Live Younger Longer

Diseases of long life

---

As many people enter their 60s and 70s, they begin to grow more concerned
about diseases typically associated with aging, like dementia and cancer.
They watch for worrisome signs, like unusual new pains or memory lapses,
and fear that these conditions have caught up with them. Sometimes they
become so preoccupied with these health concerns that they neglect more-
pressing health matters.
It’s true that the risk of dementia and some cancers do rise with age. But
today’s baby boomers are much more likely to have another condition: heart
disease.
Why is this?
Compared with people of similar age spans, baby boomers are more likely
than the previous generation to make choices that lead to heart disease.
They get significantly less physical activity than their parents did. They are
more likely to be overweight or obese. They’re also more likely to have
high cholesterol, diabetes and high blood pressure.
Changes that occur more commonly with age also can increase the risk of
heart disease. For instance, your large arteries may stiffen (arteriosclerosis),
and yearslong plaque buildup can cause the walls of arteries to narrow
(atherosclerosis). Age-related changes in your heart may result in an
irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia), stiff valves and heart chambers that grow
in size.
The resulting heart disease can significantly affect people’s lives. It limits
activity, leads to medical interventions and decreases quality of life for
millions of people every year. And it remains the most common cause of
death in older adults.

---

That doesn’t mean that cancer, dementia and diabetes aren’t concerns as
you age.
Cancer follows heart disease as the second leading cause of death in older
adults. And age is the most important risk factor. Nearly 50% of new cancer
cases are found in people who are between the ages of 65 and 84.
Rates of dementia, a condition that affects memory, thinking and social
abilities, increase with age as well. And the incidence is growing alongside
the growth in life span. In fact, some research suggests that dementia may
affect more than 150 million people worldwide by 2050 — up from about
50 million in 2019.
Risk of type 2 diabetes, a condition that affects how the body uses blood
sugar and can have many complications, also increases with age. And, as
with dementia, cases of diabetes are on the rise overall — due in large part
to factors that can be controlled, like inactivity, poor diet and obesity.
Research shows that by 2050, diabetes may affect around a third of adults in
the U.S., and I have absolutely no doubt that will happen.
All of these diseases of a long life — heart disease, cancer, dementia,
diabetes and others — are worth your attention. And, more importantly,
your action. Because you do have the power to prevent or slow them.

---