CHICAGO - Surprising new research suggests that even people who develop heart disease or diabetes late in life have a decent shot at reaching the century mark.
"It has been generally assumed that living to 100 years of age was limited to those who had not developed chronic illness," said Dr. William Hall of the University of Rochester.
Hall has a theory for how these people could live to that age. In an editorial in yesterday's Archives of Internal Medicine, where the study was published, he wrote that it might be due to doctors who aggressively treat these older folks' health problems, rather than taking an "ageist" approach that assumes they wouldn't benefit.
For the study, Boston University researchers conducted phone interviews and health assessments of more than 500 women and 200 men who had reached 100. They found that roughly two-thirds of them had avoided significant age-related ailments.
But the rest, dubbed "survivors," had developed an age-related disease before reaching 85, including high blood pressure, heart disease, or diabetes. Yet many functioned very well - nearly as well as their disease-free peers.
Overall, the men functioned better than the women. Nearly three-fourths of the male survivors could bathe and dress themselves, while about one-third of the women could. The researchers think that may be because the men had to be in exceptional condition to reach 100.
"Women, on the other hand, may be better physically and socially adept at living with chronic and often disabling conditions," wrote lead author Dr. Dellara Terry and her colleagues.
While genes are important, scientists don't think they tell the whole story about longevity.
A second, larger study of men in their 70s found that those who avoided smoking, obesity, inactivity, diabetes, and high blood pressure greatly improved their chances of living into their 90s. In fact, they had a 54 percent chance of living that long.
Their survival decreased with each risk factor, and those with all five had a 4 percent chance of living into their 90s, according to Harvard University researchers.
Those who avoided lifestyle-related ailments also increased their chances of functioning well physically and mentally two decades later.
The study followed 2,357 men for about 25 years or until death, starting in their early 70s. About 40 percent lived to at least age 90. Among survivors, 24 percent had none of the five risk factors.
"It's not just luck, it's not just genetics. . . . It's lifestyle" that seems to make a big difference, said lead author Dr. Laurel Yates of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
