The Association of Healthy Aging with Multimorbidity: IKARIA Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate several sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical characteristics of the IKARIA study participants and to find healthy aging trajectories of multimorbidity of Ikarian islanders. During 2009, 1410 people (aged 30+) from Ikaria Island, Greece, were voluntarily enr...

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Main Authors: Alexandra Foscolou, Christina Chrysohoou, Kyriakos Dimitriadis, Konstantina Masoura, Georgia Vogiatzi, Viktor Gkotzamanis, George Lazaros, Costas Tsioufis, Christodoulos Stefanadis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
Series:Nutrients
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/4/1386
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author Alexandra Foscolou
Christina Chrysohoou
Kyriakos Dimitriadis
Konstantina Masoura
Georgia Vogiatzi
Viktor Gkotzamanis
George Lazaros
Costas Tsioufis
Christodoulos Stefanadis
author_facet Alexandra Foscolou
Christina Chrysohoou
Kyriakos Dimitriadis
Konstantina Masoura
Georgia Vogiatzi
Viktor Gkotzamanis
George Lazaros
Costas Tsioufis
Christodoulos Stefanadis
author_sort Alexandra Foscolou
collection DOAJ
description The aim of this study was to evaluate several sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical characteristics of the IKARIA study participants and to find healthy aging trajectories of multimorbidity of Ikarian islanders. During 2009, 1410 people (aged 30+) from Ikaria Island, Greece, were voluntarily enrolled in the IKARIA study. Multimorbidity was defined as the combination of at least two of the following chronic diseases: hypertension; hypercholesterolemia; diabetes; obesity; cancer; CVD; osteoporosis; thyroid, renal, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A healthy aging index (HAI) ranging from 0 to 100 was constructed using 4 attributes, i.e., depression symptomatology, cognitive function, mobility, and socializing. The prevalence of multimorbidity was 51% among men and 65.5% among women, while the average number of comorbidities was 1.7 ± 1.4 for men and 2.2 ± 1.4 for women. The most prevalent chronic diseases among men with multimorbidity were hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity while among women they were hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and thyroid disease. Multimorbidity was correlated with HAI (Spearman’s rho = −0.127, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and for every 10-unit increase in HAI, participants had 20% lower odds of being multimorbid. Multimorbidity in relation to HAI revealed a different trend across aging among men and women, coinciding only in the seventh decade of life. Aging is usually accompanied by chronic diseases, but multimorbidity seems to also be common among younger adults. However, healthy aging is a lifelong process that may lead to limited co-morbidities across the lifespan.
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spelling doaj.art-eac615f80207426091eb0e3dcd3bcf672023-11-21T16:20:28ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432021-04-01134138610.3390/nu13041386The Association of Healthy Aging with Multimorbidity: IKARIA StudyAlexandra Foscolou0Christina Chrysohoou1Kyriakos Dimitriadis2Konstantina Masoura3Georgia Vogiatzi4Viktor Gkotzamanis5George Lazaros6Costas Tsioufis7Christodoulos Stefanadis8First Cardiology Clinic, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceFirst Cardiology Clinic, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceFirst Cardiology Clinic, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceFirst Cardiology Clinic, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceFirst Cardiology Clinic, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Sciences and Education, Harokopio University of Athens, 17676 Athens, GreeceFirst Cardiology Clinic, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceFirst Cardiology Clinic, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceFirst Cardiology Clinic, Hippokration Hospital, School of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, GreeceThe aim of this study was to evaluate several sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical characteristics of the IKARIA study participants and to find healthy aging trajectories of multimorbidity of Ikarian islanders. During 2009, 1410 people (aged 30+) from Ikaria Island, Greece, were voluntarily enrolled in the IKARIA study. Multimorbidity was defined as the combination of at least two of the following chronic diseases: hypertension; hypercholesterolemia; diabetes; obesity; cancer; CVD; osteoporosis; thyroid, renal, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A healthy aging index (HAI) ranging from 0 to 100 was constructed using 4 attributes, i.e., depression symptomatology, cognitive function, mobility, and socializing. The prevalence of multimorbidity was 51% among men and 65.5% among women, while the average number of comorbidities was 1.7 ± 1.4 for men and 2.2 ± 1.4 for women. The most prevalent chronic diseases among men with multimorbidity were hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity while among women they were hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and thyroid disease. Multimorbidity was correlated with HAI (Spearman’s rho = −0.127, <i>p</i> < 0.001) and for every 10-unit increase in HAI, participants had 20% lower odds of being multimorbid. Multimorbidity in relation to HAI revealed a different trend across aging among men and women, coinciding only in the seventh decade of life. Aging is usually accompanied by chronic diseases, but multimorbidity seems to also be common among younger adults. However, healthy aging is a lifelong process that may lead to limited co-morbidities across the lifespan.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/4/1386aginghealthy agingmultimorbiditychronic diseaseIkarialongevity
spellingShingle Alexandra Foscolou
Christina Chrysohoou
Kyriakos Dimitriadis
Konstantina Masoura
Georgia Vogiatzi
Viktor Gkotzamanis
George Lazaros
Costas Tsioufis
Christodoulos Stefanadis
The Association of Healthy Aging with Multimorbidity: IKARIA Study
Nutrients
aging
healthy aging
multimorbidity
chronic disease
Ikaria
longevity
title The Association of Healthy Aging with Multimorbidity: IKARIA Study
title_full The Association of Healthy Aging with Multimorbidity: IKARIA Study
title_fullStr The Association of Healthy Aging with Multimorbidity: IKARIA Study
title_full_unstemmed The Association of Healthy Aging with Multimorbidity: IKARIA Study
title_short The Association of Healthy Aging with Multimorbidity: IKARIA Study
title_sort association of healthy aging with multimorbidity ikaria study
topic aging
healthy aging
multimorbidity
chronic disease
Ikaria
longevity
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/13/4/1386
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