The consequences of longevity
Barry G. Wren in Progress in the Management of the Menopause, 2020
Longevity used to mean the duration of life, but now we hear it as meaning longer than life, longer than we could hope for at the end of our finishing 20th century. These ‘great expectations’ seem amply justified by today’s happenings. The dream of being allowed a bigger quota of years is nowadays a reality, as long as we do not forget it is still a privilege, given solely to those richer parts of the globe where we have the chance — as astonishing as it is unmerited — to have alighted. What makes it even more of a chance, or a lottery, is that we still do not know in advance to whom this privilege may or may not have been given. It goes without saying that science is trying to make it less of a hazard and more of a necessity, hoping to decode the genetic status which would lead to a general status.
Health and Community Together
Michael Fine, James W. Peters, Robert S. Lawrence in The Nature of Health, 2018
Considering longevity a property right helps us draw a distinction between property rights and functional abilities as we reflect on the meaning of health. Health is more a functional ability than it is a property right. Health may enable a property right – such as longevity, or wealth – but we should be careful to parse the difference between the property rights that health enables and health itself, particularly because property, as quantity, lends itself to measurement, while function does not. Still, there is something important about the ability of health to enable longevity that appears to be built into the meaning of health – which is different from the way health enables wealth or political liberty. Health predicts longevity in a way it does not predict either wealth or political liberty. You can have wealth and liberty without health, but you cannot have longevity without health, which is likely the reason longevity is used as a proxy indicator, or outcome measure: the “what we can measure” for the health of populations. Health, then, references longevity because it is a necessary condition for longevity, but health and longevity are not the same: health is an ability to function in relationship. Longevity is a property right which results from health and a number of other, mostly social and natural, conditions over time – the absence of war and interpersonal violence, the safety of the environment – which might reduce longevity and/or impair health. It may be worthwhile to reflect that essential reference as we round out the meaning of health.
Health in later life
Liam J. Donaldson, Paul D. Rutter in Donaldsons' Essential Public Health, 2017
Human ageing is a malleable process, as changing world demographics over the last 200 years have confirmed. It occurs over the life course and, biologically, is not confined to a decline and accumulation of losses in later life, but starts gradually in utero. Ageing is not a synonym for disease and infirmity. Human ageing and longevity are affected by genetic, environmental and lifestyle factors. Twin studies have shown that 25%–50% of individual variability in longevity is due to genes and the rest to nongenetic factors (e.g. diet, smoking, excess alcohol, low physical activity and infections). So, ageing is a complex process driven by multiple causal mechanisms and pathways that often overlap with those of age-related diseases; it also shows great plasticity and heterogeneity.
Evaluation of the possible association of body mass index and four metabolic gene polymorphisms with longevity in an Italian cohort: a role for APOE, eNOS and FTO gene polymorphisms
Published in Annals of Human Biology, 2019
Alfredo Santovito, Gabriella Galli, Stefano Ruberto
Epidemiological studies have shown that ∼ 25–30% of the overall variation in human lifespan can be attributed to genetic factors, which are mainly apparent after the age of 60 years and become more relevant for extreme longevity. In addition to the genetic background, longevity is also determined by environmental factors associated with social structure, culture and lifestyle (Montesano et al. 2012; Deelen et al. 2013). Among these environmental factors, nutritional status seems to be the principal factor associated with variations in lifespan. In particular, among the anthropometric parameters associated with longevity, BMI seems to be the most important (Frayling et al. 2007). Indeed, high values of this index are linked to increased incidence of cardiovascular and cancer diseases, and, in general, to high mortality rates (Kong et al. 2017). In our sample we observed an increase in BMI with age (Table 2), but the oldest group did not show significant differences with respect to the youngest group, indicating a possible positive effect of low values of BMI in longevity.
Effect of senescence on morphological, functional and oxidative features of fresh and cryopreserved canine sperm
Published in The Aging Male, 2020
Maíra Morales Brito, Daniel de Souza Ramos Angrimani, Bruno Rogério Rui, Giulia Kiyomi Vechiato Kawai, João Diego Agostini Losano, Camila Infantosi Vannucchi
Several theories related to biological aging have been developed and the common consensus is the description of a progressive loss of functionality according to aging, with consequent increase in disease susceptibility and incidence of several disorders [10]. Regardless of genetic influence, random (stochastic) factors can also be determinant for longevity, suggesting that the functional loss in aging results from the occasional accumulation of lesions, associated with environmental effects, causing progressive physiological decline [10]. Among the stochastic factors, there are different biochemical theories of the temporal influence, including the glycation process (i.e. Maillard reaction) and its subproducts (Advanced Glycation End-products—AGEs) [11] and oxidative stress. Therefore, experiments are required in order to clarify the influence of such processes on the reproductive aging in the canine species.
Are We Living Longer? And Age-Related Preventive Cancer Screening
Published in Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 2022
Jacquelyn H. Flaskerud
A recent conversation I had with a long-time friend and neighbor got me interested in the topic of longevity currently in the United States. We were discussing whether women over age 75 with no personal or family history of problems in specific areas needed to continue to get screening mammography, colonoscopy, and pap tests. I get my primary health care through a Geriatric Medicine group and had been advised that given my history, I could forgo these exams unless I wanted them or had problems in the future. My friend who belongs to a neighborhood mahjong group of women her age that includes a nurse who works at a local Veterans Administration hospital said that the nurse told the group that since we are all living longer, present rules for when to stop these screening exams no longer apply. She endorsed continuing with these procedures indefinitely. When my friend told me this, I said “But we’re not living longer. Life expectancy in the U.S. is declining.” It should be noted at the outset that the idea of living longer is an attractive one that most people would like to believe (including me). My friend questioned my assertion that life expectancy was decreasing, and I decided to investigate it. I also wanted to review the literature on these specific cancer screening exams to see if there was evidence that they contribute to longevity. What I found was not surprising: socioeconomic and racial/ethnic inequality are major determinants of longevity, access to preventive screening, and rates of morbidity and mortality from cancers in the U.S.
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