NewsChannel2000.com - Children Of Centenarians Reap Health Benefits

Children Of Centenarians Reap Health Benefits

'C-Children' Found To Have Less Heart Disease, Diabetes

Posted: 10:19 a.m. EST November 18, 2002

If your parents reach the 100-year mark, you could have less chance of heart disease, according to a new study.

Boston University researchers found that adult children whose parents lived to be 100 years old or more have a strikingly lower incidence of heart disease and fewer major heart risk factors when they reach old age than those whose parents died in their 70s. The research was reported Monday at the American Heart Association's annual meeting in Chicago.

"Exceptional longevity runs in families, but at this point, it's difficult to predict how much of this effect is genetic and how much is related to environment and lifestyle," said Dr. Dellara Terry, of Boston University Medical Center.

"Our research suggests that children of centenarians have some cardiovascular health advantages over the rest of us, but Americans can still improve their health and age more successfully by not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly," Terry said.

Researchers compared 176 children of centenarians with 166 people whose parents were born in the same years as the centenarians but who had at least one parent die at age 73, the average life expectancy for someone who survives past age 20.

They found that children of centenarians had a significantly lower prevalence of high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes than children of parents who didn't reach 100.

In addition, physical exams showed that children of centenarians, or "c-children," weighed less than the control group. Female c-children weighed an average of 146 pounds, while female controls weighed an average 158 pounds. Male c-children weighed 184 pounds on average, while male controls weighed 202 pounds on average. Accordingly, c-children had lower body mass index readings.

"Interestingly, however, there were no significant differences (between c-children and controls) in the prevalence of a number of other age-related diseases, including cancer, stroke, dementia, osteoporosis, cataracts, glaucoma, macular degeneration, depression, Parkinson's disease and thyroid disease," Terry said.

The study also found that c-children, on average, had significantly more years of education and a significantly higher daily activity level.

Terry said it's still unclear whether the health benefits found in children of centenarians are influenced more by genetics or by lifestyle and environment.

More Research From The AHA's Annual Meeting: