Successful Aging - What Research Says

Successful Aging. To me it means positive aging, keep going beyond retirement, slow down on your terms. Researchers have studied what it means to successfully age. I happened upon an old article from 1997; I think the information still holds true. The MacArthur Foundation spent years studying more than a 1000 people, doctors gave a study the name Americans Change Lives, and Swedes studied twins raised separately all to figure out what are the differences between aging with disability and risks and aging with good health and longevity. All that studying, and I'm only mentioning a few. They discovered a number of factors that make up successful aging. “Successful aging is multidimensional, encompassing the avoidance of disease and disability, the maintenance of high physical and cognitive function, and sustained engagement in social and productive activities. Research has identified factors predictive of success in these critical domains.”* Here's just a few factors:

• Genetic factors - how your genes relate to risks like heart disease and diabetes. However, in studying several generations of advanced age relatives it was found that those genes had less effect in the current generation.
• Physiological factors - gait, balance and blood pressure measures, specifically, were excellent predictors of mortality, even just five years later.
• Cognitive factors - we've all worried about dementia interrupting our aging. Interestingly, “Education was the strongest predictor, with greater years of schooling increasing the likelihood of maintaining high cognitive function.”*
• Engagement in life (socializing) - being involved with other people has a health protective aspect, meaning showing love and respect and giving direct assistance like doing chores and providing transportation are good for your health.

There are more factors of course that help with successful aging. I'm sure you can figure out many for yourselves. What does successful aging look like to you?

*Successful Aging by JM Rowe in The Gerontologist, Vol. 37, No. 4, 433-440, 1997.