[ 2014-12-16 ]

Feeling young at heart wards off death, scientists find
Researchers at University College London found
that those who felt younger than their actual age
were 41 per cent less likely to have died in the
follow up period

London (UK) - 15 Dec 2014 – The Telegraph - It
might seem like a tired cliché, but feeling young
at heart really can make people live longer.

Scientists have proven that people with a youthful
spring in their step and an unswerving optimism
about the future seem able to cheat death.

Researchers at University College London followed
more than 6,000 people for eight years monitoring
their happiness levels and health.

They found that those who felt younger than their
actual age, by three years or more, were 41 per
cent less likely to have died in the follow up
period.

Just 14 per cent of the optimists who felt young
at heart had died within eight years of the study
beginning, compared with nearly one in four of
those who perceived themselves to be at least a
year older than their chronological age.

A group of men from Caerphilly in South Wales
celebrated completing a pioneering 35-year health
study - beating killer diseases by making simple
changes to their lifestyle.

Although some of the difference could be accounted
for by illness, there was still a significant
protective benefit to feeling younger.

Lead author Prof Andrew Steptoe said: “We found
that self-perceived age predicted all-cause and
cardiovascular mortality during the following
eight years.

“ Although baseline health, physical disability,
and health behaviour accounted for some of the
association, after adjusting for all covariates,
there remained a 41 per cent greater mortality
hazard in people who felt older than their actual
age compared with those who felt younger than
their actual age.

"The mechanisms underlying these associations
merit further investigation.”

The researchers believe that people who feel
younger are more likely to take care of
themselves, maintain a healthy weight, eat
sensibly and follow medical advice.

They were also more likely to have younger friends
and therefore engaged in activities of younger
people which helped their positive outlook.

In contrast, those who felt older were more likely
to be socially isolated and have poor personal
care.

Dr Steptoe added: "Self-perceived age has the
potential to change, so interventions may be
possible. Individuals who feel older than their
actual age could be targeted with health messages
promoting positive health behaviours and attitudes
toward ageing."

"Possibilities include a broader set of health
behaviours than we measured (such as maintaining a
healthy weight and adherence to medical advice),
and greater resilience, sense of mastery and will
to live among those who feel younger than their
age.”

Although participants had an average age of 65.8,
most saw themselves as being younger than they
were.

Just under 70 per cent felt three or more years
younger than their actual age, while 25.6 per cent
had a self-perceived age close to their real age.
Another 4.8 per cent felt more than a year older
than their chronological age.


The research showed a strong association between
self-perceived age and cardiovascular, or heart
and artery, health. However, there was no similar
link between self-perceived age and death from
cancer.

The study was published in the journal JAMA
Internal Medicine.

Source - The Telegraph

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