Martin (right) is the lead author of a new article summarizing the keys to long life. The article appeared online last week in the Journal of Aging Research as the introduction to a special issue on the behavioral factors of longevity, which Martin edited.

He also had three of his related studies published in the special issue and says all the research found in that issue supports the “Georgia adaptation model” that he and fellow researcher — Leonard Poon from the University of Georgia — had constructed some time ago.

“Long before we did this [journal special issue], our team came up with a model of longevity and it's still one of the only models out there that says, 'These are the factors that contribute to longevity and well-being in late life,'” said Martin, an ISU professor of human development and family studies (HDFS). He has conducted research on centenarians and the oldest of old for more than 20 years.

Six behavioral factors of longevity

Martin reports both the model and new research identify these six behavioral factors of longevity:

1. Environmental support
“In other words, social supports,” Martin said. “You cannot get there [long life] by yourself. You've got to have family, or community, or care facilities. And you also need economic support — the financial resources to last into very late life.”

2. Individual characteristics
“This has to do with such obvious things as gender, where women are more likely to make it to a very old age than men,” Martin said. “Certainly there are also ethnic group differences or disadvantages. We know that life expectancy is higher for whites and lower for African-Americans. And we also consider personality, so a certain configuration of personality characteristics gives you a much better opportunity for long life.”

3. Behavioral skills
“These are things that you do every day. And that has to do with good coping, being an active person, good cognitive functioning, etc. All of these are very important to promoting long life,” he said.

4. Good nutrition and health behaviors
“There are articles in this special issue that indicate what we eat and how we stay fit are all important,” Martin said.

5. Staying healthy
“These are the things that you can do to stay in good physical health,” Martin said. “Of course some of it is biological, but much of it is our responsibility to stay healthy.”

6. Good mental health
“Depressed people are not real likely to make it to very old age,” he said. “We see that [very old age] in optimistic people.”

The academic literature has mapped out a path to long life, according to Martin.

“As I've often said, longevity is much less of a secret than we think it is,” he said. “It's often the things that research has talked about. It's just that people would like to have the one thing that explains longevity. And with these various clusters of variables, we've found that it's not one thing — and what works for you may not work for me.”

Three other studies

Martin authored three studies in the Journal of Aging Research special issue that contribute to the literature on the behavioral keys to long life. One study of 306 octogenarians and centenarians from the Georgia Centenarian Study — co-authored by Jennifer Margrett, an ISU assistant professor of HDFS — found that a subject's subjective health assessment was more important to their emotional well-being than the medical facts about their health.

“Your own assessment [of how you feel] in many ways trumps the doctor's assessment [or your health],” Martin said. “Maybe that isn't such a surprise. When you go to the doctor, what's the first thing he's going to ask you? 'How do you feel?' They start out with subjective assessment, and there's a reason why they ask that.”

And in a study of 137 centenarians and later 68 survivors from the Georgia Centenarian Study, Martin and fellow researchers found that cognitive decline compromises centenarians' satisfaction with life. However, the extent of that impact is also influenced by whether they're emotionally happy.

“So our challenge to those working with old people is to think long and hard about how we can create positive experiences in the daily lives of very, very old people,” Martin said. “This study found that particularly as the memory declines, the positive emotions decline too. So it's even more critical to create positive experiences as there are some cognitive challenges.”

Martin and Margrett also studied how living in private homes, assisted living facilities and nursing homes affects centenarians' support-efficacy model, and therefore their physical and mental health.

Provided by Iowa State University (news : web)

See the original post:
Researcher says six factors can help you lead a longer, better life

POSTED: 10:27 am CST February 3, 2012
UPDATED: 1:53 pm CST February 3, 2012

AMES, Iowa — What things can help you life a longer life? Iowa State University Professor Peter Martin and his research team have some answers. Read More: Best/Worst Cities For Staying Young Martin and his research team have determined behavioral factors that may increase longevity. Their latest findings were published last week in the Journal of Aging Research.”Long before we did this (Journal article) our team came up with a model of longevity and it's still one of the only models out there that says, 'These are the factors that contribute to longevity and well-being in late life,'” said Martin in an ISU news release about the article.His research the past 20 years has focused on centenarians, people who live to be at least 100.Martin said the research identifies six behavioral factors that can help you live longer:1. Environmental support: “In other words, social supports,” Martin said. “You cannot get there [long life] by yourself. You've got to have family, or community, or care facilities. And you also need economic support — the financial resources to last into very late life.”2. Individual characteristics: “This has to do with such obvious things as gender, where women are more likely to make it to a very old age than men,” Martin said. “Certainly there are also ethnic group differences or disadvantages. We know that life expectancy is higher for whites and lower for African-Americans. And we also consider personality, so a certain configuration of personality characteristics gives you a much better opportunity for long life.” 3. Behavioral skills: “These are things that you do every day. And that has to do with good coping, being an active person, good cognitive functioning, etc. All of these are very important to promoting long life,” he said.4. Good nutrition and health behaviors: “There are articles in this special issue that indicate what we eat and how we stay fit are all important,” Martin said.5. Staying healthy: “These are the things that you can do to stay in good physical health,” Martin said. “Of course some of it is biological, but much of it is our responsibility to stay healthy.”6. Good mental health: “Depressed people are not real likely to make it to very old age,” he said. “We see that [very old age] in optimistic people.”"As I've often said, longevity is much less of a secret than we think it is,” Martin said. “It's often the things that research has talked about. It's just that people would like to have the one thing that explains longevity. And with these various clusters of variables, we've found that it's not one thing — and what works for you may not work for me.”

Copyright 2012 by KCCI.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Comments The views expressed are not those of KCCI.com, KCCI or its affiliated companies. By posting your comments you agree to accept our Terms of Use.

More:
ISU Research IDs 6 'Fountain Of Youth' Factors

Link:
Heritage and longevity

Read more:
Blue Zones creator talks health and longevity

More:
Longevity is one of the keys to 'NCIS' success

Follow this link:
Iowa City board approves assessor's budget, eliminates longevity funds

The findings, published in the February 1, 2012 online issue of Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, mark a crucial step toward being able to predict who may be at risk for developing Alzheimer's disease long before symptoms appear.

Relatively few studies have looked at levels of beta-amyloid in healthy living adults, as until recently, beta-amyloid levels could only be measured at autopsy. Few, if any, studies have looked at beta-amyloid levels in middle-aged and younger adults. Many investigators now believe that the beginning stages of Alzheimer's disease can precede symptoms of dementia by a decade or more, so data on middle-aged adults is critically important to understanding the transition from a healthy brain to a diseased brain.

In the new study, researchers measured levels of beta-amyloid protein in the brains of 137 cognitively healthy adults between the ages of 30 and 89 using an amyloid imaging agent. The researchers found that beta-amyloid levels increased with age across the entire age span and that about 20% of adults aged 60 and older had particularly high levels of beta-amyloid.

“We found that this high-amyloid group showed deficits in cognitive performance even though the individuals were well educated and scored normally on our standard tests of cognition,” said Dr. Karen Rodrigue, a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Vital Longevity and lead author of the study. On tests of processing speed, working memory, and reasoning ability—three major aspects of cognition—higher levels of beta-amyloid correlated with lower test scores.

That beta-amyloid burden has detectable effects on cognitive function even in adults with apparently good cognitive health underscores the need to better understand the recently proposed preclinical phase of Alzheimer's disease, which suggests that beta-amyloid deposits in healthy adults do not exert a strong effect on cognition for some time.

“Our findings suggest that subtle effects on cognition occur early,” said principal investigator Dr. Denise Park, co-director of the Center for Vital Longevity and Distinguished University Chair in the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences at UT Dallas. “These are important findings because imaging patients when they first show signs of very mild cognitive impairment could be essential to determining their risk of future disease.”

Long-term follow-up studies led by Dr. Park as part of the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study, one of the nation's largest projects examining neural and cognitive aging across the entire adult lifespan, are already underway to help researchers determine whether high beta-amyloid burden in healthy people necessarily predetermines occurrence of Alzheimer's disease later in life.

“Knowing this information will help us determine at what stage potential interventions, once available, may be most critical and most effective,” said Park. Many researchers believe that interventions to slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer's will be most effective during middle age, before irreparable damage to the brain is done. “Just as many adults take aspirin to lower their risk of heart disease or stroke, one day we may be able to help protect our brains and cognitive health by starting a treatment in our 40s or 50s,” Park said.

Another of the study's interesting findings was that some people well into their 60s, 70s, and even 80s, had beta-amyloid levels as low or lower than people at middle age or younger.

“Another avenue of our future work will be to investigate what factors enable these individuals to maintain cognitive health well into old age, whether they be genetic factors, lifestyle factors, or environmental issues,” said Park.

“Understanding how the brain and mind stay healthy and vital over the long term will help guide our efforts to delay or even prevent the devastation caused by diseases like Alzheimer's.”

Provided by University of Texas at Dallas (news : web)

Visit link:
Study of Alzheimer's-related protein in healthy adults may shed light on earliest signs of disease

Tulsa County Sheriff Stanley Glanz will become the longest serving sheriff in Tulsa County history Wednesday.

Glanz was first elected to the sheriff's office in 1988 and has been in office for 23 years, one month and one day.

That bests the record set by retired Tulsa County Sheriff Dave Faulkner who served from January 1, 1959 thru January 31, 1982.

Stanley Glanz started out with a tour in the US Air Force. From there he became a Tulsa Police Officer and culminating in six consecutive terms as the elected Sheriff of Tulsa County.

Continued here:
Tulsa County Sheriff Sets Longevity Record

See the article here:
Can you match the amazing Cooper family’s record-breaking longevity?

Can alcohol increase your lifespan? If you're a worm, the
answer appears to be “yes,” according to a new study conducted by chemists at UCLA. While
the worms — known as Caenorhabditis elegans –
typically live for 15 days, their life spans increased to 20 to
40 days when they ingested very small amounts of ethanol — the same type of alcohol found in
your favorite wine, beer or cocktail.

The researchers are not sure why the ethanol affected the worms' life spans,
but they found that only a very small amount of ethanol was
required — exposing worms to an increased level of ethanol did
not increase their longevity. So why should we care about some
slinky creatures that live in the dirt and feast on bacteria?
They're more like us than you think: Around half of these worms' genes correspond with
human genes.

According to a statement by UCLA:

“The research raises, but does not answer, the question of
whether tiny amounts of ethanol can be helpful for human
health. Whether this mechanism has something in common with
findings that moderate alcohol consumption in humans may have a
cardiovascular health benefit is unknown, but (Steven Clarke,
senior author of the study) said the possibilities are
intriguing.”

Speaking of cardiovascular health and alcohol, you may have
another reason to raise your glass. A recent study by Spanish
researchers found that the alcohol in red wine and the grapes themselves may
both be beneficial for the heart. The small study, which
only followed 67 men, analyzed the levels of chemicals
affecting inflammation and plaque on artery walls
after the men drank red wine, red wine without alcohol, and
gin. When the man drank the alcoholic red wine and gin, levels
of chemicals that reduce inflammation increased, and when the
men drank the non-alcoholic red wine, levels of chemicals that
reduce plaque increased.

“Thus, both grapes and [alcohol] are good for the heart,” said
Ramon Estruch, MD, PhD — one of the researchers from Hospital
Clinic, Villarroel in Barcelona — via email to WebMD. Estruch
told WebMD that the combination of the alcohol and the grapes
likely yield a greater benefit than drinking each separately.

Of course, just because alcohol may have some health benefits
doesn't mean you should start guzzling booze to increase your
longevity and protect your heart. And moderate drinking alone
may not be the answer either. A regular pattern of moderate
drinking may actually be the key to reaping the health benefits
of alcohol according to Canadian researchers who reviewed studies
on the topic for the past 30 years. The “National Post” reports
on the findings of this review:

The bottom line is that moderate volumes of alcohol do seem associated
with fewer heart attacks and other cardiac illness — but
only if that volume is spread out evenly, with one or two
drinks a day, rather than clumped together in sporadic binges,
says Jurgen Rehm, lead author of the study just published in
the journal Addiction.

That caveat — that it is not just low average consumption
that might help, but a regular, modest pattern of drinking –
is a major one, since less than 5% of North Americans are
estimated to follow such consistent drinking patterns, noted
Prof. Rehm in an interview.

“If you want to reap all those benefits, you have to drink it
almost as a medicine,” said the head of social and
epidemiological research at Toronto's Centre for Addiction
and Mental Health (CAMH). “The problem is that, a lot of the
lay messages deal with alcohol as if it has only one
dimension, ie. how much you drink overall. From a scientific
perspective, alcohol has at least two dimensions: first, how
much do you drink overall and, secondly, how do you drink
it.”

Another question you may start asking yourself is where
you drink it, especially with the recent news that certain
Starbucks locations plan to serve wine and
beer to their java-addicted clientele. Pretty soon, you may
be able to sip your life longer and heart healthier with a
glass of red wine and a side of that amazing Starbucks pumpkin
bread.

Related on HuffPost:

Original post:
Drinking Benefits: How Alcohol May Affect Longevity And Heart Health

See more here:
Hinckley's mother's longevity is key issue at hearing

By Joe Schoenmann
(contact)

Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 | 2 a.m.

More than a few members of the union representing county
service workers are unhappy with terms of a proposed two-year
contract that
eliminates pay raises over the next two years but preserves
longevity pay for new hires.

To them, the contract pits older, dues-paying members against
workers who have yet to get the job.

Leaders of the Service
Employees Union Local 1107 are sending out emails and
holding about 18 meetings, like one Friday afternoon, to give
more information about the deal to its 5,000 members.

Some members, though, think it’s propaganda.

Q: Like who?

A: Like Clara Thomas, a District Court clerk who has worked for
Clark County 12 years. She was a member of the union’s Contract
Action Team, which meant she attended county/union contract
talks last fall and relayed information to other union members.
At a downtown coffee shop last week, Thomas said many more
members are angry, thinking the union should have taken

the deal the county offered in October.

That offer eliminated longevity for future hires but offered
merit raises of 1 percent in the first year and 3 percent in
the second year. The union wanted to keep longevity for future
hires and came back with the deal now under consideration:
eliminating merit raises in the first two years but preserving
longevity for new hires. Longevity pay for current employees
will be frozen for one year, meaning workers will still receive
longevity pay, but the rate won’t increase for two years.

The deal will save the county about $20.4 million and,
officials say, reduce the odds of more layoffs.

Making $42,000 a year, Thomas thought the merit raises looked
good. Bills are going up, after all — the
Southern Nevada Water Authority promises to add new fees,

NV Energy just won rate increases through the Public Utilities
Commission and the
price of gasoline seems to rise each spring.

On top of that, $23 of Thomas’ paycheck — about $600 per year —
goes to the union.

Q: Isn’t she angry at the county? After all, they’re
the ones looking for concessions.

A: “I don’t blame the county, they’re just doing their job,”
she said. “But why didn’t our negotiators see it? Saving
longevity for new hires? They need to be worrying about
dues-paying employees.”

Another court clerk, Jackie McGowan, said she quit the union
but her pay and benefits are still determined by the union
contract. She can’t vote on the proposal but said she sees
nothing in this deal that makes her want to join the union
again so she would have that right.

“I don’t see the incentive to join,” she said.

Q: What is the union’s argument for taking this
deal?

A: Its website gives the answer. Voting “no,” it says, will
send negotiations to an arbitrator.

“Unions in Nevada have done poorly” when contracts get to that
step, it says. “The risk is too great to take.”

It adds that a fact-finder “will have the option of taking
Clark County’s initial proposal of a 1.5 percent
across-the-board wage cut.

Voting “yes,” the union says, means the SEIU will be one of the
few unions to save longevity for future hires. No pay cuts
would ensue. Longevity is preserved, though it would be frozen
for current employees who would get the same amount for two
years.

Q: What else does Thomas say about longevity
pay?

A: She’d be willing to give it up for new hires because as the
economy gets better Clark County will obviously be fighting,
once again, to find good employees. When that happens, the
union can negotiate to get longevity back.

Q: Does she really think members might vote no? And if
they do, what happens?

A: “I know it doesn’t happen often,” she said. “But it might.”

If that happens, negotiators go to arbitration, which has been
set for the end of February.

Q: When do union members vote?

A: Thursday and Friday.

Follow this link:
SEIU members vote on contract this week — and they could say no

The rest is here:
Longevity, heroism saluted

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyPC82V0QX0

View post:
LONGEVITY WeldAll 256pi Instructional Video How to Setup The Machine Part 2 – Video

See the original post:
Lars Anderson: Biggest offseason winner; Gordon's longevity; power teams; more mail

Read more:
Dawn’s secret to career longevity

See the original post here:
Kwan on Kwan: Longevity hallmark of Hall of Fame career