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Health August 2014

Aid for Age

Over 50 Years of Studying What It Means to Get Older Still Shedding New Light

By Tait Trussell

Two major conclusions can be drawn from the BLSA data. First, changes that occur with aging do not inevitably lead to diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, or dementia. Many disorders typically occurring in old age are a result of diseases, not normal aging.

It’s not a surprise: we all age differently. And so concludes the National Institute on Aging’s Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA), America's longest-running scientific study of human aging.

One example of BLSA studies analyzed reaction time (RT) from 1,265 volunteers (833 males and 432 females) ranging in age from 17 to 96. The analysis revealed slowing of reaction time across decades for both males and females. Repeated testing over eight years showed consistent slowing and increased variability with age.

It showed that males were faster than females across age groups. Beginning at about age 20, RTs increased. Errors, however, also increased, making unlikely a tradeoff of accuracy for faster responses.

The findings were consistent with the hypotheses that slowing of behavior is: (a) a continuous process over the adult life span; (b) characterized by age-associated increases in participant variability; (c) a direct function of task complexity and, presumably, the degree of mediation by higher regions in the central nervous system; and (d) greater in women than men.

The study started in 1958 at a time when gerontology – the study of aging – was in its infancy. Since then the study has ground out thousands of scientific papers and thrown light on what it means to get older.

“While there is still much to learn, two major conclusions can be drawn from the BLSA data. First, changes that occur with aging do not inevitably lead to diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, or dementia. Many disorders typically occurring in old age are a result of diseases, not normal aging.

“Second, no single, chronological timetable of human aging exists. We all age differently. In fact, in terms of change and development, there are more differences among older people than among younger people. Genetics, lifestyle, and diseases affect the rate of aging between and within all individuals.”

The BLSA continues to be an innovative and robust study. This is thanks to its more than 1,300 volunteers who made the lifelong commitment to be part of the research. And, the BLSA promises to have a long future ahead. There are many new study questions to explore, such as what factors contribute to exceptional aging.

“As we further pinpoint the influences of how we age, we can also think about new and more effective interventions that may prevent disease and promote healthy aging. The hope is that the BLSA will be a study that serves many generations to come,” its sponsors at the National Institute on Aging said.

We have learned a great deal from the BLSA and a growing body of aging research. But there is much more to explore. In 2009, while continuing other areas of research, the BLSA began to examine the genetic, environmental, social, and behavioral factors that preserve health and function for a rare fraction of the oldest adults.

The BLSA has developed the Insight into the Determinants of Exceptional Aging and Longevity (IDEAL) study, which focuses on people 80 years and older who are living free of physical and cognitive disease. Taking advantage of research strategies already standard for the BLSA, the aim of the study was to identify factors that distinguish extraordinary health at very advanced age from non-"ideal" aging. Further, IDEAL aims to discover the physiological, environmental, and behavioral risk factors that result in the loss of exceptional aging status over time.

Although research exists on the relationship between long life and functional decline, “we still know relatively little about why certain individuals have excellent health well into their 80s while others experience disease and physical decline earlier in life.”

 

Tait Trussell is an old guy and fourth-generation professional journalist who writes extensively about aging issues among a myriad of diverse topics.

Meet Tait