The Aging Process and Public Health - Essay Example

In approaching older ages, people who were never sick a day in their life become more susceptible also to new illnesses such as West Nile Virus and old diseases such as pneumonia as their bodies lose some of their ability to fight off infection. For this reason, it is wise for older adults to seek immunization shots for these illnesses and the illnesses that lead to them such as influenza. The mental state is also an important factor in the well-being of older adults. A study reviewing the possible link between personality and longevity was conducted amongst a collection of 660 people over 50 years of age in Oxford, Ohio (Schwartz, 1995).

These subjects had answered questions in 1975 having to do with their attitudes regarding aging and other questions designed to ascertain their overall disposition and personality. Researchers re-interviewed those participants who were still living in 1998 and noted in what year the others had died. The study found that those who thought of aging in an optimistic way lived, on average, 7.5 years longer than those who took a bleaker view. The researchers also concluded by their findings that both lower blood pressure and reduced cholesterol lengthened life by about four years.

By contrast, those participants who exercised didn’t smoke and maintained a proper weight only added only one to three extra years. Clearly, by this evidence, attitudes based on general personality affect longevity as much or more than do many other aspects of living. The researchers felt all of the above aspects were important to longevity but were surprised by the degree to which personality seemed to weigh in on the issue. Overall personality and viewpoints regarding living were highly correlated with long life, even after statistically controlling such distinctiveness.