Category Archives: Longevity

December 28, 2019 · 7:00 AM

Dog Owners Have Lower Risk of Death From Stroke and Heart Attack

Young Hank

From UPI:

A pair of new reports found that dog owners have a lower risk of early death than people without canine companionship, particularly when it comes to dying from a heart attack or stroke.

Dog ownership decreases a person’s overall risk of premature death by 24 percent, according to researchers who conducted a review of the available medical evidence.

The benefit is most pronounced in people with existing heart problems. Dog owners had a 65 percent reduced risk of death following a heart attack and a 31 percent reduced risk of death from heart disease, the researchers said.

Source: Having a dog can lower risk of death from heart attack, stroke – UPI.com

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS. What else lowers your risk of premature death? The Mediterranean diet!

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December 6, 2019 · 7:00 AM

Bariatric Surgery Prolongs Life in PWDs (formerly “diabetics”)

bariatric surgery, Steve Parker MD

Band-type gastric bypass, a type of metabolic surgery

Bariatric surgeries are considered by some experts (mostly surgeons?) to be the most effective way to treat or cure type 2 diabetes. They are effective, assuming you survive the original operation and potential complications, which may require further surgery.

From JAMA Network:

Among patients with type 2 diabetes and obesity, metabolic surgery, compared with nonsurgical management, was associated with a significantly lower risk of incident [heart attack, ischemic stroke, and mortality]. The findings from this observational study must be confirmed in randomized clinical trials.

Source: Association of Metabolic Surgery With Major Adverse Cardiovascular Outcomes in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Obesity | Bariatric Surgery | JAMA | JAMA Network

Steve Parker, M.D.

low-carb mediterranean diet

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December 3, 2019 · 11:03 PM

Soft Drinks Linked to Premature Death

I enjoy an aspartame-flavored Fresca now and then

The study at hand involved Europeans. It’s the first time I’ve seen artificially-sweetened soft drinks like to premature death.

From JAMA Network:

This study found that consumption of total, sugar-sweetened, and artificially sweetened soft drinks was positively associated with all-cause deaths in this large European cohort; the results are supportive of public health campaigns aimed at limiting the consumption of soft drinks.

Source: Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries | Cardiology | JAMA Internal Medicine | JAMA Network

Steve Parker, M.D.

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November 19, 2019 · 3:41 AM

Is the “Oldest Living Person” Really That Old?

Exercise is a fountain of youth available to every one

In The Blue Zones book, Dan Buettner discusses geographic regions where people live significantly longer than average. Sardinia, for example.

From Vox:

We’ve long been obsessed with the super-elderly. How do some people make it to 100 or even 110 years old? Why do some regions — say, Sardinia, Italy, or Okinawa, Japan — produce dozens of these “supercentenarians” while other regions produce none? Is it genetics? Diet? Environmental factors? Long walks at dawn?

A new working paper released on bioRxiv, the open access site for prepublication biology papers, appears to have cleared up the mystery once and for all: It’s none of the above.

Instead, it looks like the majority of the supercentenarians (people who’ve reached the age of 110) in the United States are engaged in — intentional or unintentional — exaggeration.

Source: Study: many of the “oldest” people in the world may not be as old as we think – Vox

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: I still think the Mediterranean diet improves longevity.

low-carb mediterranean diet

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October 30, 2019 · 4:12 PM

Is 10,000 Steps a Day Really Necessary for the Longevity Benefit?

Dog owners live longer. Is it because of dog-walking?

It depends.

Among older women [average age 72], as few as approximately 4400 steps/d was significantly related to lower mortality rates compared with approximately 2700 steps/d. With more steps per day, mortality rates progressively decreased before leveling at approximately 7500 steps/d. Stepping intensity was not clearly related to lower mortality rates after accounting for total steps per day.

Source: Association of Step Volume and Intensity With All-Cause Mortality in Older Women | Geriatrics | JAMA Internal Medicine | JAMA Network

10,000 steps is about five miles, depending on stride length. 6,000 steps would be about three miles. Walking at two miles per hour, a leisurely stroll, it would take 90 minutes to walk three miles.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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October 29, 2019 · 12:25 PM

Vegetarians Are Less Healthy Than Omnivores

Bussells sprouts and radishes ready for roasting

From Independent:

Vegetarians are less healthy than meat-eaters, a controversial study has concluded, despite drinking less, smoking less and being more physically active than their carnivorous counterparts.

A study conducted by the Medical University of Graz in Austria found that the vegetarian diet, as characterised by a low consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol, due to a higher intake of fruits, vegetables and whole-grain products, appeared to carry elevated risks of cancer, allergies and mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.

While not mentioned in the Independent article, the full PLOS One report defined “vegetarian”:

While 0.2% of the interviewees were pure vegetarians (57.7% female), 0.8% reported to be vegetarians consuming milk and eggs (77.3% female), and 1.2% to be vegetarians consuming fish and/ or eggs and milk (76.7% female).

I haven’t read the whole thing, but if you’re a vegetarian, you should digest it. Note the study was done in Austria. And if vegetarians are so unhealthy, why do Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, CA, seem to have a longevity benefit. Do ya think maybe there’s more involved than diet, like culture or genetics?

Steve Parker, M.D.

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October 18, 2019 · 3:49 AM

Do You Really Need That PPI?

“I don’t mind dying. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” –Woody Allen

Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are widely used in the U.S. to treat or prevent heartburn and ulcers. For example, omeprazole is the 6th most prescribed drug in the U.S. according to one source. PPIs reduce acid production by the stomach. Doesn’t it make sense that God or Nature gave us that stomach acid for a reason? Like to kill germs or aid the digestive process?

From the British Medical Journal:

Taking PPIs is associated with a small excess of cause specific mortality including death due to cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and upper gastrointestinal cancer. The burden was also observed in patients without an indication for PPI use. Heightened vigilance in the use of PPI may be warranted.

Source: Estimates of all cause mortality and cause specific mortality associated with proton pump inhibitors among US veterans: cohort study | The BMJ

Click for UPI’s coverage.

If you suffer from frequent heatburn, try cutting down on carbohydrates.

Steve Parker, M.D.

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October 13, 2019 · 10:05 AM

Sugary Beverages Increase Risk of Death

Wonder if sugar in coffee counts?

Sugary beverages also make it harder to control blood sugar levels.

From JAMA Network:

Question:  Is the consumption of sugary beverages (ie, sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juices) associated with an increased mortality risk?

Findings:  In this cohort study of 13 440 black and white adults 45 years and older observed for a mean of 6.0 years, each additional 12-oz serving/d of sugary beverages was associated with an 11% higher all-cause mortality risk, and each additional 12-oz serving/d of fruit juice was associated with a 24% higher all-cause mortality risk. Similar associations were not observed for sugary beverage consumption and coronary heart disease mortality.

Meaning:  These results suggest higher consumption of sugary beverages, including fruit juice, is associated with increased mortality.

Source: Association of Sugary Beverage Consumption With Mortality Risk in US Adults: A Secondary Analysis of Data From the REGARDS Study | Cardiology | JAMA Network Open | JAMA Network

Steve Parker, M.D.

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September 21, 2019 · 5:23 PM

Tighter Blood Pressure Control Benefits Type 2 Diabetes

Not bad

From Diabetes Self-Management:

The new study evaluated roughly 11,000 people with type 2 diabetes in 20 countries over four years, finding that those who received the blood pressure drugs perindopril and indapamide to keep their blood pressure levels at or below 130/80 had fewer heart attacks, strokes and other complications than those receiving placebo (inactive treatment). They also had a “lower overall risk of dying from any cause.”

Source: Tight Blood Pressure Control Benefits Type 2 Diabetes: Study – Diabetes Self-Management

You may think the aforementioned health benefits stem from use of perindopril and/or indapamide. It’s either that or simply the result of BP lowering. I suspect it’s the latter while admitting that not all BP drugs are created equal. As a hospitalist in Scottsdale, AZ, I rarely run across patients taking perindopril, and only occasionally folks on indapamide. Popularity of various drugs varies often depends on which part of the country you’re in. We need to be more scientific than that.

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: Losing excess weight and exercise are two ways to lower blood pressure without the expense and side effects of drugs.

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July 30, 2019 · 8:45 PM

Lack of Fitness Is Worse for Your Health Than Smoking, Diabetes, and Heart Disease

exercise for weight loss and management, dumbbells

At least he’s trying…

I’ve long advocated that life and health insurance companies base their premiums on results of individual treadmill exercise tests or similar. Here’s why.

From CNN:

We’ve all heard exercise helps you live longer. But a new study goes one step further, finding that a sedentary lifestyle is worse for your health than smoking, diabetes and heart disease.

Dr. Wael Jaber, a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic and senior author of the study, called the results “extremely surprising.”

“Being unfit on a treadmill or in an exercise stress test has a worse prognosis, as far as death, than being hypertensive, being diabetic or being a current smoker,” Jaber told CNN. “We’ve never seen something as pronounced as this and as objective as this.”

Source: Not exercising worse for your health than smoking, diabetes and heart disease – CNN

Most folks can improve their fitness by exercising regularly. But what about nonresponders?

Steve Parker, M.D.

PS: All of my weight-loss books recommend and teach you how to improve your level of fitness.

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