A recent study conducted by the Robert N. Butler Columbia Aging Center at the Mailman School of Public Health has shed light on the significant improvements in the health of older adults in England when compared to previous generations. The study, which was published in Nature Aging, took a unique approach by examining trends in people’s functioning rather than focusing solely on the presence or absence of disease.
Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Aging, the researchers found that older adults today are experiencing higher levels of physical and mental functioning than previous generations did at the same age. In fact, the improvements were quite substantial. For example, a 68-year-old individual born in 1950 had a similar capacity to a 62-year-old born a decade earlier. Those born in 1940 also exhibited better functioning than those born in 1930 or 1920.
The study also analyzed data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) and found similar trends, although the analysis was limited by the shorter follow-up period in the Chinese study compared to the English study. The researchers attribute these improvements in functioning to advancements in education, nutrition, sanitation, and medical treatments such as joint replacements and better management of chronic conditions.
However, the researchers caution that these observations are specific to a certain period and country, and may not necessarily apply to other populations or regions. They also acknowledge that factors like the increasing prevalence of obesity could potentially reverse these positive trends in the future. Nevertheless, the study provides a hopeful message for the future of aging, suggesting that for many individuals, 70 may indeed be the new 60.
Renowned aging expert Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois commended the study, highlighting the potential for medical science to enhance intrinsic capacity and improve the quality of life for older adults. The findings of this study offer promising insights into the modifiability of intrinsic capacity and provide encouragement for continued research and interventions in aging populations.
For more information on this study, you can refer to the original publication in Nature Aging titled “Cohort trends in intrinsic capacity in England and China” by John R. Beard et al. (DOI: 10.1038/s43587-024-00741-w). This research was conducted by Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
