Researchers at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg have developed a program to assess life expectancy. A combined analysis of lifestyle factors and five blood serum markers shows that men are more sensitive to an unhealthy lifestyle. The most unhealthy lifestyle plus unfavorable blood values lead to a statistically almost 23 years shorter lifespan in the stronger sex.
A few years ago, scientists at the research institute proved that people who follow all health prevention recommendations live up to 17 years longer than their contemporaries with very unhealthy lifestyle habits.
Research into simple blood markers
Now the experts have tried to make these results even more accurate by taking into account certain blood serum markers. “We now wanted to know whether we can predict life expectancy even more accurately if we also determine suitable serum biomarkers,” said Rudolf Kaaks, epidemiologist at the DKFZ, in a press release. Five blood values have been selected for this, which can be easily determined by laboratory tests.
The scientists profiled lifestyle-related risk factors (smoking, body mass index, hip circumference, alcohol consumption, physical activity, high blood pressure, diabetes) for all more than 25,000 study participants. “If the researchers only looked at this profile, the life expectancy of men with the most favorable profile was 16.8 years longer than that of study participants with the most unhealthy lifestyle habits. For women, this difference was only 9.87 years,” reports the DKFZ Heidelberg.
Women only lose 14 years of their lives
If serum markers were taken into account in addition to lifestyle, there was a difference of 22.7 life years between men with the worst values compared to the group with the most favorable values. For the study participants, this difference was only 14 years.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
