Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging - what did we learn?

2/9/2019

What is BLSA?

The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) started in 1958 and is conducted by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
It is the longest-running study of aging and longevity in the world, has involved over 3,000 participants and resulted in hundreds of scientific publications.

Majority of the studies on aging are cross-sectional: they compare participants in one age group to participants in another age group. The supremacy of BLSA is that it observes over decades changes in health of the participants thus reducing the distortion from external factors. The BLSA is considered a gold-standard for longitudinal and aging research.

Objectives of the study

The core focus of the study is finding and defining what 'normal aging' is. There is a difference between disease later in life that results from improper lifestyle, nutrition etc and 'normal' aging - healthy tear-and-wear. Another major goal is to identify the relationship between aging and disease.

As the National Institute of Aging put it, the idea is to establish "the true effects of aging and how to separate factors such as disease, socioeconomic disadvantage, [...] from the underlying biological or other mechanisms common to human aging".

People age differently, yet scientists were able to establish age-related changes that will be experienced by almost everyone.

The value of the BLSA findings for those who are interested in increasing their own life span and health span is, among other things. in pinpointing the areas that may benefit from early intervention above and beyond simply healthy lifestyle. It is always easier to prevent than to correct.

Some of the Main and Most Interesting Findings

'Normal" aging is NOT synonymous with disease. It is possible to grow old without really developing what is called age-related disease;
People age differently. Besides lifestyle and disease, genetics affect how and how fast an individual ages;
Arterial stiffening is an age related change, and it increases the risk of the cardiovascular disease. And then the cardiovascular disease, in its turn, accelerates even more the aging of the cardiovascular system;
Testing the levels of the free (not attached to proteins) Prostate Specific Antigen can establish the risk of the prostate cancer as long as five years before its actual onset;
Decline in cognitive abilities - abilities to think, learn, and remember - is a part of 'normal' aging;
Alzheimer disease is not, as we know, a part of normal aging. Early intervention may be useful and possible because we now know that AD is preceded by a sharp memory decline 7 years before the onset of the AD, and then by the second memory decline 2-3 years before the diagnosis;
An adult's personality does not change much after the age of 30 (and should you wish to change your personality, habits, and life outlooks, you need to consider measures that activate neuroplasticity);
Vision decline, particularly far acuity, is a part of a normal aging, independent of any disease;
Muscle quality declines as a part of normal aging, but it is also affected by obesity and neurological factors;
Decline in physical health is associated with decline in cognitive health.

Basic recommendations for healthy aging

Never hurts to remind ourselves -

Stay physically active;
Watch your weight and shape;
Eat healthy;
Experience positive emotions by participating in activities you enjoy;
Maintain close friendships with people who love and support you.

Sources and References

Fabbri E, An Y, Zoli M, et al. Association Between Accelerated Multimorbidity and Age-Related Cognitive Decline in Older Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging Participants without Dementia. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016;64(5):965-72.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4882249/

Ferrucci L. The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA): a 50-year-long journey and plans for the future. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2008;63(12):1416-9.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5004590/

Gittings N. S., Fozard J. L. Age related changes in visual acuity. Experimental Gerontology. 1986;21(4-5):423–433. doi: 10.1016/0531-5565(86)90047-1.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3493168

Moore AZ, Caturegli G, Metter EJ, et al. Difference in muscle quality over the adult life span and biological correlates in the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2014;62(2):230-6.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3945403/

Acessed on February 7 -9, 2019 -

https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/blog/2014/04/valuable-data-resource-baltimore-longitudinal-study-aging

https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-do-we-know-about-healthy-aging

https://www.nia.nih.gov/research/labs/blsa/advances-aging-research

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED292030.pdf

http://medfac.tbzmed.ac.ir/uploads/User/5247/healthy_aging_lessons_from_the_baltimore_longitudinal_study_.pdf