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Study says adopting healthy lifestyle in later years reduces CVD Can adopting a healthier lifestyle later in life help—or is it too late? In a study published in the July issue of The American Journal of Medicine, researchers from MUSC found that people 45 to 64 years of age who added new healthy lifestyle behaviors could substantially reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD), and reduce their death rate.         Once these people achieved four healthy behaviors: eating at least five fruits and vegetables daily, exercising at least 2.5 hours per week, maintaining their body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 30 kg/m, and not smoking; investigators saw a 35 percent reduction in CVD incidence and a 40 percent reduction in mortality compared to people with less healthy lifestyles.   “The potential public health benefit from adopting a healthier lifestyle in middle age is substantial,” said Dana E. King, M.D., lead investigator of the study. “The current study demonstrates that adopting four modest healthy habits considerably lowers the risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in a relatively short-term four-year follow-up period. The findings emphasize that making the necessary changes to adhere to a healthy lifestyle are extremely worthwhile, and that middle-age is not too late to act.”   Starting in 1987 to 1989, 15,792 men and women ages 45 to 64 years participated in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study (ARIC) in four communities across the United States. This was designed to investigate the origin and progression of various atherosclerotic diseases. Follow up visits every three years through the end of 1998 included an interval medical history, weight, height, diet questionnaire, updated smoking history and current participation in sports and leisure exercise.   There were three key findings from the study—first, the benefit of switching to a healthy lifestyle past age 45 became evident even in the four-year, short-term follow-up; second, the beneficial impact of the changes occurred despite the relatively modest changes in health habits; and third, a healthy lifestyle was beneficial for all persons with three or fewer healthy habits, not just in comparison to people with none or one habit. People adopting only three healthy habits experienced lower mortality but not fewer CVD events over the same period.   The authors found that only 8.5 percent of middle-aged adults practice these four behaviors and only 8.4 percent newly adopt such a lifestyle past age 45. In addition, men, African-Americans, and individuals with less than college education, lower income, or a history of hypertension or diabetes, are less likely to adopt a healthy lifestyle past age 45, and are therefore at greater risk of mortality and cardiovascular disease.   The study is “Turning Back the Clock: Adopting a Healthy Lifestyle in Middle Age” by Dana E. King, M.D.; Arch G. Mainous III, Ph.D.; and Mark E. Geesey. It appears in The American Journal of Medicine, Volume 120, Issue 7 (July 2007), published by Elsevier.    Friday, July 6, 2007 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.