50 reasons you’ll age better than your parents

Our ability to avoid getting diseases in the first place will help seniors live healthier in old age, and vaccines are a big part of this. For example, the HPV vaccine helps prevent cervical, head, and neck cancers caused by the virus. “There is a way to prevent this cancer before it even starts – which is a lot better than trying to treat it once it’s already appeared,” says Dr Electra Paskett, a researcher at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. “As a global community, we need to unite around HPV vaccination as a true means of cancer prevention.” Although it’s only given to the younger generation (so if you’re a Boomer you’re out of luck), these future seniors will benefit.

The HPV vaccine isn’t the only cancer vaccine out there – and these can be implemented at any age. New strides in immunotherapy (using the body’s own defences to fight disease) include vaccines that train the body how to fight cancer once it has developed, unlike traditional preventative vaccines. Cuban scientists have developed such a vaccine for lung cancer, and a clinical trial is currently underway in the US. A vaccine for prostate cancer is already here, and others for melanoma and brain cancer are also in clinical trials. “Custom-designed immunotherapies for cancer are a game-changer for cancer therapy and we are only in the earliest stages of this technology,” Dr Barnard says.

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As basic as it may seem, recent public health pushes for better hygiene will help keep us healthy longer. For example, we now know to cough into our elbow instead of our hand to prevent the spread of germs. And while personal hygiene is important, the growing recognition of the role of healthcare-associated infections (HAI) is crucial, too. According to the World Health Organization, there are 800,000 deaths a year from HAI.

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Although the link isn’t totally understood, research is now showing the importance of oral hygiene for overall health as we age, too. A study from Duke University found that better oral hygiene and regular dental visits may play a role in slowing cognitive decline as people age; another found that of 5,500 women followed over an 18-year period, those who reported brushing their teeth less than once a day were up to 65 per cent more likely to develop dementia. “Inflammation from gum disease-related bacteria impacts heart disease, stroke, and diabetes,” Cirillo says. It may be that this bacteria also gets into the brain, causing inflammation and brain damage. Now that we’re aware of the link, we can be sure to brush our teeth.

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When it comes to health monitoring, there’s an app for that. Whether it’s giving you a daily workout to do or helping you track your diet, these apps have the potential to help you live better. Apps can also give you memory-improving games and puzzles and let you monitor your blood pressure. And the monitoring of the apps themselves is getting better: After concerns arose about their accuracy, the American Medical Association issued guidelines for their use, including having a clinical evidence base.

We know now that social interaction is imperative for our health as we age. “Staying active socially despite health-related challenges appears to help lessen the decline in well-being people often experience late in life,” Cirillo says. Research from the American Psychological Association shows regular positive interactions with family and friends is associated with better physical health in later years. “Studies show that strong social connections and a positive attitude are literally good for your heart,” Dr Cohen says. “They can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and add happiness, health benefits and years to one’s life.” Research is showing that older people are increasingly likely to socialise – in a University of Chicago study, 75 per cent of people ages 57 to 85 engaged in a social activity at least once a week (like socialising with neighbours or attending a religious service), and those in their 80s were twice as likely as those in their 50s to do so.

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Luckily, technology like FaceTime, Skype, Facebook and other social media are helping older people stay connected better than ever. Pew Research surveys have found that the number of seniors going online continues to increase. “These tools are essential for connections and social engagement particularly to a home-bound senior,” Cirillo says, calling them lifesavers. “More older people are adopting them and we need to give them more credit for their willingness and ability to do so.” As a more tech-savvy generation ages, we can expect to reap even greater benefits.

New knowledge about blood pressure and new ways to treat it are crucial in helping us live better into old age. “Blood pressure is the most potent influence on limiting Americans health span, and reducing it is a critical way to improve your health and life span,” Dr Cohen says. Doctors now advise exercise and nutrition to lower blood pressure. “However, when these interventions are not sufficient, there are multiple medications that can be employed to reduce blood pressure and improve health span and life span,” Dr Cohen says. In addition, a recent landmark NIH study found that aiming for a target systolic blood pressure of 120 rather than 140 reduced the risk of cardiovascular events by a third. New technology is also giving doctors better ways to monitor blood pressure. All these advances can keep us in better heart health.

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With the completion of the Human Genome Project, which mapped all the genes in humans, doctors can now start to figure out which genes cause which diseases. “This has created tremendous opportunities to treat diseases based on the risk factors and modifying factors for specific diseases that individuals carry,” Dr Cohen says. Doctors will be able to help people make specific health-related decisions based upon their unique genetic predispositions to disease. “For example, whether someone should be on a low-calorie diet, a low-protein diet, or a vegan diet would be determined by their genes,” he says. “This gives individuals the opportunity to explore creative approaches to health tailored to their own genetic risks, an idea that I’ve termed ‘personalised ageing.’”

Because we are learning so much more about how our genes influence what diseases we get, genetic screening is becoming even more important in terms of your personal and family medical history.  “One person in a family will have testing done to find the cause of their disease, and this information may be used for other family members,” says Dr Kim L. Mcbride, Division Chief of Genetics (Molecular and Human) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. “If a person in the family with the disease is found, and a genetic variant identified, other family members can be tested prior to showing any signs of the disease for that genetic variant to see if they are at risk.” If so, they can be monitored or have preventative treatment, for example a mastectomy if they carry the BRCA1/2 gene mutation for breast cancer.