The public health side of the cardiovascular community has undertaken a range of messaging programs for physicians and the public at large over the years, attempting to convince more people to make the lifestyle choices that will reduce cardiovascular mortality in later life. Life's Essential 8 is a more recent example of this sort of messaging, a fairly simplistic packaging of what are known to be the largest lifestyle risk factors for cardiovascular disease, starting with diet and exercise and moving on to avoidance of self-sabotage via smoking and excess weight. The study noted here pays particular attention to the effects of lifestyle on mortality in centenarians, finding that effect sizes are relatively large in this age group. Maintenance of fitness and lifestyle doesn't stop producing benefits, in other words.
While Life's Essential 8 (LE8) provides a comprehensive measure of cardiovascular health (CVH), its association with mortality among the oldest-old, including centenarians, remains unclear. This study evaluated the relationship between LE8-defined CVH and all-cause mortality across adulthood using data from the China Kadoorie Biobank (Hainan cohort) and the China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study, including 31,473 individuals aged 30-116. Participants were categorized by life stage and CVH score (low, moderate, high).
Higher CVH scores were associated with significantly reduced mortality risk at all life stages, including among centenarians, who experienced a 54.8% lower risk with high CVH. A near-linear dose-response relationship was observed. Population-attributable fractions for mortality reached 36.8% in centenarians. Physical activity and body mass were particularly important in reducing mortality among centenarians. These findings challenge therapeutic nihilism in the oldest-old while underscoring the need for age-specific strategies tailored to distinct physiological profiles is crucial for extending healthy lifespan across the adult life course.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41514-026-00395-5
View the full article at FightAging
