Envejecimiento
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Item Social connections, leukocyte telomere length, and all-cause mortality in older adults from Costa Rica : the Costa Rican longevity and healthy aging study (CRELES)(Journal of Aging and Health, DOI: 10.1177/08982643251313923, 2025) Gan, Danting; Baylin, Ana; Peterson, Karen E.; Rosero Bixby, Luis; Ruiz Narváez, Edward A.Objectives: To examine the association of social connections with blood leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and all-cause mortality in older Costa Ricans. Methods: Utilizing data from the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES), a prospective cohort of 2827 individuals aged 60 and above followed since 2004, we constructed a Social Network Index (SNI) based on marital status, household size, interaction with non-cohabitating adult children, and church attendance. We used linear regression to assess SNI’s association with baseline LTL (N = 1113), and Cox proportional-hazard models to examine SNI’s relationship with all-cause mortality (N = 2735). Results: Higher SNI levels were associated with longer telomeres and decreased all-cause mortality during follow-up. Being married and regular church attendance were associated with 23% and 24% reductions of the all-cause mortality, respectively. Discussion: These findings underscore the importance of social engagement in promoting longevity among older Costa Ricans, suggesting broader implications for aging populations globally.Item II Informe estado de situación de la persona adulta mayor(Universidad de Costa Rica, 2020) Universidad de Costa Rica; Centro Centroamericano de Población; PIAM; CONAPAMEl I Informe del Estado de Situación de la Persona Mayor fue publicado en 2008. Dicho texto tenía el objetivo de analizar los distintos ámbitos de la situación de la persona adulta mayor en Costa Rica, en el contexto de un proceso de envejecimiento poblacional acelerado. El Informe compiló normativa, datos estadísticos, información cualitativa, y análisis general que permitió evidenciar la compleja situación de la población de 65 años en el país. El informe fue claro en señalar que Costa Rica había avanzado en la ejecución de acciones y políticas públicas en beneficio de esta población, pero que todavía había muchos campos en los que se podía impulsar el mejoramiento del bienestar de esta población. Gracias al indiscutible apoyo del Consejo Nacional para la Persona Adulta Mayor CONAPAM y de la Vicerrectoría de Investigación, el Centro Centroamericano de Población CCP y el Programa Integral para la Persona Adulta Mayor PIAM, unidades ambas de la Universidad de Costa Rica, unieron esfuerzos para actualizar la información sobre personas adultas mayores, recolectando información que se ha venido generando en los últimos 12 años. El segundo informe retoma los hallazgos y conclusiones del primero para describir cambios, indagar sobre algunos vacíos del primer documento, y profundizar en los aspectos en los que la información lo permita. La redacción del informe contó con el apoyo de investigadores de la Universidad de Costa Rica, del Hospital de Geriatría y Gerontología Dr. Raúl Blanco Cervantes, y del ámbito privado. La participación estudiantil también fue relevante en la recopilación de información que permitiera los análisis subsiguientes. Además, se realizaron dos Talleres de Validación sobre documentos preliminares; estos talleres fueron importantes para mejorar la disponibilidad y calidad de la información que se presenta en este segundo informe. En estos talleres participaron expertos en los temas de envejecimiento, derechos humanos y servicios públicos. El documento consta de siete capítulos. En el primer capítulo se plantea una descripción de las características demográficas de la población de 65 años y más en el país, así como del proceso de envejecimiento poblacional. El capítulo incorpora una caracterización de ciertos grupos poblaciones específicos, como lo son los afrodescendientes, indígenas y migrantes. El segundo capítulo discute cuál es la situación socioeconómica de las personas adultas mayores, y se centra en tres grandes subtemas que componen el tema en cuestión: los gastos, los ingresos y la tenencia de vivienda. La salud es el tema central del tercer capítulo. Este texto realiza un repaso sobre la prevalencia de ciertas enfermedades crónicas, y las principales causas de la mortalidad. Seguidamente, se desarrolla un análisis del efecto del proceso de envejecimiento poblacional sobre el sistema de salud del país, especialmente, sobre los servicios de la Caja Costarricense del Seguro Social CCSS. El capítulo sobre Derechos de las personas adultas mayores retoma el tema desarrollado en el primero informe acerca de la normativa vigente en el Estado costarricense que está relacionada con las personas adultas mayores, desde una perspectiva de derechos. La información de dicho capítulo permite contextualizar la evidencia empírica hallada y expuesta en el siguiente capítulo sobre la discriminación, los abusos y los malos tratos que las personas de 65 años y más tienen que enfrentar. El tema de Derechos contiene un repaso de los instrumentos jurídicos adoptados por el Estado costarricense durante los últimos 10 años, así como un análisis de los informes de la Defensoría de los Habitantes. El capítulo de Educación ofrece un contexto sobre las percepciones sobre la vejez entre la población costarricense, así como una propuesta para incluir el tema del envejecimiento como eje temático transversal en el sistema educativo costarricense. Por último, se incluye un capítulo sobre las Organizaciones de Bienestar Social (OBS) que trabajan para el servicio de las personas adultas mayores. El capítulo analiza el concepto de Red de Cuido, que dio paso a políticas y programas sociales dirigidas a poblaciones vulnerables. Tal y como se señala en el prólogo del Primer Informe, este segundo documento incluyó la información relevante que pudo ser recopilada, pero es falible pues el tema es complejo y cada día están surgiendo nuevas investigaciones enfocadas en el tema del envejecimiento en el país. El fin último del Segundo Informe del Estado de Situación de la Persona Adulta Mayor es poder ofrecer a investigadores y tomadores de decisiones, datos y análisis que puedan servir para fomentar el bienestar de la población de 65 años y más en Costa Rica.Item Traditional rural dietary pattern and all-cause mortality in a prospective cohort study of elderly Costa Ricans: the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES)(The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2024) Zhang, Yundan; Cortés Ortiz, Mónica V.; Leung, Cindy W.; Baylin, Ana; Rosero Bixby, Luis; Ruiz Narváez, Edward A.Costa Rica, as many other Latin American countries, is experiencing a fast demographic aging. It is estimated that by 2030, 18.5% of the population, or almost 1 of every 5 Costa Ricans, will be 60 y or older, compared with 7.9% or 1 of every 13 Costa Ricans in 1999 [1]. As the population ages, chronic health conditions such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and neurodegenerative disorders are expected to increase in prevalence posing growing challenges to the health of the Costa Rican population. With the demographic shift toward an aging population, there is an urgent need to study determinants of longevity and healthy aging. Diet—as part of a healthy lifestyle—is a key modifiable factor that may help to minimize the burden of age-related health conditions. Beans are a major source of protein and fiber in Costa Rican adults and part of traditional diets in most Latin American countries. High bean consumption has been found associated with a protective cardiometabolic prolife such as low total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol [2,3]. In the Costa Rican population specifically, intake of beans has been associated with lower risk of nonfatal myocardial infarction in middle-aged adults [4]. We recently reported that a traditional Costa Rican rural dietary pattern, rich in beans and rice, was associated with longer leukocyte telomeres—a marker of biologic aging—in Costa Rican adults 60 y and older [5]. However, no studies have examined whether adherence to a traditional diet in elderly Costa Ricans may also be associated with lower mortality. Because of the nutrition transition (i.e., a shift from traditional diets to an increased consumption of processed foods highs in sugars, fats, and salt) experienced by Costa Rica in the last decades [4,6,7], it is essential to evaluate the potential impact of traditional diets on promoting healthy aging and longevity within an aging population. In this study, we assessed the association between a traditional rural dietary pattern, as well as their major food components beans and rice, and all-cause mortality among elderly Costa Ricans aged 60 y and older at baseline. We hypothesized that higher scores on the traditional dietary pattern are associated with lower all-cause mortality in elderly Costa Ricans. We also assessed whether additional dietary patterns may be associated with all-cause mortality. We used longitudinal and nationally representative data from the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES).Item Centenarian clocks: epigenetic clocks for validating claims of exceptional longevity(SPRINGER LINK, vol. 45, 2023) Dec, Eric; Clement, James; Cheng, Kaiyang; Church, George M.; Fossel, Michael B.; Rehkopf, David H.; Rosero Bixby, Luis; Kobor, Michael S.; Lin, David TS.; Lu, Ake T.; Fei, Zhe; Guo, Wei; Chew, Yap Ching; Yang, Xiaojing; Dwi Putra, Sulistyo E.; Reiner, Alex P.; Correa, Adolfo; Vilalta, Adrian; Pirazzini, Chiara; Passarino, Giuseppe; Monti, Daniela; Arosio, Beatrice; Garagnani, Paolo; Franceschi, Claudio; Horvath, SteveClaims surrounding exceptional longevity are sometimes disputed or dismissed for lack of credible evidence. Here, we present three DNA methylation-based age estimators (epigenetic clocks) for verifying age claims of centenarians. The three centenarian clocks were developed based on n = 7039 blood and saliva samples from individuals older than 40, including n = 184 samples from centenarians, 122 samples from semi-supercentenarians (aged 105 +), and 25 samples from supercentenarians (aged 110 +). The oldest individual was 115 years old. Our most accurate centenarian clock resulted from applying a neural network model to a training set composed of individuals older than 40. An epigenome- wide association study of age in different age groups revealed that age effects in young individuals (age < 40) are correlated (r = 0.55) with age effects in old individuals (age > 90). We present a chromatin state analysis of age effects in centenarians. The centenarian clocks are expected to be useful for validating claims surrounding exceptional old age.Item The vanishing advantage of longevity in Nicoya, Costa Rica: A cohort shif(Demographic Research, vol.49 (27, 2023) Rosero Bixby, LuisBACKGROUND The Nicoya region in Costa Rica has been identified as one of a handful of hotspots of extreme longevity. The evidence supporting this status comes mostly from observing the 1990 and 2000 decades and cohorts born before 1930. OBJECTIVE To determine how the longevity advantage of older men in Nicoya has progressed in the period 1990 to 2020 and in cohorts born from 1900 to 1950. METHODS Remaining length of life and adult mortality were estimated using new public administrative records from the electoral system and a Gompertz regression model. A new nationwide survival-time database of 550,000 adult Costa Ricans who were alive at any point during 1990–2020 was put together. RESULTS The longevity advantage of Nicoya is disappearing in a trend driven mostly by cohort effects. While Nicoyan males born in 1905 had 33% lower adult mortality rates than other Costa Ricans, those born in 1945 had 10% higher rates. The original geographic hotspot of low elderly mortality, coined the Nicoya blue zone, has decreased to a small area south of the peninsula around the corridor from Hojancha inland to the beach town of Sámara. However, Nicoyans born before 1930 who are still alive continue to show exceptionally high longevity. CONCLUSIONS Surviving Nicoyan males born before 1930 are exceptional human beings living longer than expected lives. Not so for more recent cohorts. The window of opportunity to meet and study pre-1930 individuals is closing.Item Epigenome-Wide Association Study and Epigenetic Age Acceleration Associated with Cigarette Smoking among Costa Rican Adults(Scientific Reports, Vol. 12 Núm, 2022) Cárdenas, Andrés; Ecker, Simone; Fadadu, Raj P.; Huen, Karen; Orozco, Allan; McEwen, Lisa M.; Engelbrecht, Hannah Ruth; Gladish, Nicole; Kobor, Michael S.; Rosero Bixby, Luis; Dow, William H.; Rehkopf, David H.Smoking-associated DNA methylation (DNAm) signatures are reproducible among studies of mostly European descent, with mixed evidence if smoking accelerates epigenetic aging and its relationship to longevity. We evaluated smoking-associated DNAm signatures in the Costa Rican Study on Longevity and Healthy Aging (CRELES), including participants from the high longevity region of Nicoya. We measured genome-wide DNAm in leukocytes, tested Epigenetic Age Acceleration (EAA) from five clocks and estimates of telomere length (DNAmTL), and examined effect modification by the high longevity region. 489 participants had a mean (SD) age of 79.4 (10.8) years, and 18% were from Nicoya. Overall, 7.6% reported currently smoking, 35% were former smokers, and 57.4% never smoked. 46 CpGs and five regions (e.g. AHRR, SCARNA6/SNORD39, SNORA20, and F2RL3) were differentially methylated for current smokers. Former smokers had increased Horvath’s EAA (1.69-years; 95% CI 0.72, 2.67), Hannum’s EAA (0.77-years; 95% CI 0.01, 1.52), GrimAge (2.34-years; 95% CI1.66, 3.02), extrinsic EAA (1.27-years; 95% CI 0.34, 2.21), intrinsic EAA (1.03-years; 95% CI 0.12, 1.94) and shorter DNAmTL (− 0.04-kb; 95% CI − 0.08, − 0.01) relative to non-smokers. There was no evidence of effect modification among residents of Nicoya. Our findings recapitulate previously reported and novel smoking-associated DNAm changes in a Latino cohort.Item Helicobacter pylori infection and serum pepsinogen concentrations in an elderly population representative of Costa Rica(Población y Salud en Mesoamérica 19(2), 2022) Une, Clas Allan; Malespín Bendaña, Wendy Karina; Ramírez Mayorga, Vanessa; Rosero Bixby, Luis; Sierra Ramos, RafaelaINTRODUCTION: Costa Rica has among the highest mortality rates from gastric cancer in the world, largely due to late detection. It is therefore important that economically and logistically sustainable screening is implemented in order to detect risk of developing cancer. We have previously shown that low pepsinogen (PG) values and infection with Helicobacter pylori-CagA+ are associated with risk of gastric atrophy and cancer in Costa Rican populations. OBJECTIVES: To determine how markers for gastric cancer risk are distributed in an elderly population representative of Costa Rica in order to design a screening strategy. METHODS: The population studied consists of 2,652 participants in a nationally representative survey of ageing. Information concerning epidemiologic, demographic, nutritional and life style factors is available. Serum PG concentrations as well as H. pylori and CagA status were determined by serology. Possible associations were determined by regression analyses. RESULTS: Antibodies to H. pylori were present in 72% of the population and of those, 58% were CagA positive. Infection with H. pylori was associated with higher PGI concentrations (p=0.000) and infection with H. pylori-CagA+ with lower PGI concentrations (p=0.025). Both showed association with lower PGI/PGII (p=0.006 and p=0.000). Higher age was associated with lower prevalence of H. pylori infection (OR=0.98; p=0.000) and CagA+ (OR=0.98; p=0.000) but not with PG values. Regions with high risk of gastric cancer showed lower PGI (p=0.004) and PGI/PGII values (p=0.021) as well as higher prevalence of H. pylori infection (OR=1.39; p=0.013) but not CagA+. Using cut-off values of PGI<100 μg/L and PGI/PGII<2.0, 2.5 and 3.0, 7-15% of the population would be considered at risk. CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori alone is not a useful marker for risk of gastric cancer. Screening using serum pepsinogen concentrations and infection with H. pylori-CagA+ is feasible in the general elderly population of Costa Rica but appropriate cut-off values have to be determined based on more clinical data and follow up capacity.Item Gender differences in perceived stress and its relationship to telomere length in Costa Rican adults(Frontiers in Psychology, vol.13, 2022) Méndez Chacón, ErickaIntroduction: Stress is associated with disease and reduced leukocyte telomere length (LTL). The objective of this research is to determine if self-perceived stress is associated with telomere length in Costa Rican adults and the gender differences in this association. Findings may help explain how some populations in apparent socioeconomic disadvantage and with limited access to specialized medical services have a remarkably high life expectancy. Methodology: Data come from the pre-retirement cohort of the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES), a population based survey conducted in the households to 2,327 adults aged 53 to 66 years. The DNA to measure LTL was extracted from blood cells in laboratories of the University of Costa Rica whereas the Blackburn laboratory at the University of California performed the telomere length measurement applying the quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR). The relationship between telomere length and perceived stress was measured using least-squares multiple regression. Perceived stress was measured by a set of questions about family, job, finances and, health reasons to be stressed. Models included the control variables: (1) age and sex of the participant, (2) whether he or she resides in the Nicoya area, a “blue zone” known for its high longevity, and (3) the aforementioned sociodemographic, health and lifestyles characteristics. Results: Stress perception and LTL are significantly different by sex. Women perceived higher stress levels than men in almost all aspects studied, except work. Women have significantly longer telomeres. Shorter telomeres are significantly associated with caregiving stress in men and with parental health concerns in women. Counter-intuitive telomere lengthenings were observed among women who feel stressed about caring for family members; and among men who feel stressed due to their family relationships as well as concerns about their own health. Discussion: Results confirm that people with self-perceived stress due to caregiving or health issues have shorter telomeres. The relationship between stress and telomere length differs between men and women. Gender relations exert a strong modifier effect on the relationship between stress and LTL: gender is related to perceived stress, telomere length, and apparently also to the way stress and LTL are related.Item Diet and leukocyte telomere length in a population with extended longevity: the Costa Rican longevity and healthy aging study (CRELES)(Nutrients, 13(8), 2021) Ruiz Narváez, Edward A.; Baylin, Ana; Azofeifa Navas, Jorge; Leal Esquivel, Alejandro; Rosero Bixby, LuisElderly Costa Ricans have lower mortality rates compared to their counterparts from developed countries. Reasons for this survival advantage are not completely known. In the present study, we aimed to identify dietary factors associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a marker of biologic aging, in the elderly population of Costa Rica. We conducted prospective analysis in 909 participants aged 60+ years from the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES). We used a food frequency questionnaire to assess usual diet. We calculated dietary patterns using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). We used generalized linear models to examine the association of dietary patterns and food groups with leukocyte telomere length. We found two major dietary patterns explaining 9.15% and 7.18% of the total variation of food intake, respectively. The first dietary pattern, which represents a traditional Costa Rican rice and beans pattern, was more frequent in rural parts of the country and was positively associated with baseline LTL: (95% CI) = 42.0 base-pairs (bp) (9.9 bp, 74.1 bp) per one-unit increase of the traditional dietary pattern. In analysis of individual food groups, intake of grains was positively associated with baseline LTL: (95% CI) = 43.6 bp (13.9 bp, 73.3 bp) per one-serving/day increase of consumption of grains. Our results suggest that dietary factors, in particular a traditional food pattern, are associated with telomere length and may contribute to the extended longevity of elderly Costa Ricans.