Aging Gracefully: Staying Healthy & Well Late into Life
This session was sponsored by ILSI, the ILSI Research Foundation, and ILSI branches worldwide.
Throughout the world, and especially in regions were elderly comprise a significant and growing portion of the population, understanding the aging process and how diet and other lifestyle factors influence aging is an important public health topic. This session looked at the mechanisms of aging (lifestyle, diet, and genetics); explore new data comparing healthy aging indicators across geography (an International Life Sciences Institute project); and used case studies to foster discussion on best practices and public health policies to encourage healthy aging and well-being late in life.
Importance of Understanding Healthy Aging
Hannia Leon, PhD
ILSI Mesoamerica, Costa Rica
Aging and Nutrition: Research Opportunities to Better Understand Underlying Mechanisms
Simin Meydani, DMV, PhD
Tufts University, USA
Nutrition for the Aging Brain: Functional Aspects and Strategies
Sandrine Thuret, PhD
King’s College London, United Kingdom
Comparing Health Indicators Across Geography, A Look at Asia and Latin America
Sofia Amarra, PhD
ILSI Southeast Asia Region, Singapore
Importance of Understanding Healthy Aging
Hannia Leon, PhD
ILSI Mesoamerica
Costa Rica
coming soon
Aging and Nutrition: Research Opportunities to Better Understand Underlying Mechanisms
Simin Meydani, DMV, PhD
Tufts University
USA
Accumulating evidence indicates that aging is associated with dysregulated immune and inflammatory responses, which may contribute to many age-related diseases including cancer, infection, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and osteoporosis. The immune system is comprised of different cell types that engage in a complex series of interactions to defend the host against invading pathogens. These interactions, under normal conditions, are well-orchestrated so that a temporary upregulation in inflammatory responses needed to eliminate the pathogen is subsequently diminished and controlled. With aging, the normal “checks and balances” of the immune response is impaired, creating a state of chronic inflammation (hyperactivity of parts of the immune system involved in innate immune response) on one hand, and hypoactivity of the cell-mediated immunity, particularly T cells, on the other. This dichotomy presents a challenge in devising effective interventions to prevent/treat age-related changes of the immune response. Recent evidence, however, suggests that both the hyper- and hypo-activity of immune response associated with aging might be governed by some of the same molecular/biochemical aberrations that might be responsive to nutritional intervention. The opportunities and challenges in developing nutritional interventions that could reduce inflammation while improving host defense against infection will be discussed through specific examples such as antioxidant nutrients, lipids, other food components and calorie restriction.
Supported by: USDA agreement # 58-1950-0-014
Keywords: immunosenescence, chronic inflammation, aging, functional foods, calorie restriction
Nutrition for the Aging Brain: Functional Aspects and Strategies
Sandrine Thuret, PhD
Kings College London
United Kingdom
Background
Aging is a highly complex process marked by a temporal cascade of events that promote alterations in the normal functioning of an individual organism. The triggers of normal brain aging are not well understood, even less so the factors which initiate abnormal cognitive decline or steer neuronal degeneration which underlies disorders such as dementia. A wealth of data on how nutrients and diets may support cognitive function and preserve brain health is available yet the neurobiological mechanisms of action of nutrition in both normal aging, age-related cognitive decline and in the development of neurodegenerative disorders have not been clearly elucidated.
Objectives
This talk aims at evaluating the vulnerabilities associated with poor cognitive aging, highlighting potential protective mechanisms and evaluate dietary interventions as a strategy to promote these mechanisms, and addressing vulnerabilities which predispose towards accelerated or dysfunctional brain aging.
Methods
This presentation will focus on some of the current state of knowledge on nutrition and cognitive aging reflecting the academic research talks and discussions held during the 2nd workshop ‘Nutrition for the Aging Brain: Functional Aspects and Mechanisms’, held in Copenhagen in June 2016 and produced by the Nutrition and Mental Performance Task Force under the auspice of the International Life Sciences Institute Europe (ILSI Europe).
Results
In the first part of this talk, we will examine early-life stress, the gut-microbiome and non-communicable diseases such as obesity and diabetes as vulnerabilities associated with poor cognitive aging. We will then highlight potential cellular and molecular mechanisms mediating cognitive health such as adult hippocampal neurogenesis, inflammation and epigenetics. Finally, we will show evidence that those mechanisms can be targeted and modified by nutritional intervention such as Omega-3 fatty acids and polyphenols to mitigate cognitive aging.
Conclusion
We will conclude that future research on the impact of nutrition on cognitive aging will need to adopt a “longitudinal” approach to ensure the effect of early-life is adequately controlled, and multimodal nutritional interventions will likely need to be imposed in early-life to observe significant impact in older age.
Comparing Health Indicator across Geography, A Look at Asia and Latin America
Sofia Amarra, PhD
ILSI Southeast Asia Region
Singapore
Background and Objectives
The One ILSI (International Life Sciences Institute) Healthy Aging Project is a multi-branch research collaboration whose goal is to identify mid-life factors that contribute to healthy vs. pathological aging in Asia and Latin America. The purpose of this presentation is to compare selected countries in these two regions with respect to: 1) indicators describing the health status of the adult population; 2) disease causes of premature mortality, causes of disability, and 3) risk factors for disease and disability among adults.
Methods
Selected indicators (health status indicators, risk factor indicators) were chosen from the Global Reference List of Core Health Indicators adopted by the United Nations for reporting health priorities of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Country-specific data for these indicators were obtained from WHO reports. Information for disease causes of mortality, causes of disability, and risk factors for disease and disability were obtained from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2015 studies. Data for a total of 15 countries in Asia and 17 countries in Latin America were extracted and compared.
Results
Health status. As a region, Latin America has higher average life expectancy, higher healthy life expectancy (HALE), and lower probability of dying between the exact ages 30 and 70 from CVD, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases, than Asia. Within Asia, high income Asia Pacific countries (Brunei, Japan, Singapore, South Korea) have the longest life expectancy, HALE, and lowest probability of dying between ages 30 and 70 from chronic diseases. Within Latin America, Southern Latin American countries (Argentina, Chile, Uruguay) have the longest average life expectancy and HALE, while Andean countries (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru) have the lowest probability of dying between ages 30 and 70 from chronic diseases.
Causes of mortality and disability. Ischemic heart disease is the leading cause of mortality for both regions. Across Asia, stroke is also a leading cause of death. Diabetes is a leading cause of disability across Latin America but less so in Asia. Causes of disability common in both regions were migraine, depression, skin and subcutaneous diseases, sense organ diseases, and low back and neck pain.
Risk factors. The greatest health risk factors for Latin America were overweight, obesity, and per capita consumption of pure alcohol, while those for Asia were smoking and diets low in whole grains. In both regions, high blood pressure is a common risk factor for premature death and disability. Within regions, high income Asia Pacific countries and Andean Latin American countries have the lowest prevalence of raised blood pressure among adults.
Conclusion
In Asia, but not in Latin America, better population health is associated with higher socio-economic development. Both regions have many similar causes of mortality and disability. However, significant health risk factors differ between the two regions. The One ILSI Healthy Aging Project seeks to uncover the underlying factors that drive these similarities and differences, both within and between geographic regions, and identify country- and region-specific best practices, policies, and programs to promote healthy and successful aging.
Key words: aging, Asia, Latin America, core health indicators, risk factors
Hannia Leon, PhD
ILSI Mesoamerica
Costa Rica
coming soon
Simin Meydani, DMV, PhD
Tufts University
USA
coming soon
Sandrine Thuret, PhD
Kings College London
United Kingdom
Dr. Thuret is Head of the Neurogenesis and Mental Health Laboratory and Head of the Cells and Behaviour Unit at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience within King’s College London.
Dr. Thuret is a Senior Lecturer in Neural Stem Cells research and neuroscientist with a background in food science, molecular, cellular, behavioural and ageing biology. She graduated from the University of Heidelberg with a PhD in Neuroscience studying the development of dopaminergic neurons. She then did her postdoctoral work at the Salk Institute with Prof. F.H. Gage, CA, USA, where she investigated the role of stem cells in the mammalian central nervous system. Her research lab is now exploring environmental and molecular regulatory mechanisms controlling the production of new neurons in the adult brain and how this impacts mood and memory in health and disease.
Sofia Amarra, PhD
ILSI Southeast Asia Region
Singapore
Sofia Amarra is currently Director of Research (Nutrition) and Deputy Director of Scientific Programs at ILSI SEA Region. She obtained her degree in Ph.D Nutrition from University of the Philippines, Diliman and Certificate in Biochemistry from the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila. Her current responsibilities include developing ILSI SEA’s research agenda, facilitating regional research collaborations, and implementing the publication of ILSI SEA activities and projects. She was previously affiliated with the Philippine Food and Nutrition Research Institute as senior science research specialist. Her previous research work has been in the area of child nutrition, focusing on micronutrient deficiencies and cognitive function among Filipino schoolchildren and examining the effect of maternal child-rearing and nutrition attitudes on pre-schoolers’ nutrient intakes and nutritional status.
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