Ongoing research into why some people outlive others often confirms what intuition tells us - the importance of eating a nutritious diet, for example. Occasionally, however, research uncovers surprising links and a new study falls into that category. Research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health sheds some light on the impact where you live has on your lifespan.
The research suggests that people who live in highly walkable, mixed-age communities may be more likely to live to their 100th birthday.
They also found socioeconomic status to be correlated, and an additional analysis showed that geographic clusters where the probability of reaching centenarian age is high are located in urban areas and smaller towns with higher socioeconomic status.
"Our study adds to the growing body of evidence that social and environmental factors contribute significantly to longevity, said study author Rajan Bhardwaj, a second-year WSU medical student who took an interest in the topic after serving as a home care aide to his aging grandfather.
Commenting on their findings, Ofer Amram, the study's senior author and an assistant professor who runs WSU's Community Health and Spatial Epidemiology (CHaSE) lab, said: "We know from previous research that you can modify, through behaviour, your susceptibility to different diseases based on your genetics."
READ MORE:How to live longer: The diet shown to reduce risk of early death by 18 percent - key foods
Another way to put it, when you live in an environment that supports healthy ageing, this likely impacts your ability to successfully beat your genetic odds through lifestyle changes.
However, there was a gap in knowledge as to the exact environmental and social factors that make for an environment that best supports living to centenarian age, which this study helped to address.
In collaboration with co-authors Solmaz Amiri and Dedra Buchwald, Bhardwaj and Amram looked at state-provided data about the deaths of nearly 145,000 Washingtonians who died at age 75 or older between 2011 and 2015.
The data included information on each person's age and place of residence at the time of death, as well as their sex, race, education level and marital status.
DON'T MISSHigh blood pressure - the five exercises you can do at home to prevent hypertension[TIPS]Dementia warning - one drink you should avoid if you want to prevent the condition[TIPS]Best supplements for the heart - the 3p a day capsules to lower your risk of heart attacks[TIPS]
Based on where the person lived, the researchers used data from the American Community Survey, Environmental Protection Agency, and other sources to assign a value or score to different environmental variables for their neighbourhood.
The variables they looked at included poverty level, access to transit and primary care, walkability, percentage of working age population, rural-urban status, air pollution, and green space exposure.
Subsequently, they conducted a survival analysis to determine which neighbourhood and demographic factors were tied to a lower probability of dying before centenarian age.
They found that neighbourhood walkability, higher socioeconomic status, and a high percentage of working age population (a measure of age diversity) were positively correlated with reaching centenarian status.
"These findings indicate that mixed-age communities are very beneficial for everyone involved," said Bhardwaj.
She added: "They also support the big push in growing urban centres toward making streets more walkable, which makes exercise more accessible to older adults and makes it easier for them to access medical care and grocery stores."
Amram added that neighbourhoods that offer more age diversity tend to be in urban areas, where older adults are likely to experience less isolation and more community support.
Finally, the researchers wanted to see in which areas of the state people had a higher probability of reaching centenarian age. For each neighbourhood, they calculated the years of potential life lost, or the average number of years deceased individuals would have had to continue living to reach age 100.
Neighbourhoods with lower values for years of potential life lost were considered to have a higher likelihood of reaching centenarian age, and vice versa.
When they mapped the years of potential life lost for all neighbourhoods across the state, they saw clusters with high likelihood of living to centenarian age in higher socioeconomic areas in urban centres and small towns.
While the researchers do not directly reference it in this study, happiness may also be a contributing factor.
Extensive evidence shows happiness brings innumerable benefits to longevity.
It is strongly associated with healthier eating habits and living with less stress, both of which are integral to a long life.
More:
How to live longer: Want to live to see 100? Buy a house in this area says new study - Express
- Study of More Than 1 Million People Finds Intriguing Link Between Iron Levels And Lifespan - ScienceAlert - January 5th, 2021
- Hereford Thrives in an Uncertain Year - AG INFORMATION NETWORK OF THE WEST - AGInfo Ag Information Network Of The West - January 5th, 2021
- Covid-19 Update Precision Medicine Software market: Poised to Garner Maximum Revenues by 2027 with major key players in the market Syapse, Allscripts,... - January 5th, 2021
- The New Anti-Ageing: How the pandemic unlocked new ways to lower your biological age - Telegraph.co.uk - January 5th, 2021
- A Good Age: Auld lang syne to the eldest who inspired and entertained us - The Patriot Ledger - January 5th, 2021
- Survival Of The Kindest: A New Mantra To Rebuild The Global Economy - Forbes - January 5th, 2021
- The Nashville bombing suspect sent packages to people across the country containing typed conspiracy theories about September 11 and lizard people,... - January 5th, 2021
- How does the human body react to being in space? - Sciworthy - December 24th, 2020
- A century and counting: Ardmore woman turned 100 on Friday - Daily Ardmoreite - December 24th, 2020
- The Adrenomyeloneuropathy Treatment Market to grow on an emphatic note from 2019 to 2029 - PharmiWeb.com - December 24th, 2020
- Getting to the root of why hair goes gray - messenger-inquirer - December 24th, 2020
- Which countries have the highest life expectancy in Europe? - World Economic Forum - December 17th, 2020
- New Research Aims To Increase Longevity Of Bumblebee Hives For NZ Growers - Scoop.co.nz - December 17th, 2020
- The 'Wondrous Map': Charting of the Human Genome, 20 Years Later - Medscape - December 17th, 2020
- Size Matters, And Other Lessons From Medical Genetics - Genomes Unzipped - December 17th, 2020
- Intermittent Fasting Not Working? Here's What Could Be Going Wrong, By an RD - The Beet - December 17th, 2020
- Hair loss treatment: Sandalwood and sandalore are both effective in increasing hair growth - Express - December 17th, 2020
- These are the signs and symptoms of dementia - and the stages explained - Yorkshire Post - December 17th, 2020
- Manahawkin Woman 'Scales' 100 Years With Service, Strength and Determination - The SandPaper - December 17th, 2020
- 15 Things To Stop Doing If You Want To Live To 100 - Longevity LIVE - Longevity LIVE - December 4th, 2020
- Ticking the boxes in a rain-fed dairy system - Dairy News Australia - December 4th, 2020
- Barack Obama On Who Is The GOAT Between LeBron James And Michael Jordan: 'LeBron James Is Not Quite There. We Don't Know How Many More Rings He Might... - December 1st, 2020
- 20 Dog Breeds That Live the Longest - Reader's Digest - December 1st, 2020
- Mutations of the coronavirus do not appear to make the virus more infectious, study says | TheHill - The Hill - November 30th, 2020
- Precision Medicine Software Market 2020: Potential growth, attractive valuation make it is a long-term investment | Know the COVID19 Impact | Top... - November 30th, 2020
- Spaceflight does some weird things to astronauts bodies - MIT Technology Review - November 30th, 2020
- Genetics and Alcohol Use Disorder: 5 Things You Should Know - Longevity LIVE - November 7th, 2020
- Adrenomyeloneuropathy Treatment Market Covid-19 Impact On In-depth Industry Analysis: Ascend Biopharmaceuticals, Immatics Biotechnologies, Human... - November 7th, 2020
- Global AI Medicine Software Market Analysis of Key Players, Type, Application, Demand and Consumption By 2026 - Stock Market Vista - November 7th, 2020
- Global Obesity Treatment Market Incredible Potential Examined in New Research Report - The Think Curiouser - November 7th, 2020
- Global Adrenomyeloneuropathy Treatment Market Size, Share, Trends, CAGR by Technology, Key Players, Regions, Cost, Revenue and Forecast 2020 to 2025 -... - November 7th, 2020
- Early Evidence Shows Fasting, Keto Diet May Make Chemo and Some Other Cancer Treatments More Effective and Easier to Tolerate - Curetoday.com - November 7th, 2020
- Healthcare Business Process Outsourcing Market 2020 Global Forecasts Analysis, Company Profiles, Competitive Landscape and Key Regions 2025 - Zenit... - November 7th, 2020
- Turning the Tide - Lifestyle Medicine and change (part 7) - South Coast Herald - October 25th, 2020
- Biohacking Conference Kyiv about Efficient Health Optimization Techniques to Take Place on November 11 - Interfax-Ukraine - October 25th, 2020
- Global Precision Medicine Software Market 2020 Recovering From Covid-19 Outbreak|Know More About Brand Players - The Think Curiouser - October 25th, 2020
- What's Behind All the Pro-Azerbaijan Articles? - Armenian Weekly - October 25th, 2020
- Global Precision Medicine Software Market (COVID-19 Analysis) Industry Share, Growth, Trends Analysis Report 2020-26 - The Think Curiouser - October 25th, 2020
- AI Medicine Software Industry Market Outlook | Development Factors, Latest Opportunities and Forecast 2025 - The Think Curiouser - October 25th, 2020
- Flint children exposed to lead suffer from dental problems, learning disabilities, other issues - MLive.com - October 25th, 2020
- The Importance of Deep Water in Fall Bass Fishing - Wired2Fish - October 25th, 2020
- Genomic Biomarker Market Growth, Demands, CAGR, Sales Volume, Opportunities, Types, Applications and Forecast up to 2023 - The Think Curiouser - October 25th, 2020
- Does Family History Of Diabetes Mean That I Will Inherit It Too? - NDTV Doctor - October 25th, 2020
- Genomic Biomarker Market 2020 | Know the Latest COVID19 Impact Analysis And Strategies of Key Players: Bio-Rad, Beckman Coulter, Myriad Genetics,... - September 28th, 2020
- Precision Medicine Software Market by Trends, Dynamic Innovation in Technology and 2025 Forecasts | Covid-19 Analysis - The Daily Chronicle - September 28th, 2020
- Losing hair fast? Applying this natural solution to the scalp resulted in new hair growth - Express - September 28th, 2020
- Lenny Kravitz on His Signature Scent, His Beach Beauty Routine, and the Secret to His Longevity - Vogue - September 24th, 2020
- How to Live Longer: A Look at the Science Behind the Longevity Movement - Vogue - September 22nd, 2020
- Healthy Aging Month observed nationwide in September - News - The Hutchinson News - September 22nd, 2020
- Massive Growth in Precision Medicine Software Market to Witness Robust Expansion by 2026 with Top Key Players like Syapse, Allscripts, Qiagen, Roper... - September 22nd, 2020
- Guest opinion: Why accessible health care is not government takeover - Deseret News - September 15th, 2020
- Development of heat-resistant cattle in the U.S. - Post Register - September 15th, 2020
- Viking genetics and robots working together at Alderston Mains - The Scottish Farmer - September 13th, 2020
- Nutrition and the Wisdom of Ethnic Cuisine: A Japanese Doctor's Perspective - Nippon.com - September 13th, 2020
- Anti-Aging and Prolonging Life By John Robert Cardillo - Health News Tribune - August 13th, 2020
- Environmental legislation to be biggest limiting factor for NI dairying in 2030 - Agriland.co.uk - August 13th, 2020
- Healthy ageing.. The eight R's - Daijiworld.com - August 13th, 2020
- The Secret to a Long, Healthy Life Is in the Genes of the Oldest Humans Alive - Singularity Hub - August 10th, 2020
- What We Can Learn About Longevity From SuperAgers and Centenarians - Next Avenue - August 10th, 2020
- How to live longer - the anti-ageing spice to protect against an early death and cancer - Express - August 10th, 2020
- Global Precision Medicine Software Industry Market 2020 Size, Share, Trends, Growth and Outlook with Company Analysis and Forecast to 2025 - CueReport - August 10th, 2020
- Precision Medicine Software Market Size By Product Analysis, Application, End-Users, Regional Outlook, Competitive Strategies And Forecast Up To 2026... - July 12th, 2020
- Precision Medicine Software Market (impact of COVID-19) Growth, Overview with Detailed Analysis 2020-2026| Syapse, Allscripts, Qiagen, Roper... - July 12th, 2020
- Global Precision Medicine Software Market Analysis and Forecast 2027- including drivers, constraints, intimidation, challenges, opportunities, and... - July 11th, 2020
- Research On Global Genomic Biomarker Market (impact of COVID-19) with Top Players: Bio-Rad,Beckman Coulter,Myriad Genetics and Others - Owned - July 11th, 2020
- New Report: and China Genomic Biomarker Market Share, Growth, Trend Analysis and Forecast from 2020-2026; Consumption Capacity by Volume and... - July 11th, 2020
- New Report: Genomic Biomarker Market: Reporting and Evaluation of Recent Industry Developments| Bio-Rad, Beckman Coulter, Myriad Genetics, Thermo... - July 11th, 2020
- A Longer Life May Not Be in Your Genes | Live Science - July 10th, 2020
- Improving dairy cow reproduction through nutrition - All about feed - July 10th, 2020
- Maintaining Perfect Health in the World of New Technologies and Devices - Digital Market News - July 10th, 2020
- 3 Healthy Habits That Can Help You Live Longer - News18 - July 9th, 2020
- Inherited Metabolic Disorders (IMD) Market Promising Growth Opportunities and Forecast 2017-2025 - Daily Research Chronicles - July 9th, 2020
- IHS Pets: Bringing Cell And Gene Therapy To Cats, Dogs & Horses - Anti Aging News - July 5th, 2020
- Living to 100: New Genes for Longevity Found | Live Science - July 1st, 2020
- The Key to a Long Life Has Little to Do With Good Genes - July 1st, 2020
- Live Long and Proper: Genetic Factors Associated with ... - July 1st, 2020
- Adrenomyeloneuropathy Treatment Market Growth by Top Companies, Trends by Types and Application, Forecast to 2026|Novadip Biosciences, Eureka... - July 1st, 2020
- Planet of the Apes: by Enlarging the Brains of Apes Are Scientists Creating Worthy Opponents to Humans - Gilmore Health News - July 1st, 2020
- A Renaissance of Genomics and Drugs Is Extending Human ... - June 29th, 2020
- Biologists Identify Longevity Gene in Flowering Plants ... - June 29th, 2020