glycemic index, glycemic load, and sugar intake—it was the fiber that made the biggest difference to what the researchers termed "successful aging."
Successful aging was defined as including an absence of disability, depressive symptoms, cognitive impairment, respiratory symptoms, and chronic diseases including cancer, coronary artery disease, and stroke.
According to lead author of the paper, Associate Professor Bamini Gopinath, PhD, from the Institute's Centre for Vision Research, the study is the first to look at the relationship between carbohydrate intake and healthy aging, and the results were significant enough to warrant further investigation.
"Out of all the variables that we looked at, fiber intake—which is a type of carbohydrate that the body can't digest—had the strongest influence," she said. "Essentially, we found that those who had the highest intake of fiber or total fiber actually had an almost 80 percent greater likelihood of living a long and healthy life over a 10-year follow-up. That is, they were less likely to suffer from hypertension, diabetes, dementia, depression, and functional disability."
While it might have been expected that the level of sugar intake would make the biggest impact on successful aging, Gopinath pointed out that the particular group they examined were older adults whose intake of carbonated and sugary drinks was quite low.
Although it is too early to use the study results as a basis for dietary advice, Gopinath said the research has opened up a new avenue for exploration.
"There are a lot of other large cohort studies that could pursue this further and see if they can find similar associations. And it would also be interesting to tease out the mechanisms that are actually linking these variables," she said.
This study backs up similar recent findings by the researchers, which highlight the importance of the overall diet and healthy aging.
In another study published last year in The Journals of Gerontology, Westmead Institute researchers found that, in general, adults who closely adhered to recommended national dietary guidelines reached old age with an absence of chronic diseases and disability, and had good functional and mental health status.


Provided by The Gerontological Society of America

Beyond early adversity: A multidimensional approach linking early experiences to successful aging

Adverse childhood experiences such as poverty, abuse and neglect have been linked to poor mental and physical health outcomes in adulthood. However, characterizing early experiences only in terms of extreme stressors fails to capture the full spectrum of childhood for most people.

17 dec 2015--In fact, a recent study by Lee et al. (2015) in Psychology and Aging suggests that looking at early adversity only tells part of the story. Using a novel person-centered approach, the authors reported three prototypic patterns based on recalled positive and negative childhood experiences across multiple domains, labeled as cherished (nurturing environment with some losses), harshly disciplined (potentially abusive parental discipline and non-normative stressors, such as sexual molestation) and ordinary (few stressors and low parental attention). Compared with the other groups, cherished children were better able to form and maintain supportive relationships in midlife, which in turn were related to greater life satisfaction, positive mood, feelings of competence and more positive relations in older ages. A key take-home message is that it is not a lack of early adversity per se, but dealing with stressors in the context of strong familial and external support, which allows children to learn healthy ways of coping with hardship and garnering support, thus promoting well-being across the lifespan.
A person-centered approach has the advantage of allowing researchers to consider multiple aspects of the childhood environment simultaneously, which can help identify a set of co-occurring factors that influence subsequent development. In this study, the authors applied latent class analysis to questionnaire items covering multiple domains of early experiences, including close relationships, significant life events, parental discipline, extracurricular activities, parental positive regard, and self-perceptions from birth to age 19. They examined whether specific patterns of experiences were differentially related to successful aging, defined as greater psychological well-being in later life. They also evaluated whether social support in midlife served as the link between early experiences and psychological well-being in later life. The study was based on 1,076 men from the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study, a cohort of community-dwelling men in the Boston area who were born between 1903 and 1945 and have been followed since the 1960s.
The finding of successful aging among the cherished children - those who enjoyed the most nurturing early environment but also suffered serious losses - underscores the notion that focusing solely on adversity does not fully capture the heterogeneity of early experiences. This study provides the impetus to approach early experiences as a multidimensional construct encompassing positive, neutral, and negative events, as well as normative and less typical experiences spanning the personal, familial, school and community domains. Researchers, educators, practitioners and policy-makers are encouraged to consider the interplay among different facets of early experiences and how such combinations influence developmental outcomes.

More information: Lewina O. Lee et al. Do cherished children age successfully? Longitudinal findings from the Veterans Affairs Normative Aging Study., Psychology and Aging (2015). DOI: 10.1037/pag0000050


Provided by American Psychological Association

'Successful aging' linked to harmful drinking among over 50s

The over 50s who are 'successful agers'—healthy, active, sociable, and well off—are more at risk of harmful drinking than their less successful peers, concludes research published in the online journal BMJ Open.

Harmful drinking is a "middle class phenomenon" which may be a hidden health and social problem in otherwise successful older people, warn the researchers, who call for explicit guidelines on alcohol consumption for this group.

24 july 2015--They base their findings on more than 9000 responses to the two most recent waves (2008-9 and 2010-11) of the English Longitudinal Survey of Ageing (ELSA)—a long term study of a representative sample of those aged 50 and above living independently at home in England.

Given that alcohol consumption is on the rise among older people in England, the researchers wanted to tease out the social and economic factors associated with harmful drinking, and changing patterns of consumption over time.

They used national guidance to define increasing risk of harmful drinking at 22-50 weekly units for men and 15 to 35 weekly units for women; and higher risk, at more than 50 and more than 35 weekly units, respectively, for men and women.

Survey participants were asked about a range of potentially influential factors: income; educational attainment; self reported health; whether they smoked; diet; physical activity levels; whether they felt lonely or depressed; ethnic background; marital status; caring responsibilities; religious beliefs; employment status; and social engagement (civic participation, networks of friends, cultural activities).

Analysis of the responses showed that the risk of harmful drinking peaked for men in their early 60s and then gradually tailed off, whereas for women risky drinking fell in tandem with age.

These patterns suggest that the current group of over 50s may be carrying on levels of higher consumption developed in their younger years, in later life, say the researchers.

Certain factors were linked to a heightened or lowered risk of harmful drinking.

Income was associated with a higher risk, but only among women, while smoking, higher educational attainment, and good health were all linked to heightened risk in both sexes.

Higher risk of harmful drinking was not linked to feelings of loneliness or depression, but it was more likely among men living on their own, including those who were separated/divorced. And it was more common among men of white ethnicity.

Caring responsibilities lowered the probability of being at higher risk among women, but religious belief did not—for either sex.

Employment status did not seem to be a significant factor, but women who had retired were more likely to be at higher risk.

When the researchers looked at changes in alcohol consumption between the two waves of the survey, they found that among women, loneliness, younger age, and higher income were all associated with the likelihood of becoming a higher risk drinker by 2010-11. A healthy diet seemed to lessen the risk.

Among men, these transition patterns were similar, except that caring responsibilities, loneliness, older age and lower income increased the likelihood of no longer drinking at risky levels by wave 2 of the survey.

"We can sketch—at the risk of much simplification—the problem of harmful drinking among people aged 50 or over in England as a middle class phenomenon: people in better health, higher income, with higher educational attainment and socially more active are more likely to drink at harmful levels," write the researchers.

"Our findings suggest that harmful drinking in later life is more prevalent among people who exhibit a lifestyle associated with affluence and with a 'successful' ageing process," they add.

"Harmful drinking may then be a hidden health and social problem in otherwise successful older people," they warn, concluding: "Consequently, and based on our results, we recommend the explicit incorporation of alcohol drinking levels and patterns into the successful ageing paradigm."

More information: BMJ Open DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2015-007684 

Provided by British Medical Journal

What is successful aging? Gerontologists strive to build consensus

Scholars have long debated what successful aging is, how to measure it, and how to promote it. But the latest issue of The Gerontologist lays the groundwork for building consensus on the topic—while pointing out that the answer may differ among academics and the general public, as well as across populations and demographic groups.

14 feb 2015--"With an enhanced understanding of what successful aging is, we will be in a stronger position to develop interventions that will enable more people to age successfully," stated The Gerontologist Editor Rachel Pruchno, PhD, in the issue's opening editorial. "The sheer number of people comprising the baby boom generation transformed academic interest in successful aging to a public policy imperative. Now more than ever, it is critical to develop science that empowers people to experience the best old age possible."

The topic of successful aging reached new heights of popularity following a 1987 study by John W. Rowe, MD, and Robert L. Kahn, PhD, titled "Human Aging: Usual and Successful," which appeared in Science. They followed up with a subsequent article in The Gerontologist (and later book) titled "Successful Aging."

Their work helped the field of gerontology evolve from one arguably fixated on loss to one characterized by heterogeneity and the potential for growth. In the latter piece, they wrote that "successful aging is multidimensional, encompassing the avoidance of disease and disability, the maintenance of high physical and cognitive function, and sustained engagement in social and productive activities."

Now, through a series of 16 articles in The Gerontologist, top researchers in the field have looked back at the progress made over the past 28 years—and whether or not Rowe and Kahn's analysis is still relevant. Some of the journal's authors even suggest that the concept of successful aging should be abandoned, pointing to social inequalities and the problems associated with labeling a person as an "unsuccessful ager."

The issue includes a number of groundbreaking studies involving several segments of the U.S. population. For example, one of the articles reports on the first study to examine physical and mental health quality of life among the older LGBT population. Another entry uses queer theory to explore the experiences of transgender persons who contemplate or pursue a gender transition later in life. A further article addresses the growing body of literature suggesting that black women experience a number of social challenges that may present as barrier to aging successfully. Together, they demonstrate the necessity for gerontological theory to address how social, cultural, behavioral, and environmental constructs affect physical health and psychological well-being while guiding policy, health care services, and research among diverse race and gendered populations.

The Gerontologist also contains articles examining successful aging across cultures. It reports that young, middle-aged, and older lay persons from the U.S. and Germany have quite similar concepts of successful aging, which they view in far more multidimensional terms than do established scientific theories. This demonstrates that laypersons' views of successful aging pose scientific challenges because they include a much wider variety of factors than are considered in most theoretical models. A separate study examines labor force participation rates and life expectancy among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Countries—and finds that member nations with older adults who remain active in a paid work capacity tend to have elders who live longer.

"Nearly three decades after Rowe and Kahn's initial article was published, it is incumbent on gerontologists to use the conceptual and empirical knowledge base that now exists to develop consensus about what successful aging is and how it should be measured," Pruchno wrote. "We should approach this goal knowing that our measures will not be perfect, but at least our findings will be comparable. Advancing this work will help us learn how individuals can experience successful aging regardless of their social or health conditions."

Provided by The Gerontological Society of America

Team explores broader definition of successful aging

An aging population poses challenges for governments around the globe as nations grapple with how to satisfy the physical, social and economic needs of older adults. About 126 million adults 65 years and older live in China - the country with the largest population of senior citizens, while 40 million adults 65 years and older live in the United States.

27 may 2014--In an article published today in Journal of Transcultural Nursing, University of Louisville School of Nursing assistant professor Valerie Lander McCarthy, PhD, RN; Ji Hong, MSN, a visiting scholar from Shandong University, China; and Jiying Ling, PhD, MS, RN, post-graduate fellow, Michigan State University College of Nursing, explore whether a broader definition of successful aging could positively influence research, clinical practice and health policy in the United States and China.

McCarthy argues it is unrealistic to measure positive aging solely on good physical and cognitive function and active social engagement, as traditionally defined by J. W. Rowe, M.D., and Robert L. Kahn.

"In reality the definition applies to only about 10-percent of the older adult population, then older adults feel guilty when they get sick because they think they are not succeeding – and in the U.S. succeeding is important. In China, individual success is not as important, but the negative effect of the cost to care for the older population is a major problem," McCarthy said.

Even in the presence of chronic illness and functional limitations, older adults still report aging successfully, McCarthy said. She concludes nurse scientist Meredith Flood's definition is most accurate. Flood describes successful aging as a person's ability to cope and adapt while maintaining a sense of connectedness and meaning in life.

Building on Flood's ideas, McCarthy's own studies have found transcendence - a sense of meaning, well-being and life satisfaction, to be the best predictor of positive aging. The concept involves relationships, creativity, contemplation, introspection and spirituality. Thanks to a grant from the nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau International and the National Gerontological Nurses Association, she is working to develop a program of activities to increase transcendence.

An example of one intervention involves a time for quiet solitude in natural beauty followed by a discussion about a person's outlook, helping to develop a broadened perspective on life or a feeling of being an integral part of the cycle of life. A second example may provide an opportunity for storytelling, increasing a sense of belonging to a group.

"Successful aging is important for the rapidly growing population of older adults and their families and caregivers," McCarthy said. "It also is significant for society as a whole, which will bear the burden of unprecedented demands on health and social services. This is one reason we are developing interventions to increase positive aging."

More information: tcn.sagepub.com/content/early/2014/05/16/1043659614526257.full.pdf

Provided by University of Louisville

Sexual satisfaction tied to overall 'successful aging' as reported by women age 60 to 89

A study by researchers at the Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California, San Diego finds that successful aging and positive quality of life indicators correlate with sexual satisfaction in older women. The report, published online in the August edition of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society, also shows that self-rated successful aging, quality of life and sexual satisfaction appear to be stable even in the face of declines in physical health of women between the ages of 60 and 89.

The study looked at 1,235 women enrolled at the San Diego site of the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) study, a major ongoing research program funded by the National Institutes of Health which, since 1993, has addressed causes of death, disability and quality of life in more than 160,000 generally healthy, post-menopausal women.

25 aug 2011--As the researchers expected, sexual activity and functioning (such things as desire, arousal and ability to climax) were negatively associated with age, as were physical and mental health. However, in contrast to sexual activity and functioning, satisfaction with overall sex life was not significantly different between the three age cohorts studied: age 60 to 69; 70 to 70; and 80 to 89. Approximately 67 percent, 60 percent, and 61 percent of women in these three age groups, respectively, reported that they were "moderately" to "very satisfied" with their sex lives.

"Contrary to our earlier hypothesis, sexual satisfaction was not significantly associated with age," said Wesley K. Thompson, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry with the Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, and co-lead author along with UC San Diego medical student Lindsey Charo, BA. "Although the levels of sexual activity and functioning did vary significantly, depending on the woman's age, their perceived quality of life, successful aging and sexual satisfaction remained positive."

Sexual activity was significantly lower in older age cohorts. Of the women who were married or in an intimate relationship, 70 percent of those aged 60 to 69, 57 percent of those aged 70 to 79, and 31 percent of those aged 80 to 89 reported having had some sexual activity in the previous six months. While women who were married or living in an intimate relationship engaged in higher rates of sexual activity than those who were not in such a relationship, sexual activity still decreased across age cohorts.

The findings of this study confirm earlier published research from the UCSD Stein Institute suggesting that self-rated health changes little with age even when objective health indicators show age-associated decline.

"What this study tells us is that many older adults retain their ability to enjoy sex well into old age," said Thompson. "This is especially true of older adults who maintain a higher level of physical and mental health as they grow older. Furthermore, feeling satisfied with your sex life - whatever your levels of sexual activity - is closely related to your perceived quality of life." He added that "while we cannot assess cause and effect from this study, these results suggest that maintaining a high level of sexual satisfaction may positively reinforce other psychological aspects of successful aging."

Provided by University of California - San Diego

The secret to successful aging

Whether we choose to accept or fight it, the fact is that we will all age, but will we do so successfully? Aging successfully has been linked with the "positivity effect", a biased tendency towards and preference for positive, emotionally gratifying experiences. New research published in Biological Psychiatry now explains how and when this effect works in the brain.

15 july 2011--German neuroscientists studied this effect by using neuroimaging to evaluate brain engagement in young and old adults while they performed a specialized cognitive task that included supposedly irrelevant pictures of either neutral, happy, sad or fearful faces. During parts of the task when they didn't have to pay as much attention, the elderly subjects were significantly more distracted by the happy faces. When this occurred, they had increased engagement in the part of the brain that helps control emotions and this stronger signal in the brain was correlated with those who showed the greatest emotional stability.

"Integrating our findings with the assumptions of life span theories we suggest that motivational goal-shifting in healthy aging leads to a self-regulated engagement in positive emotions even when this is not required by the setting," explained author Dr. Stefanie Brassen. "In addition, our finding of a relationship between rostral anterior cingulate cortex activity and emotional stability further strengthens the hypothesis that this increased emotional control in aging enhances emotional well being."

"The lessons of healthy aging seem to be similar to those of resilience, throughout life. As recently summarized in other work by Drs. Dennis Charney and Steven Southwick, when coping with extremely stressful life challenges, it is critical to realistically appraise the situation but also to approach it with a positive attitude," noted Dr. John H. Krystal, the Editor of Biological Psychiatry.

Lifespan theories explain that positivity bias in later life reflects a greater emphasis on short-term rather than long-term priorities. The study by Dr. Brassen and colleagues now provides another clue to how the brain contributes to this age-related shift in priorities.

This makes aging successfully sound so simple – use your brain to focus on the positive.

More information: Anterior Cingulate Activation Is Related to a Positivity Bias and Emotional Stability in Successful Aging" Biological Psychiatry, Volume 70, Number 2 (July 1, 2011)

Provided by Elsevier

Maintaining mobility in older age

A study by the New Dynamics of Ageing Programme, a joint initiative by Research Council's UK, examines the relationship between successful aging and mobility patterns. While maintaining mobility plays a significant part in healthy aging, a new study highlights a high degree of inactivity even among an "elite" sample of fit and healthy older people aged between 72 and 92 years.

10 dec 2010--"Mobility is hugely important in terms of older people being able to remain independent," explains Dr Lynn McInnes. "Reduced mobility can restrict a person's social life as well as limiting their access to shops, leisure and other activities. People fear not being able to look after themselves and being a burden on others. Often a cause of this dependence is a decline in mobility."

The study used innovative methods, such as location awareness technologies for mapping the mobility of the oldest-old members (75 years and over) of an existing 25-year longitudinal study of ageing.

The daily mobility activities of a fairly active group of people showed that 70 per cent of the day is spent sitting or lying, 22 per cent of the day standing and seven per cent of the day walking. The furthest distance travelled from their home is on average four miles, or approximately 23 miles in a single week, spread over five journeys per week. As much as 78 per cent of the day is spent indoors and 14 per cent of the day is spent on outdoor activities.

Evidence suggests that sitting most of the time is an important factor to take into account when looking at patterns of behaviour. The daily life of a person includes a combination of active, non-active or brief activities. These patterns suggest that changes occur as people age and starting an activity may be harder later in the day.

Lead researcher Dr McInnes points out: "New methods are needed to examine how much activity an individual does throughout a day. Monitoring activity levels by using tracking devices will help to assess the mobility ability of older people. Additionally, monitoring health and well-being can help identify individuals who may be at risk."

In addition these findings highlight the importance of providing effective transport networks and a good range of local services to meet older people's needs," Dr McInnes explains. "Being able to stay mobile is crucial to older people's wellbeing, as loss of mobility means the loss of so many other things from their lives such as the ability to go shopping, meet friends and pursue hobbies and interests."

This project has helped to establish a reliable mobility profile of the oldest-old members of society by determining where individuals go and how active they are in the process and shows there is a clear relationship between mobility, health and well-being. It is encouraging to know that old age is not necessarily a time of ill health, a decline in thought processes or becoming a burden. Participants in this study exemplified 'successful ageing'.

Provided by Economic & Social Research Council

Preparing for successful aging

01 jan 2010--It's never too early or too late to start working toward the goal of improving brain health. So perhaps the New Year is the perfect time to consider how one achieves a long and satisfying life. A book recently publishing by American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., called Successful Cognitive and Emotional Aging may be just the tool to help find some answers to the age-old question.

Its focus is on success in cognitive and emotional realms of aging – a compelling topic in a society where baby boomers are poised to enter their golden years.

The book is edited by a leading expert on successful cognitive aging from the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine – Dilip Jeste, MD, Estelle and Edgar Levi Chair in Aging, distinguished professor of psychiatry and neurosciences, and Director of UC San Diego's Stein Institute for Research on Aging – and his colleague, Colin Depp, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry. With topics ranging from molecules and genes to social relationships and spirituality, Jeste and Depp have compiled a collection of essays from foremost experts on behavioral and psychosocial aspect of aging, as well as prevention and intervention strategies.

As Jeste and Depp point out in the book's overview, two-thirds of all people in the entire history of the word who lived to be age 65 are alive today.

Yet, media attention regarding the "age crisis" often overshadows the real and positive strides made in extending the human life and health span over the past 100 years. Along with society's need to understand and treat pathological aging – such as identifying the onset of Alzheimer's disease – another group of doctors and researchers are working to differentiates "successful" from "normal" aging.

"Our review suggests that older adults tend to place more importance on cognitive and emotional qualities such as having a positive attitude or being socially engaged than on physical aspects of aging," said Jeste. "Therefore, opportunities to enhance the health of an aging global population through cognitive and emotional interventions are both immense and challenging." Such strategies might include physical activity, dietary recommendations and pharmacotherapy, and the book summarizes evidence for both traditional and nontraditional approaches to cognitive stimulation and interventions.

Importantly, it stresses the importance of positive emotions, the role of spirituality and accumulated wisdom in achieving successful aging.

"It is our sincere hope that, with much left to know, this book will convince its readers that there is a rapidly developing and scientifically sound basis for optimism about growing older," Jeste said.

Education, Fitness Associated With Successful Aging

Older adults who maintain cognitive function have distinct profile, study finds

10 jun 2009-- The profile of older adults who maintain cognitive function is unique and different from those who undergo cognitive decline, according to a study published in the June 9 issue of Neurology.

Kristine Yaffe, M.D., of the University of California in San Francisco, and colleagues conducted a study of 2,509 well-functioning older adults and measured their cognitive function at baseline, then again after three, five and eight years. During that time, cognitive function was maintained by 30 percent of the subjects, while 53 percent showed minor decline and 16 percent had major cognitive decline.

Subjects who were white were more likely than their black counterparts to be a maintainer versus a minor decliner (odds ratio, 1.72), the researchers discovered. The odds ratios for those with high school education or greater, or ninth grade literacy level or greater, were 2.75 and 4.85, respectively, while younger age, not smoking and regular exercise were all associated with better odds of maintaining cognitive function, the investigators found.

"Future studies should incorporate imaging techniques to assess the correlation between cognitive maintenance and brain function/morphology over time," the authors write. "Elucidating predictors of optimal cognitive function will enable the development of strategies that may prevent onset or slow the progression of dementia in late life."

Abstract
Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)