Lifestyle and longevity genes have different and important roles in the human lifespan; however, the association between a healthy lifestyle in late-life and life expectancy mediated by genetic risk is yet to be elucidated. We aimed to investigate the associations of healthy lifestyle in late-life and genetic risk with life expectancy among older adults. A weighted healthy lifestyle score was constructed from the following variables: current non-smoking, non-harmful alcohol consumption, regular physical activity, and a healthy diet. Participants were recruited from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, a prospective community-based cohort study that took place between 1998 and 2018. Eligible participants were aged 65 years and older with available information on lifestyle factors at baseline, and then were categorised into unhealthy (bottom tertile of the weighted healthy lifestyle score), intermediate (middle tertile), and healthy (top tertile) lifestyle groups. A genetic risk score was constructed based on 11 lifespan loci among 9633 participants, divided by the median and classified into low and high genetic risk groups. Stratified Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate the interaction between genetic and lifestyle factors on all-cause mortality risk. Between Jan 13, 1998, and Dec 31, 2018, 36 164 adults aged 65 years and older were recruited, among whom a total of 27 462 deaths were documented during a median follow-up of 3·12 years (IQR 1·62-5·94) and included in the lifestyle association analysis. Compared with the unhealthy lifestyle category, participants in the healthy lifestyle group had a lower all-cause mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR] 0·56 [95% CI 0·54-0·57]; p<0·0001). The highest mortality risk was observed in individuals in the high genetic risk and unhealthy lifestyle group (HR 1·80 [95% CI 1·63-1·98]; p<0·0001). The absolute risk reduction was greater for participants in the high genetic risk group. A healthy lifestyle was associated with a gain of 3·84 years (95% CI 3·05-4·64) at the age of 65 years in the low genetic risk group, and 4·35 years (3·70-5·06) in the high genetic risk group. A healthy lifestyle, even in late-life, was associated with lower mortality risk and longer life expectancy among Chinese older adults, highlighting the importance of a healthy lifestyle in extending the lifespan, especially for individuals with high genetic risk. National Natural Science Foundation of China. For the Mandarin translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Emerging evidence has raised an obesity paradox in observational studies of body mass index (BMI) and health among the oldest-old (aged ≥80 years), as an inverse relationship of BMI with mortality was reported. This study was to investigate the causal associations of BMI, waist circumference (WC), or both with mortality in the oldest-old people in China. A total of 5306 community-based oldest-old (mean age 90.6 years) were enrolled in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) between 1998 and 2018. Genetic risk scores were constructed from 58 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with BMI and 49 SNPs associated with WC to subsequently derive causal estimates for Mendelian randomization (MR) models. One-sample linear MR along with non-linear MR analyses were performed to explore the associations of genetically predicted BMI, WC, and their joint effect with all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, and non-CVD mortality. During 24 337 person-years of follow-up, 3766 deaths were documented. In observational analyses, higher BMI and WC were both associated with decreased mortality risk [hazard ratio (HR) 0.963, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.955–0.971 for a 1-kg/m² increment of BMI and HR 0.971 (95% CI 0.950–0.993) for each 5 cm increase of WC]. Linear MR models indicated that each 1 kg/m² increase in genetically predicted BMI was monotonically associated with a 4.5% decrease in all-cause mortality risk [HR 0.955 (95% CI 0.928–0.983)]. Non-linear curves showed the lowest mortality risk at the BMI of around 28.0 kg/m², suggesting that optimal BMI for the oldest-old may be around overweight or mild obesity. Positive monotonic causal associations were observed between WC and all-cause mortality [HR 1.108 (95% CI 1.036–1.185) per 5 cm increase], CVD mortality [HR 1.193 (95% CI 1.064–1.337)], and non-CVD mortality [HR 1.110 (95% CI 1.016–1.212)]. The joint effect analyses indicated that the lowest risk was observed among those with higher BMI and lower WC. Among the oldest-old, opposite causal associations of BMI and WC with mortality were observed, and a body figure with higher BMI and lower WC could substantially decrease the mortality risk. Guidelines for the weight management should be cautiously designed and implemented among the oldest-old people, considering distinct roles of BMI and WC. Opposite causal associations of body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) with mortality among Chinese oldest-old based on 1998–2018 Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS). Upper: a scheme for the study design. Left lower: non-linear Mendelian randomization results for the causal association of BMI and WC with mortality. Right lower: joint effect analyses of BMI and WC on mortality. CVD, cardiovascular disease.

Objectives: Both low vitamin D status and metabolic syndrome (MetS) are worldwide concerns, and low 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] levels are associated with MetS; however, related epidemiological evidence based on elderly Chinese individuals, especially those over 80 years of age, is limited. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the association between serum 25(OH)D and MetS in elderly Chinese individuals. Method: Serum 25(OH)D was measured in a cross-sectional sample of 2493 elderly people aged 65–112 years from eight areas of China in which the density of centenarians is exceptionally high. MetS was diagnosed according to blood pressure, lipid, and blood sugar levels; waist circumference; and body mass index (BMI). Adjusted multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze the associations between vitamin D and MetS based on different diagnostic criterias. Results: A total of 890 (35.7%) of the recruited elderly individuals had insufficient levels of vitamin D, and 1029 participants (41.3%) were vitamin D deficient. High serum vitamin D concentrations were associated with a low prevalence of MetS according to the modified Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP III) criteria for adequate versus deficient vitamin D levels (OR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.45, 0.88) and inadequate versus deficient vitamin D levels (OR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.52, 0.92). Each 10 ng/ml increase in serum vitamin D was significantly associated with a decreased prevalence of MetS according to the modified ATP III criteria for people with normal waist circumference (WC) (OR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.43,0.71). However, no significant statistical correlation was found among elderly people with a high WC. Additionally, in the analysis of the individual components, the ORs of adequate versus deficient vitamin D levels were 0.46 (95% CI: 0.30, 0.71) for elevated triglycerides and 0.64 (95% CI: 0.42, 0.97) for reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) after adjustment for other components. Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is very common among elderly Chinese individuals. Vitamin D deficiency may be a risk factor for MetS; however, the association was only statistically significant among elderly people with noncentral obesity. Further studies are needed to examine the causal direction of the association.

The association between dietary diversity (DD) and psychological resilience among older people is an underdeveloped area of research. This cross-sectional study explored the associations of DD with psychological resilience among 8571 community-based elderly individuals. The intake frequencies of food groups were collected, and dietary diversity was assessed based on the mean DD score. Psychological resilience was assessed using a simplified resilience score (SRS). Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression and logistic regression models. Poor DD was significantly associated with psychological resilience, with a β (95% CI) of −0.94 (−1.07, −0.81) for the SRS (p < 0.01) and an odds ratio (95% CI) of 1.83 (1.66, 2.01) for low SRS status. The interaction effects of age with DD were observed for the SRS (p < 0.001) and low SRS status (p < 0.001). Based on separate analyses by age group, the association of a low SRS with poor DD was more prominent in the younger elderly than the oldest old, with OR (95% CI) 2.32 (1.96, 2.74) and 1.61 (1.43, 1.82), respectively. Compared with younger participants with good DD, the risk of a low SRS was greater for younger participants with poor DD, the oldest old with good DD, and the oldest old with poor DD, with OR (95% CI) 2.39 (2.02, 2.81), 1.28 (1.09, 1.51), and 2.03 (1.72, 2.39), respectively. The greatest contribution to DD was from a high consumption of vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Our study suggested that poor DD was associated with a low psychological resilience among the Chinese elderly, especially the younger elderly. These findings suggest that augmentation of DD might promote psychological resilience.

Background: The associations between the number of natural teeth/denture use and all-cause mortality remain unclear due to lake of investigation for the potential interaction between tooth loss and denture use and for the potential changes in these exposures over time in older adults. We undertake this study to evaluate the associations of the number of natural teeth and/or denture use with mortality in Chinese elderly.Methods: This is a prospective cohort study of 36,283 older adults (median age: 90). The number of natural teeth and denture use were collected with structured questionnaire. We evaluated hazard ratios (HRs) and confidence intervals (CIs) using a Cox proportional hazards model adjusting for demographic factors, education, income, lifestyle factors, and comorbidities.Results: We documented 25,857 deaths during 145,947 person-years of observation. Compared to those with 20+ teeth, tooth loss was associated with a gradual increase in mortality, with an adjusted HR of 1.14 (95% CI, 1.06 to 1.23) for those with 10–19 teeth, 1.23 (95% CI, 1.15 to 1.31) for those with 1–9 teeth, and 1.35 (95% CI, 1.26 to 1.44) for those without natural teeth. Denture use was associated with lower risk of mortality (adjusted HR 0.81; 95% CI, 0.77 to 0.84). Subgroup analyses indicated that the benefit of denture use was greater in men than in women (P = 0.02) and tended to decrease with age (P < 0.001). The effects of denture use did not differ among various degrees of tooth loss (P = 0.17).Conclusions: Tooth loss was associated with an increased risk of mortality in older adults. Denture use provided a protective effect against death for all degrees of tooth loss however, this effect appeared to be modified by sex and age.

Evidence for the effects of dietary diversity changes and cognitive frailty (CF) in the older adults is not clear. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between dietary diversity changes and CF in older adults Chinese. A total of 14,382 participants (mean age: 82.3 years) were enrolled. Dietary diversity scores (DDSs) were collected and calculated using a food frequency questionnaire. DDS changes between baseline and first follow-up were categorized into nine patterns. The associations between DDS changes and the incidence of CF were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models. During an 80,860 person-year follow-up, 3023 CF cases were identified. Groups with a decrease in DDS had increased CF risk compared with the high-to-high DDS group, with adjusted hazard ratios (HRs; 95% confidence intervals (Cis)) of 1.30 (1.06, 1.59), 2.04 (1.51, 2.74), and 1.81 (1.47, 2.22) for high-to-medium, high-to-low, and medium-to-low groups, respectively. Lower overall DDS groups were associated with greater CF risks, with HRs (95% CIs) of 1.49 (1.19, 1.86) for the low-to-medium group and 1.96 (1.53, 2.52) for the low-to-low group. Compared with the high-to-high group, significant associations with CF were found in other DDS change groups; HRs ranged from 1.38 to 3.12 for the plant-based DDS group and from 1.24 to 1.32 for the animal-based DDS group. Additionally, extreme and moderate declines in overall DDS increased CF risk compared with stable DDS, with HRs (95% CIs) of 1.67 (1.50, 1.86) and 1.13 (1.03, 1.24), respectively. In conclusion, among older adults, a declining or persistently low DDS and a moderately or extremely declining DDS were linked to higher incident CF. Plant-based DDS changes correlated more strongly with CF than animal-based DDS changes.