Genetic study on longevity may be flawed

When scientists announced last week that they had identified 150 genetic features that could be used to predict whether a person will live past 100, the public was intrigued (and I reported on it myself) – but fellow scientists were skeptical.

A few aspects of the study raised red flags for geneticists.

First, the impressive 77% prediction accuracy was unheard of for similar types of reports, and particularly stood out given the relatively small number of subjects for this study. The study featured more than 1,000 centenarians -- an impressive number given how rare it is for people to live this long. But most genetic studies of this type (ones that look at the entire genome to try to find associations with particular traits or diseases) need DNA data from tens or hundreds of thousands of people to reach meaningful conclusions.

There were also some methodological issues. The researchers weren’t totally consistent about the DNA-analyzing technology they used over the course of the study, reportedly because the tool they used at the beginning of the study was taken off the market midway through, so they had to switch to a comparable but not identical product.

Furthermore, genetic information from the centenarians and the younger controls was collected differently, potentially introducing errors.

The blogosphere has quickly picked up on the story since Newsweek magazine broke it July 7.  Daniel MacArthur at Genetic Future provides a technical perspective, including a graph showing one of the troubling ways that this study deviates from the usual reports of this type.

The personal genome-sequencing company 23andMe also published a blog post about the topic. The firm used its extensive genetic data of customers (including 134 who were 95 and older and 27 who were 100 and older) to test the predictive power of the reported genetic markers -- and found it to be not significantly better than random.

It’s too early to toss the study in the trash; simple follow-up experiments with standardized equipment could provide a quick answer about the truth of it. Regardless, these concerns do raise significant questions about how to ensure that good journals publish good science.

-- Rachel Bernstein

Book Review: 'The Longevity Prescription' by Robert N. Butler

Is 80 the new 50? It is when you compare Americans' average life expectancy today -- about 78 -- with what it was a century ago, when the average American lived to about  50.

In "The Longevity Prescription," Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Butler writes that this three-decade dividend, as he calls it, doesn't have to be lived out in declining health as many assume.

Common ailments such as heart disease, arthritis and lung problems are arriving a full decade later than they did 100 years ago. This suggests that we have it within our power to increase the chances of staying healthy longer, says Butler, founding president of the International Longevity Center and founder of the National Institute of Health's National Institute on Aging. 

Genes play only a small part in longevity, he says -- studies consistently find a link of 5% to 35% between parent and child. He says research clearly shows that a healthy lifestyle can make a big difference in helping people live longer and push back or avoid the onset of chronic illness, lack of mobility and cognitive decline.

Of course, this won't be news to many. There has been a steady flow of research and stories for years suggesting that good health habits can make a difference. What Butler has done in his beautifully written new book is integrate these findings with inspiring stories, clear explanations, compassionate advice and step-by-step strategies to offer an easy-to-follow prescription for a more healthy life.

Yes, most people know they should be getting regular sleep, reducing stress, eating better, exercising more, getting preventive care and nurturing their relationships -- all topics in the book. It's putting these things into practice that can be the hard part. This is where "The Longevity Prescription" is particularly useful.

Want to keep your brain in good working order? He prescribes "cognitive calisthenics": Find an activity that challenges your brain and invest at least 20 minutes a day, five days a week in it, monitoring progress and increasing challenges. His suggestions include turning off the TV, bookmarking a favorite news website, learning a word a day, reading a book or an e-book, learning to play an instrument, memorizing a poem, playing puzzles, pursuing a passion.

He writes that a good marriage at age 50 has been shown to be a better predictor of good health at age 80 than a low cholesterol count. But friendship is priceless as well, he says.

If you need a little primer on enriching or deepening friendships, he suggests first finding three friendships important to you: one healthy and active, one dormant and one broken. Examine all three for lessons good and bad and try to put them in good working order. Then he offers practical suggestions for doing so, among them: Be a listener, think before you speak, practice forgiveness, be positive, try out tolerance, say no when necessary, don't be smothering, be accessible, keep in touch. 

Not rocket science, right? But invaluable advice all the same. Each chapter of Butler's book offers similarly common-sense suggestions and ideas. He starts with a quiz you can take to rate your "longevity index" and ends with a contract to fill out, committing yourself to taking good care of your health.

-- Anne Colby

Photo: "The Longevity Prescription: The 8 Proven Keys to a Long, Healthy Life," Robert N. Butler MD, Avery, $26. 

RELATED

Book Review: "Passages in Caregiving"

Book Review: "The Roadmap to 100"

Book Review: "The Strong Women's Guide to Total Health"

Book Review: 'Passages in Caregiving' by Gail Sheehy

Caring for a loved one with a chronic illness -- a parent, partner, sibling or child -- is a role no one aspires to but many of us will take on.

In her superb new book, "Passages in Caregiving," Gail Sheehy writes that someone is serving as an unpaid family caregiver in almost one-third of American households. It's a job that lasts an average of five years.

"Nobody briefs us on all the services we are expected to perform when we take on this role," she writes.

That statement is no longer true, for "Passages in Caregiving" -- written from Sheehy's personal experience supplemented by a generous dose of reporting -- does it well. Her book outlines the road that awaits caregivers and gives practical advice to help them on the journey. It's an ambitious and readable blend of memoir, reportage, consumer advice, pep talk and love story.

Sheehy, author of the bestselling 1976 book "Passages" and many other books and articles, was married to Clay Felker, the legendary editor who founded New York magazine and cultivated such writing talents as Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Breslin and Gloria Steinem. They were a high-profile New York media couple with a life many would envy.

Then one day a phone call came that changed everything. It was a cancer diagnosis for Felker. As they absorbed the news and started making the rounds of doctors, Sheehy realized she had taken on a new role: family caretaker. She thought this would last six months to a year and then their life together would go back to normal. It didn't. 

Stress and worry ebb, happiness grows after 50

Imagine that life were a board game -- let's call it, "Are We There Yet?"

The objective of the game -- "getting there" -- could be to attain happiness and even, say, wisdom (a very new-age board game). It could also be to avoid the pitfalls of illness and despair and reach the end of a long and healthy life (a board game for the slightly more worry-prone).

No matter which objective you choose, the game will look about the same: According to a study   published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, those two endpoints -- happiness and long life -- pretty much follow the same course. Happiness -- maybe even wisdom -- grows as you pass midlife and get closer to the end. 

How'd they figure this out? In a 2008 survey underwritten by the Healthways Inc., the Gallup Organization asked 355,344 Americans from 18 to 84 not only to rate their general level of well-being but also the levels of happiness, enjoyment, stress, worry, sadness and anger they had felt the previous day. Respondents' well-being showed a clear pattern across the age span: for men, happiness and enjoyment hit a low point, on average, somewhere in their 40s, and women's nadir of happiness and enjoyment came between 50 and 53. From there, a significant upward turn began, and continued to improve into the octogenarian years.

There were lots of chutes and ladders along the way. Players -- er, respondents -- had to work their way past the heart-pounding peak of stress in their mid-20s, and endure declining but continued stress through their 30s and 40s. But after about 50, stress took a deep plunge. High levels of worry threatened to impede forward progress for men in the 46-49 years and peak for women at 50-53, but then declined steadily. Anger burned hottest at 18-21, stayed pretty high into the early 40s, when a sudden explosion of rage could cause a loss of turn. Then, it steadily declined.

We all know women live longer, but this survey makes clear it's a little harder on them than it is on men. At all ages, their reported levels of "enjoyment" are lower than mens'. At all ages, their levels of stress and worry are significantly higher than those of men. At all ages, their reported sadness is higher than mens'. Only their levels of anger were the equal of mens' throughout the lifespan.

Want a personal tour of the booming landscape of happiness? You'll want to check out Harvard's "Happier" guru. And have a look at this site.

--Melissa Healy

   

Annual mega-dose of vitamin D doesn't reduce fractures, study finds

Sufficient vitamin D is vital to bone health and preventing the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. But a new study shows an experimental therapy involving a once-a-year mega-dose of vitamin D did not prevent bone fractures and actually increased the risk of falls and fractures.

Researchers in Australia gave a single, annual dose of 500,000 international units of vitamin D or a placebo to 2,256 women, ages 70 and older, at high risk for fracture. But after three to five years, the study showed that 74% of the women in the vitamin D group had at least one fall compared with 68% of the women in the placebo group. Women in the vitamin D group had 171 fractures compared with 135 in the placebo group.

Vitamin D supplementation of 800 IU a day is known to be important for good bone health. It's not clear why an annual mega-dose may backfire. It's possible that vitamin D improved the women's overall health and well-being to the extent that they were more active and mobile and had more opportunities to fall. But no matter, said the authors of a commentary accompanying the study, it's safe and effective to take the vitamin at lower doses daily, weekly or monthly.

The study was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Assn.

— Shari Roan

Rodent of the Week: Reversing age-related memory loss

In a truly exciting area of neuroscience, researchers reported this week that they were able to identify specific changes in the brain that impair age-related memory and learning in elderly mice. These are the kind of gradual memory glitches that humans begin to experience in their late 40s and continue during the aging process. It appears that epigenetic changes -- changes in the way genes function but that do not involve changes in DNA -- cause this type of memory decline. But reversing these changes may yield treatments for cognitive loss.

Researchers in Germany determined that memory decline became impaired in aging mice around 16 months of age. Examining the mice, they found changes in the proteins that control gene expression in their brains. One particular change was found in enzymes called histone acetyltransferases. When the researchers treated the mice with a drug that reinstated the change in the enzymes and in the gene expression, they saw improved memory function in the mice. The study was published Thursday in the journal Science.

"This study presents a major advance in thinking about the role of histone modifications in synaptic plasticity and memory formation," J. David Sweatt, chairman of the University of Alabama at Birmingham department of neurobiology, said in a commentary accompanying the study. Sweatt, in a paper published recently, showed that drugs that affect histone acetyltransferases also benefit mice with Alzheimer's disease.

"These studies will hopefully lead to more effective prevention strategies to improve quality of life in the aged, as well as contribute to a better understanding of memory," Sweatt said in a news release.

-- Shari Roan

Photo: Advanced Cell Technology Inc.

Many assisted-living residents sleep poorly

A study of adults who live in assisted-living facilities found that 65% had significant sleep problems, according to a study released Friday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study also found that people with sleep problems had an increased incidence of depression and a lower quality of life.

The study, from UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, examined 121 older people in assisted-living homes. Lead author Jennifer Martin found that the residents slept about six hours per night and about 1.5 hours during the day. The most common sleep problems included waking in the middle of the night or early morning or the inability to fall asleep within 30 minutes.

Much is known about how to resolve such sleep problems, the study notes. These strategies should be applied in assisted living facilities to see if better-quality sleep improves daily functioning and quality of life.

The study is published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

-- Shari Roan

Dementia in one spouse increases risk in the other

Married adults who have a spouse with dementia are much more likely themselves to develop dementia, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. The study suggests that either the stress of being a caregiver or something about the shared environment of the couple contributes to
the second case of dementia.

Researchers from Utah examined 2,442 married people ages 65 and older, none of whom had dementia at the start of the study. They were monitored for 12 years. During that time, 125 cases of dementia were diagnosed in husbands and 70 cases in wives and 30 cases in which both the husband and wife were diagnosed. The analysis showed that people with a spouse with dementia were at six times higher risk of developing dementia themselves. The risk, however, was much higher for men caring for their wives than for wives caring for their husbands.

"On the positive side, the majority of these individuals with spouses who develop dementia did not themselves develop dementia," the lead author of the study, Dr. Maria Norton, of Utah State University, said in a news release. "More research is needed to explore which factors distinguish those who are more vulnerable."

-- Shari Roan

Photo credit: Dushan Milic / For The Times

Book Review: 'The Roadmap to 100' by Walter M. Bortz II and Randall Stickrod

What if you could live to 100 and not just survive but thrive -- even in your elder years? Dr. Walter M. Bortz II and Randall Stickrod, authors of "The Roadmap to 100," say it's not only possible but probable that many of us will do so.

There will be as many as 6 million centenarians in the world by the middle of this century -- most of them healthy, functional and largely independent, Bortz and Stickrod write. But conversely, there's also a large population that may die at a younger age than the previous generation and be in poorer health while alive, putting a strain on healthcare resources, they say. 

Which of these groups people fall into largely is not determined by hereditary factors but by lifestyle choices, they write. "Longevity is neither an accident nor an isolated phenomenon. It is a product of specific healthy behaviors, a direct consequence of health maintenance."

With "Roadmap," Bortz and Stickrod say, they are "issuing a clarion call to reclaim ownership of our health, to learn to take responsibility for it and not rely blindly on medical technology to repair the damage we do to ourselves."

They present a persuasive case, backed up by numerous studies, and outline specific behaviors people can adopt to live longer and live well. However, they may be preaching to the choir. Their science-oriented book is geared to an educated reader who probably already knows the components of a healthy lifestyle. 

Bortz is no stranger to the topic. He's former co-chairman of the American Medical Assn.'s Task Force on Aging, former president of the American Geriatric Society and author of "Dare to Be 100." Stickrod, a science and technology publisher and writer, was the founding executive publisher of Wired magazine.

The two have examined studies and writings on aging, exercise, obesity, nutrition and disease and come up with several factors they believe contribute to longevity. Their top prescription for a long and productive life might be summed up in two words: Move more.

Martial arts techniques may help older people prevent hip fractures

Hip fractures from falls can be catastrophic for older people with osteoporosis. But a new study found that learning a few martial arts-based fall techniques could help lessen the severity of those tumbles.

The study participants, however, weren't older men and women -- they were 12 people age 23 to 44 who did martial arts training on either a 1 1/2-inch-thick judo mat or a 10-inch-thick gymnasium mattress. For safety reasons, researchers decided against testing people who actually had osteoporosis.

After being trained in fall techniques, the participants performed sideways and forward fall techniques (which pose the biggest risk for direct hip force and hip fractures) from both kneeling and standing positions. The vertical forces from hip impacts were measured by a force plate. Researchers determined that those with osteoporosis should wear hip protectors during training to minimize impact forces.

The most significant parts of the martial arts fall techniques are learning a rolling movement and protecting the head. In the rolling movement the trunk and neck are curved to help stop the head from hitting the ground. Slapping the arm down is another technique used to stop the rolling movement.

After measuring impact forces, researchers determined that martial arts fall training could be safe for people with osteoarthritis if they wear hip protectors, practice falls on a thick gym mattress and avoid forward falls from a standing position.

The study appears in the journal BMC Research Notes.

-- Jeannine Stein

Photo: Arnulfo Franco / Associated Press