Keys to Living a Long Life

(October 28, 2008) - If you want to live a long life, you should mellow out, avoid smoking and have a decent income. That's the suggestion from a group of researchers. They say that elderly people who have a positive outlook, lower stress levels, moderate alcohol consumption, abstention from tobacco, moderate to higher income and no chronic health conditions are more likely to thrive in their old age. (Read about "Stress" "Alcoholism" "Quit Smoking") They published their research in The Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences.

The first study of its kind, surveyed 2,432 older people about their quality of life. The few who maintained excellent health over an entire decade were considered "thrivers." Most previous studies have been based on one-time surveys and have focused on factors that contribute to poor health.

"Important predictors of 'thriving' were the absence of chronic illness, income over $30,000, having never smoked, and drinking alcohol in moderation," said Mark Kaplan, DrPH, lead author. "We also found that people who had a positive outlook and lower stress levels were more likely to thrive in old age."

"Many of these factors can be modified when you are young or middle-aged," said David Feeny, PhD, co-author. "While these findings may seem like common sense, now we have evidence about which factors contribute to exceptional health during retirement years."

If respondents reported moderate or severe disability on any of the six surveys, they were classified as "non-thrivers." Just over half (or 50.8 percent) of the respondents started out as "thrivers", but by the end of the 10 years, only 8 percent of the respondents were considered thrivers. At the end of the study period, 47 percent of the respondents were classified as non-thrivers. Thirty-six percent had died and 9 percent were institutionalized.