Blood offers clue to living to 100, say researchers

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Want to reach the ripe old age of 100?

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A new study, published Oct. 10 in GeoScience, says centenarians tend to have lower levels of glucose, creatinine and uric acid from their 60s onwards, compared to other people, reported the Independent newspaper.

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Involving 44,500 Swedes, the study is the largest of its kind. Researchers measured different blood  molecules of study participants between 1985 and 1996, and followed up until 2020.

The findings may lead to a simple blood test to predict a person’s chance of reaching 100, according to researchers.

“We found that, on the whole, those who made it to their 100th birthday tended to have lower levels of glucose, creatinine and uric acid from their 60s onwards,” study authors wrote in the Conversation.

However, the study doesn’t go as far as recommending which lifestyle factors or genes are responsible for these blood molecule levels.

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“However, it is reasonable to think that factors such as nutrition and alcohol intake play a role,” said the researchers.

“Keeping track of your kidney and liver values, as well as glucose and uric acid as you get older, is probably not a bad idea.”

Researchers focused on people born between 1893 and 1920, who were between 64-99 years old when their blood samples were first tested. They were tested again as they grew closer to 100 years of age.

About 1,200 of those studied reached 100 and the study compared their data with those of their younger peers.

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