Healthy midlife choices add both years and quality to life

In a 50-year follow-up study, men with a low cardiovascular risk in their 40s retained their functional capacity, happiness and quality of life better than others as they aged.

University of Helsinki researchers followed almost 2,700 Finnish men for over 50 years, until the end of their lives. The monitoring began in the 1960s and 1970s, when the men were on average 42 years old and healthy.

The researchers measured five factors contributing to cardiovascular risk: smoking, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose. The better the values for each factor, the longer the men lived.

Of the men with positive values for all five factors, 42% reached the age of 90. The corresponding figure for those with poor values for all five was 7%.

Not just more years, but better ones

The study did not stop at measuring lifespan. In 2007, when the surviving research subjects averaged 79 years of age, they were asked about their functional capacity, happiness and quality of life.

At the same time, their degree of frailty was also assessed. Of those for whom all five factors were positive at a younger age, only 2% were frail in old age. The same group also experienced more happiness and psychological wellbeing than others. Of those with poor values for all factors, a quarter were frail.

“The common adage is that you either live a short and pleasant life, or a long and unpleasant one. This study indicates that healthy lifestyles can add both years and functional capacity to your life,” says Professor Emeritus Timo Strandberg from the University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Medicine and HUS Helsinki University Hospital, who headed the study.

Common solutions

Strandberg emphasizes the simplicity of the indicators used in the study and their applicability to anyone’s everyday life.

The body mass index, smoking, cholesterol, blood pressure and blood glucose can all be measured and addressed. If not through lifestyle choices, then with safe and mostly inexpensive drugs.”

Professor Emeritus Timo Strandberg, University of Helsinki’s Faculty of Medicine

What makes this study distinct is its duration – the men were followed throughout adulthood.

“We’ve long been interested in this question, while in many places the topic is only now attracting attention. This study’s strength was in a follow-up that extended to the end of life,” Strandberg notes.

As the population ages, the need for care increases. According to Strandberg, the study provides new motivation for addressing risk factors even before problems arise.