Being young in your head would have a real impact on cardiovascular health. This is suggested by researchers at University College London who analyzed the aging of 6,489 adults with an average age of 65.
In the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine, the study points out that older people who feel three or four years younger than their age have a lower death rate than those who feel older or in step with their chronological age.
In detail, over 69% of study participants felt three to four years younger than their age. Over 25 felt they were the age they were, and 4.8% felt they were over a year older. After a 99-month follow-up, it appeared that the death rate was higher in the group who felt older (24%) or their age (18%), than the group who felt younger (14%). ).
This work highlights a link between the perception of age and cardiovascular disease. “Your perceptions of your age reflect assessments of health, physical limitations and well-being later in life,” say the study’s authors.
But more studies are needed before confirming this link between psychological and cardiovascular health: “The mechanisms underlying these links deserve to be further studied, expanding them to a wider range of behaviors promoting good health, like the fact of maintain a healthy weight, to follow medical recommendations and to have a sense of self-control and the desire to live among those who feel younger than their age, ”the study concludes.
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