Follow a Positive Path to Longevity
Gray matter changes may make words hard to recognize

(HealthDay News) -- It should come as no surprise that being outgoing and knowing how to manage stress appear to be key factors in living to 100.

"We are talking about the positive aspects of life," Colin Milner, chief executive of the International Council on Active Aging, told HealthDay.

When he goes to retirement communities to give lectures on active aging, Milner said, it's easy to pick out the people who are engaged in life. "If you are engaged, you are less negative, more open and more agreeable," he said. "That's why you are engaged."

And if you have those positive traits, "people will engage with you," Milner added.

It's long been known that longevity runs in families and that personality traits appear to play a key role, according to Dr. Thomas Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study at the Boston University School of Medicine.

The study has tracked the health of the children of centenarians to identify common denominators of longevity. As part of their research, Perls and his colleagues looked at five common personality traits -- openness, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness and neuroticism -- for 246 people in their 70s and 80s who are children of people who lived to 100.

The researchers found that these people were highly extraverted, which means "they are quite social, establish important friendships and view these friendships as 'safety nets,'" Perls told HealthDay.

The participants also scored low on neuroticism, which means that they manage stress very well. Women in the study scored high on agreeableness, which can make it easier to form friendships. Levels of openness and conscientiousness were average for both men and women in the study.

"We really found that the offspring of centenarians, in their 70s and 80s, are very much following in the footsteps of their parents," Perls said. "They have 60 percent reduced rates of heart disease, stroke and diabetes."

The findings were published online in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

It's logical that being less neurotic and being adept at handling stress would help people live longer because stress is known to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, Perls noted. Studies have also found that social ties are important to an older person's health.

But people who are not naturally sociable or who have difficulty dealing with stress should not worry because it's possible to get better at both, he said. Take simple steps to become more outgoing, such as traveling, he suggested, as that's a good way to meet people.

"If you don't have a personality that naturally manages stress, figure out a way to reduce stress that works," he said. "Exercise, enjoy time with the family."

There are a number of other things you can do to stay healthy as you age, and it's never too late to start, according to the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. They include eating healthy, keeping your mind and body active, getting regular medical checkups and taking steps to prevent falls and other accidents that can cause injury.

On the Web

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about healthy aging.

SOURCES: HealthDay News; Colin Milner, chief executive, International Council on Active Aging, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Thomas Perls, M.D., M.P.H., director, New England Centenarian Study, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston; April 2009, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, online; U.S. National Health Information Center (www.healthfinder.gov)
Author: Robert Preidt
Publication Date: May 31, 2010
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