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Reduction in Total Mortality

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• Longevity

Updated 12/26/07

RR is the risk relative to the average person; all studies are recent large prospective studies.

If you do 1), 4), 5), 6) and 7) interventions, you can theoretically reduce your mortality risk by 80% (RR= RR1*RR4......RR7 = 0.20)

Interventions:

1) ( RR=0.93): Vitamin D 528 IU/day, 57,000 participants for 5.8 years, meta-analysis, evidence suggests Vitamin D has a major impact on mortality from cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, more Vitamin D may be better, Archives of Internal Medicine 167, 1730-37 (2007)

2) (RR=0.73): Moderate Exercise, 20 minutes 3 times per week, 253,000 women aged 50-71 for 6 years, Archives of Internal Medicine 167, 2453-60 (2007); in all exercise studies, reverse causation is a confounding factor. That is, someone who is healthy to start with is more likely to exercise and vice versa. If you can and do exercise this much, your relative risk will be lower in any case.

3) (RR=0.68) Vigorous Exercise, 20 minutes 3 times per week, 253,000 women aged 50-71 for 6 years, Archives of Internal Medicine 167, 2453-60 (2007)

4) (RR=0.45) Vigorous Exercise, 20 minutes 3 times per week AND Moderate Exercise, 20 minutes 3 times per week, 253,000 women aged 50-71 for 6 years, Archives of Internal Medicine 167, 2453-60 (2007)

5) (RR*=0.79), Mediterranean Diet, 9 point score of dietary pattern, e.g legumes, vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, monosaturated fats, alcohol and fish and low meat. 214,000 men and 166,000 women for 5 years. RR* is a comparison of a high to low conformity to the Mediterranean Diet

6) (RR=0.72), 2-4 alcoholic drinks per week, i.e. 5-10 cc of ethanol per day, 22,000 male physicians 40-84 years old, 11-year study, RR relative to occasional drinkers or total abstainers, Archives of Internal Medicine 157(1) 79-85 (1997); similar findings in large studies with women. More than this dosing of alcohol starts increasing total mortality mainly because the chance of digestive track cancers increases monotonically with alcohol dose with no threshold.

7) (RR=0.90) Caffeine consumption of 200-400 milligrams/day from coffee, chocolate or soft drinks but not tea; there is 80 mg of caffeine per cup (150 ml) of coffee so optimal dosing is equivalent to 2 1/2 to 5 cups of coffee per day, 8600 women & 5,000 men of median entry age of 74 followed for 23 years, Preventive Medicine 44(4) 305-10 (2007)

Alternative News:

• Only virgin type of olive oil consumption reduces the risk of mortality. Results from a Mediterranean population-based cohort - Eur J Clin Nutr 2022 Oct 14 - "Daily moderate consumption of virgin OO (1 and 1/2 tablespoons) was associated with a one-third lower risk of all-cause as well as half the risk of cardiovascular mortality. These effects were not seen for common OO" - See olive leaf extract at Amazon.com.
• How Does Salt Intake Relate to Mortality? - Medscape, 9/9/22 - "Always adding salt to foods was associated with the lower life expectancy at the age of 50 years by 1.50 (95% CI, 0.72 – 2.30) and 2.28 (95% CI, 1.66 – 2.90) years for women and men, respectively, compared with participants who never or rarely added salt to foods" - See Morton Lite salt at Amazon.com.
• Hair Loss, Impotence Join List of Long COVID Symptoms - WebMD, 7/25/22 - "Looking at only non-hospitalized patients, researchers identified three categories of distinct symptoms reported by people with persistent health problems after infection ... Patterns of symptoms tended to be grouped mainly as respiratory or brain symptoms, alongside a third category representing a broader range of health problems, including hair loss and erectile dysfunction ... The most common symptoms include loss of smell, shortness of breath, chest pain and fever"
• Regular coffee drinkers had lower chance of dying in 7-year period - Washington Post, 7/19/22 - "those who regularly drank 1½ to 3½ cups of coffee a day, whether plain or sweetened with about a teaspoon of sugar, were up to 30 percent less likely to die in that time frame from any cause, including cancer and cardiovascular disease, than were those who did not drink coffee"
• Adding salt to foods and hazard of premature mortality - Eur Heart J 2022 Jul 10 - "compared with the never/rarely group, always adding salt to foods was related to 1.50 (95% CI, 0.72-2.30) and 2.28 (95% CI, 1.66-2.90) years lower life expectancy at the age of 50 years in women and men, respectively" - See Morton Lite salt at Amazon.com.
• Human age reversal: Fact or fiction? - Aging Cell 2022 Jul 2 - "Although chronological age correlates with various age-related diseases and conditions, it does not adequately reflect an individual's functional capacity, well-being, or mortality risk. In contrast, biological age provides information about overall health and indicates how rapidly or slowly a person is aging. Estimates of biological age are thought to be provided by aging clocks, which are computational models (e.g., elastic net) that use a set of inputs (e.g., DNA methylation sites) to make a prediction. In the past decade, aging clock studies have shown that several age-related diseases, social variables, and mental health conditions associate with an increase in predicted biological age relative to chronological age. This phenomenon of age acceleration is linked to a higher risk of premature mortality. More recent research has demonstrated that predicted biological age is sensitive to specific interventions. Human trials have reported that caloric restriction, a plant-based diet, lifestyle changes involving exercise, a drug regime including metformin, and vitamin D3 supplementation are all capable of slowing down or reversing an aging clock. Non-interventional studies have connected high-quality sleep, physical activity, a healthy diet, and other factors to age deceleration. Specific molecules have been associated with the reduction or reversal of predicted biological age, such as the antihypertensive drug doxazosin or the metabolite alpha-ketoglutarate. Although rigorous clinical trials are needed to validate these initial findings, existing data suggest that aging clocks are malleable in humans" - See metformin at ReliableRX, vitamin D at Amazon.com and alpha ketoglutarate at Amazon.com.
• Calcium Supplementation, Risk of Cardiovascular Diseases, and Mortality: A Real-World Study of the Korean National Health Insurance Service Data - Nutrients 2022 Jun 18 - "The cumulative incidence of acute myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and death was significantly higher in the calcium supplementation group than in the control group (p < 0.05 by log-rank test). The calcium supplementation group had a significantly higher risk of myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and death than the control group. Compared to the control group, the hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) of the incidence of myocardial infarction, stroke, and death in the supplementation group were 1.14 (1.03-1.27), 1.12 (1.05-1.20), and 1.40 (1.32-1.50), respectively, after adjusting for confounding variables. Considering the associated cardiovascular risk, calcium supplementation for osteoporosis treatment should be administered cautiously"
• The Association of Dietary Fiber Intake in Three Meals with All-Cause and Disease-Specific Mortality among Adults: The U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2003-2014 - Nutrients 2022 Jun 17 - "Firstly, after adjusting for potential confounders, compared to the participants in the lowest quintile of total dietary fiber intake, the participants in the highest quintile of fiber intake had lower all-cause (HR = 0.686, 95% CI: 0.589-0.799, p for trend <0.001) and cancer (HR = 0.606, 95% CI: 0.446-0.824, p for trend = 0.015) mortality risks. Secondly, compared to the participants in the lowest quintile of dietary fiber intake at dinner, the participants in the highest quintile of fiber intake had lower all-cause (HR = 0.796, 95% CI: 0.668-0.949, p for trend = 0.009) and cancer (HR = 0.564, 95% CI: 0.388-0.822, p for trend = 0.005) mortality risks. Furthermore, equivalently replacing each standard deviation of dietary fiber consumed at breakfast with that at dinner was associated with lower cancer mortality risks (HR = 0.846, 95% CI: 0.747-0.958). In conclusion, this study demonstrates that, in the NHANES (2003-2014) cohort, to reduce all-cause and cancer mortality risks, the optimal dietary fiber intake time is in the evening"
• Association between plasma Vitamin B5 levels and all-cause mortality: A nested case-control study - J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich) 2022 Jun 14 - "When vitamin B5 was further assessed as quintiles, compared with the reference group (Q1: < 33.0 ng/mL), the risk of all-cause mortality increased by 29% (OR = 1.29, 95% CI: 0.83-2.01) in Q2, 22% (OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 0.77-1.94) in Q3, 62% (OR = 1.62, 95% CI: 1.00-2.62) in Q4, and 77% (OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.06-2.95) in Q5. The trend test was significant (p = .022). When Q4-Q5 were combined, a significant 41% increment (OR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.03-1.95) in all-cause death risk was found compared with Q1-Q3. The adverse effects were more pronounced in those with normal folate levels (p-interaction = .019) and older people (p-interaction = .037). This study suggests that higher baseline levels of plasma vitamin B5 are a risk factor for all-cause mortality among Chinese patients with hypertension, especially among older adults and those with adequate folate levels"
• Chili pepper intake and all-cause and disease-specific mortality - Int J Vitam Nutr Res 2022 Jan 18 - "Chili pepper has been used for the treatment and prevention of multiple diseases. This may be due to its abundance of bioactive components, such as carotenoids, which are well known for their antioxidant properties. To date, several prospective cohort studies have examined the association between chili pepper intake and mortality, but the results have not been consistent. This study aimed to clarify the association between chili pepper intake and all-cause and disease-specific mortality using a meta-analysis ... Compared to none or rare consumption of chili pepper, consumption of chili pepper (ever or more than once a week) could significantly reduce the risk of all-cause mortality (summary adjusted HR: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.85, 0.90), CVD-specific mortality (summary adjusted HR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.85, 0.93), and cancer-specific mortality (summary adjusted HR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.88, 0.97). There was no significant between-study heterogeneity in the analyses (all-cause mortality: I2=0.7%, P=0.389; CVD-specific mortality: I2=21.8%, P=0.280; cancer-specific mortality: I2=0.0%, P=0.918)" - See capsicum at Amazon.com.
• Consumption of Olive Oil and Risk of Total and Cause-Specific Mortality Among U.S. Adults - J Am Coll Cardiol 2022 Jan 18 - "During 28 years of follow-up, 36,856 deaths occurred. The multivariable-adjusted pooled HR for all-cause mortality among participants who had the highest consumption of olive oil (>0.5 tablespoon/day or >7 g/d) was 0.81 (95% CI: 0.78-0.84) compared with those who never or rarely consumed olive oil. Higher olive oil intake was associated with 19% lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality (HR: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.75-0.87), 17% lower risk of cancer mortality (HR: 0.83; 95% CI: 0.78-0.89), 29% lower risk of neurodegenerative disease mortality (HR: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.64-0.78), and 18% lower risk of respiratory disease mortality (HR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.72-0.93). In substitution analyses, replacing 10 g/d of margarine, butter, mayonnaise, and dairy fat with the equivalent amount of olive oil was associated with 8%-34% lower risk of total and cause-specific mortality" - See olive leaf extract at Amazon.com but it could be the omega-9 or both.
• Vitamin K status, all-cause mortality, and cardiovascular disease in adults with chronic kidney disease: the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort - Am J Clin Nutr 2021 Nov 12 - "Vascular calcification contributes to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality in individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Vitamin K-dependent proteins function as calcification inhibitors in vascular tissue ... All-cause mortality risk was 21-29% lower among participants with plasma (dp)ucMGP <450 pmol/L (n = 2361) compared to those with plasma (dp)ucMGP ≥450 pmol/L [adjusted HRs (95%CIs): < 300 pmol/L = 0.71(0.61, 0.83), 300-449 pmol/L = 0.77(0.66, 0.90)] and 16-19% lower among participants with plasma phylloquinone ≥0.50 nmol/L (n = 2421) compared to those with plasma phylloquinone <0.50 nmol/L [adjusted HRs: 0.50, 0.99 nmol/L = 0.84(0.72, 0.99), ≥1.00 nmol/L = 0.81(0.70, 0.95)]. The risk for atherosclerotic CVD events did not significantly differ across plasma (dp)ucMGP or phylloquinone categories" - See vitamin k2 at Amazon.com.
• Association of coffee drinking with all-cause and cause-specific mortality in over 190,000 individuals: data from two prospective studies - Int J Food Sci Nutr 2021 Nov 15 - "Coffee drinking was associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality [HR (95% CI) = 0.84 (0.77-0.92), for ≥3 cups/day of coffee drinking versus non-drinkers; p for trend = 0.004]. We observed the potential benefit of coffee drinking for mortality due to cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes, but not for cancer mortality. Overall, we found that moderate coffee drinking was associated with a lower risk of death in population-based cohort analysis of Korean adults"
• Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, frailty, and mortality among the Chinese oldest old: Results from the CLHLS study - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2021 Jun 12 - "Low serum 25(OH)D levels were associated with higher risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality among the oldest old of the Chinese population, and the associations were significantly stronger in individuals with frailty" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com and vitamin D at iHerb.
• Coffee consumption and cardiovascular diseases and mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes: A systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of cohort studies - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 2021 May 24 - "Compared to those with no coffee consumption, the HRs for consumption of 4 cups/d were 0.79 (95%CI: 0.72, 0.87; n = 10 studies) for all-cause mortality, 0.60 (95%CI: 0.46, 0.79; n = 4) for CVD mortality, 0.68 (95%CI: 0.51, 0.91; n = 3) for coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality, 0.72 (95%CI: 0.54, 0.98; n = 2) for CHD, and 0.77 (95%CI: 0.61, 0.98; n = 2) for total CVD events. There was no significant association for cancer mortality and stroke. There was an inverse monotonic association between coffee drinking and all-cause and CVD mortality, and inverse linear association for CHD and total CVD events ... Drinking coffee may be inversely associated with the risk of mortality in patients with type 2 diabetes. However, more research is needed considering type of coffee, sugar and cream added to coffee, and history of CVD to present more confident results"
• Vitamin D supplementation: Possible gain in life years combined with cost savings - Science Daily, 2/10/21 - "Three meta-analyses of large clinical studies have been published in recent years on the question of how vitamin D supply affects cancer mortality rates. The studies* came to the same conclusion: cancer mortality is reduced by around 13 percent with vitamin D supplementation -- across all cancers. Only methodologically high-quality randomized trials from all parts of the world were included in the meta-analyses. Exactly what biological mechanisms might underlie this is not yet clear" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Ultra-processed food consumption is associated with increased risk of all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in the Moli-sani Study - Am J Clin Nutr 2020 Dec 18 - "Individuals reporting the highest intake of UPF (Q4, >14.6% of total food), as opposed to the lowest (Q1, UPF < 6.6%), experienced increased risks of CVD mortality (HR: 1.58; 95% CI: 1.23, 2.03), death from ischemic heart disease (IHD)/cerebrovascular disease (HR: 1.52; 95% CI: 1.10, 2.09), and all-cause mortality (HR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.46). High sugar content explained 36.3% of the relation of UPF with IHD/cerebrovascular mortality, whereas other nutritional factors (e.g., saturated fats) were unlikely to be on the pathway. Biomarkers of renal function accounted for 20.1% of the association of UPF with all-cause mortality, and 12.0% for that of UPF with CVD mortality ... A high proportion of UPF in the diet was associated with increased risk of CVD and all-cause mortality, partly through its high dietary content of sugar. Some established biomarkers of CVD risk were likely to be on the pathway of such associations"
• Glucosamine may reduce overall death rates as effectively as regular exercise, study suggests - Science Daily, 12/1/20 - "taking glucosamine/chondroitin every day for a year or longer was associated with a 39 percent reduction in all-cause mortality ... It was also linked to a 65 percent reduction in cardiovascular-related deaths" - See glucosamine chondroitin formulas at Amazon.com and iHerb.
• Less REM Sleep Tied to Higher Mortality - Medscape, 7/14/20 - "over a 12-year period, each 5% reduction in REM sleep was associated with a 13% increase in mortality rate"
• Higher daily step count linked with lower all-cause mortality - Science Daily, 3/24/20 - "They found that, compared with taking 4,000 steps per day, a number considered to be low for adults, taking 8,000 steps per day was associated with a 51% lower risk for all-cause mortality (or death from all causes). Taking 12,000 steps per day was associated with a 65% lower risk compared with taking 4,000 steps. In contrast, the authors saw no association between step intensity and risk of death after accounting for the total number of steps taken per day."
• Fish consumption may prolong life - Science Daily, 7/18/18 - "Comparing the highest with lowest quintiles of fish intake, men had 9% lower total mortality, 10% lower cardiovascular disease mortality, 6% lower cancer mortality, 20% lower respiratory disease mortality, and 37% lower chronic liver disease mortality, while women had 8% lower total mortality, 10% lower cardiovascular disease mortality, and 38% lower Alzheimer's disease mortality ... Fried fish consumption was not related to mortality in men, whereas it was associated with increased risks of mortality from all causes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease in women. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake was associated with 15% and 18% lower cardiovascular disease mortality in men and women, respectively, when comparing the highest and lowest quintiles." - See fish oil supplements at Amazon.com.
• Sodium Intake and All-Cause Mortality Over 20 Years in the Trials of Hypertension Prevention - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2016 Oct 11;68(15):1609-1617 - "There was a direct linear association between average sodium intake and mortality, with an HR of 0.75, 0.95, and 1.00 (references) and 1.07 (p trend = 0.30) for <2,300, 2,300 to <3,600, 3,600 to <4,800, and ≥4,800 mg/24 h, respectively; and with an HR of 1.12 per 1,000 mg/24 h (95% CI: 1.00 to 1.26; p = 0.05). There was no evidence of a J-shaped or nonlinear relationship. The HR per unit increase in sodium/potassium ratio was 1.13 (95% CI: 1.01 to 1.27; p = 0.04) ... We found an increased risk of mortality for high-sodium intake and a direct relationship with total mortality, even at the lowest levels of sodium intake. These results are consistent with a benefit of reduced sodium and sodium/potassium intake on total mortality over a 20-year period"
• Association Between Small Decrease in Serum Sodium Concentration within the Normal Range and All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Elderly Adults over 5 Years - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016 Mar;64(3):510-7 - "Participants were divided into corrected sodium groups as follows: 73 (7.7%) in Group 1 (sodium 135.0-138.0 mEq/L), 635 (66.9%) in Group 2 (sodium 138.1-142.0 mEq/L), and 241 (25.4%) in Group 3 (sodium 142.1.0-145.0 mEq/L). There were 34 (46.6%) deaths in Group 1, 124 (19.5%) in Group 2, and 52 (21.6%) in Group 3 (P < .001). In a Cox proportional hazards analysis, a 2-mEq/L higher sodium level reduced the risk of death by 14.9% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.1-27.4%, P = .048). Group 1 had risk of mortality that was 2.7 times as high as that of Group 2 (95% CI = 1.76-4.11, P < .001)" - Hmm.  Blows a hole in the low sodium theory and several studies back this up.  My sodium has been at 142 for years not matter what I do.  I thought that was a bad thing but I'm exactly between Group 2 and 3.
• Association of Coffee Consumption With Overall and Cause-specific Mortality in a Large US Prospective Cohort Study - Medscape, 12/29/15 - "Following adjustment for smoking and other potential confounders, coffee drinkers, as compared with nondrinkers, had lower hazard ratios for overall mortality (<1 cup/day: hazard ratio (HR) = 0.99 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.92, 1.07); 1 cup/day: HR = 0.94 (95% CI: 0.87, 1.02); 2–3 cups/day: HR = 0.82 (95% CI: 0.77, 0.88); 4–5 cups/day: HR = 0.79 (95% CI: 0.72, 0.86); ≥6 cups/day: HR = 0.84 (95% CI: 0.75, 0.95)). Similar findings were observed for decaffeinated coffee and coffee additives. Inverse associations were observed for deaths from heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases, diabetes, pneumonia and influenza, and intentional self-harm, but not cancer. Coffee may reduce mortality risk by favorably affecting inflammation, lung function, insulin sensitivity, and depression"
• Half hour of physical activity 6 days a week linked to 40 percent lower risk of early death - Science Daily, 5/15/15 - "The more time spent doing vigorous exercise the lower the risk seemed to be, falling by between 36% and 49% ... And men who regularly engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity during their leisure time lived five years longer, on average, than those who were classified as sedentary ... Overall, these showed that 30 minutes of physical activity--of light or vigorous intensity--6 days a week was associated with a 40% lower risk of death from any cause"
• Total, dietary, and supplemental calcium intake and mortality from all-causes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer: A meta-analysis of observational studies - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2015 Mar 24 - "We found a significant relationship between the total calcium intake and an increased risk of CVD mortality for studies with a long follow-up time and a significant protective association between dietary calcium intake and all-cause and CVD mortality for studies with a mean follow-up of ≤10 years. Supplemental calcium intake was associated with a decreased risk of all-cause mortality"
• Flavonoid intake and all-cause mortality - Am J Clin Nutr. 2015 Apr 1 - "to explore the association between flavonoid intake and risk of 5-y mortality from all causes by using 2 comprehensive food composition databases to assess flavonoid intake ... Participants with high total flavonoid intake were at lower risk [multivariate-adjusted HR (95% CI)] of 5-y all-cause mortality than those with low levels of total flavonoid consumption [total flavonoidUSDA: 0.37 (0.22, 0.58); total flavonoidPE: 0.36 (0.22, 0.60)]. Similar beneficial relationships were observed for both cardiovascular disease mortality [total flavonoidUSDA: 0.34 (0.17, 0.69); flavonoidPE: 0.32 (0.16, 0.61)] and cancer mortality [total flavonoidUSDA: 0.25 (0.10, 0.62); flavonoidPE: 0.26 (0.11, 0.62)]" - See Garden of Life, Radical Fruits Antioxidant Complex at Amazon.com.
• Jogging Dose and Long-term Mortality: Copenhagen Heart Study - Medscape, 3/20/15 - "Compared with sedentary nonjoggers, 1 to 2.4 h of jogging per week was associated with the lowest mortality (multivariable hazard ratio [HR]: 0.29; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.11 to 0.80). The optimal frequency of jogging was 2 to 3 times per week (HR: 0.32; 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.69) or ≤1 time per week (HR: 0.29; 95% CI: 0.12 to 0.72). The optimal pace was slow (HR: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.24 to 1.10) or average (HR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.22 to 0.66). The joggers were divided into light, moderate, and strenuous joggers. The lowest HR for mortality was found in light joggers (HR: 0.22; 95% CI: 0.10 to 0.47), followed by moderate joggers (HR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.32 to 1.38) and strenuous joggers (HR: 1.97; 95% CI: 0.48 to 8.14)"
• Live Longer with Vitamin D? - Nutrients. 2015 Mar 12;7(3):1871-1880 - "Whether or not there is a connection between 25-hydoxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) status and overall mortality is a matter of considerable debate. A new meta-analysis confirmed that low 25(OH)D levels were associated with a significant increased risk for all-cause mortality. Individuals with severe vitamin D deficiency have almost twice the mortality rate as those with 25(OH)D level ≥ 30 ng/mL, (≥75 nmol/L). Unlike previous meta-analyses which suggested that serum 25(OH)D > 50 ng/mL was associated with increased mortality, this new analysis found that there was no increased risk even when 25(OH)D levels were ≥70 ng/mL" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Whole Grains Help You Live Longer, Study Finds - NBC News.com, 1/5/15 - "each average daily serving of whole grains lowers a person's risk of dying from heart disease by 9 percent and lowers the overall risk of dying from anything by 5 percent over a quarter-century. That's even taking into account that whole grain lovers tend to do other healthy stuff, too ... The benefits probably come from the bran" - See brown rice pasta at Amazon.com.
• Fiber intake and all-cause mortality in the Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea (PREDIMED) study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Dec;100(6):1498-1507 - "Baseline fiber intake and fruit consumption were significantly associated with lower risk of death [HRs for the fifth compared with the first quintile: 0.63 (95% CI: 0.46, 0.86; P = 0.015) and 0.59 (95% CI: 0.42, 0.82; P = 0.004), respectively]" - See fiber supplements at Amazon.com.
• Coffee Consumption and Mortality - Medscape, 10/30/14 - "There was strong evidence of nonlinear associations between coffee consumption and mortality for all causes and CVD (P for nonlinearity < 0.001). The largest risk reductions were observed for 4 cups/day for all-cause mortality (16%, 95% confidence interval: 13, 18) and 3 cups/day for CVD mortality (21%, 95% confidence interval: 16, 26)"
• Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, mortality, and incident cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, cancers, and fractures: a 13-y prospective population study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2014 Nov;100(5):1361-70 - "Participants were categorized into 5 groups according to baseline serum concentrations of total 25(OH)D <30, 30 to <50, 50 to <70, 70 to <90, and ≥90 nmol/L ... The age-, sex-, and month-adjusted HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality (2776 deaths) for men and women by increasing vitamin D category were 1, 0.84 (0.74, 0.94), 0.72 (0.63, 0.81), 0.71 (0.62, 0.82), and 0.66 (0.55, 0.79)" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Calcium, Vitamin D, Dairy Products, and Mortality Among Colorectal Cancer Survivors: The Cancer Prevention Study-II Nutrition Cohort - Medscape, 10/20/14 - "In multivariate analysis, post-diagnosis total calcium intake was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (relative risk [RR] for those in the highest relative to the lowest quartiles, 0.72; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.53-0.98; Ptrend = .02). An inverse association with all-cause mortality was also observed for postdiagnosis milk intake (RR, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.55-0.94; Ptrend = .02), but not for vitamin D intake"
• Low-carbohydrate diets and cardiovascular and total mortality in Japanese: a 29-year follow-up of NIPPON DATA80 - Br J Nutr. 2014 Sep;112(6):916-24 - "low-carbohydrate diets (LCD) ... The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) for CVD mortality using the Cox model comparing the highest v. lowest deciles of LCD score was 0.60 (95 % CI 0.38, 0.94; P trend= 0.021) for women and 0.78 (95 % CI 0.58, 1.05; P trend= 0.079) for women and men combined; the HR for total mortality was 0.74 (95 % CI 0.57, 0.95; P trend= 0.029) for women and 0.87 (95 % CI 0.74, 1.02; P trend= 0.090) for women and men combined. None of the associations was statistically significant in men"
• Association of coffee drinking with all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis - Public Health Nutr. 2014 Aug 4:1-13 - "Seventeen studies were included and evaluated in the meta-analysis. A U-shaped dose-response relationship was found between coffee consumption and all-cause mortality (P for non-linearity <0.001). Compared with non/occasional coffee drinkers, the relative risks for all-cause mortality were 0.89 (95 % CI 0.85, 0.93) for 1-<3 cups/d, 0.87 (95 % CI 0.83, 0.91) for 3-<5 cups/d and 0.90 (95 % CI 0.87, 0.94) for ≥5 cups/d, and the relationship was more marked in females than in males"
• Low Vitamin D Tied to Premature Death - NYTimes.com, 5/12/14 - "people with a blood level below 9 nanograms per milliliter had almost double the risk of premature death compared with those with levels of 50 or higher ... there was little danger in taking vitamin D supplements, “as long as we keep blood levels below 200 nanograms per milliliter.”" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Eating seven or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day reduces your risk of death by 42 percent - Science Daily, 3/31/14 - "seven or more portions reduces the specific risks of death by cancer and heart disease by 25% and 31% respectively. The research also showed that vegetables have significantly higher health benefits than fruit ... Compared to eating less than one portion of fruit and vegetables, the risk of death by any cause is reduced by 14% by eating one to three portions, 29% for three to five portions, 36% for five to seven portions and 42% for seven or more ... fresh vegetables had the strongest protective effect, with each daily portion reducing overall risk of death by 16%. Salad contributed to a 13% risk reduction per portion, and each portion of fresh fruit was associated with a smaller but still significant 4% reduction ... The researchers found no evidence of significant benefit from fruit juice, and canned and frozen fruit appeared to increase risk of death by 17% per portion"
• Dietary Intake of Vitamin K Is Inversely Associated with Mortality Risk - J Nutr. 2014 Mar 19 - "A prospective cohort analysis was conducted in 7216 participants from the PREDIMED (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea) study (median follow-up of 4.8 y). Energy and nutrient intakes were evaluated using a validated 137-item food frequency questionnaire. Dietary vitamin K intake was calculated annually using the USDA food composition database and other published sources ... Energy-adjusted baseline dietary phylloquinone intake was inversely associated with a significantly reduced risk of cancer and all-cause mortality after controlling for potential confounders (HR: 0.54; 95% CI: 0.30, 0.96; and HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.90, respectively). In longitudinal assessments, individuals who increased their intake of phylloquinone or menaquinone during follow-up had a lower risk of cancer (HR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.95; and HR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.26, 0.64, respectively) and all-cause mortality (HR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.44, 0.73; and HR: 0.55; 95% CI: 0.42, 0.73, respectively) than individuals who decreased or did not change their intake. Also, individuals who increased their intake of dietary phylloquinone had a lower risk of cardiovascular mortality risk (HR: 0.52; 95% CI: 0.31, 0.86)" - See vitamin K at Amazon.com.
• Big Waists Linked with Early Death Regardless of BMI - Medscape, 3/14/14 - "each 5-cm increment in waist circumference was associated with a 7% higher risk of all-cause mortality in men and a 9% higher risk in women"
• Older adults: Build muscle and you'll live longer - Science Daily, 3/14/14 - "The researchers analyzed data collected by the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) III, conducted between 1988 and 1994. They focused on a group of 3,659 individuals that included men who were 55 or older and women who were 65 or older at the time of the survey. The authors then determined how many of those individuals had died from natural causes based on a follow-up survey done in 2004 ... They found that all-cause mortality was significantly lower in the fourth quartile of muscle mass index compared with the first quartile"

• Vitamin D Deficiency in Elderly People in Swedish Nursing Homes is Associated with Increased Mortality - Eur J Endocrinol. 2014 Feb 11 - "with the subjects in Q4(25(OH)D3 >48 nmol/l), HR (with 95% confidence interval) for mortality was 2.02 (1.31-3.12) in Q1(25(OH)D3 <29 nmol/l) (p<0.05), 2.03 (1.32-3.14) in Q2(25(OH)D3 30-37 nmol/l) (p<0.05) and 1.6 (1.03-2.48) in Q3(25(OH)D3 38-47 nmol/l) (p<0.05). The mean 25(OH)D3 concentration was 40.2 nmol/l (Standard Deviation (SD) 16.0) and 80% had 25(OH)D3 below 50 nmol/l" - See vitamin D3 at Amazon.com.  In table form:

  D3 (nmol/l)	Mortality
  Greater than 48	1.0 (baseline)
  less than 29	2.02
  30 - 37	2.03
  38 - 47	1.6

• Hypomagnesaemia in patients hospitalised in internal medicine is associated with increased mortality - Int J Clin Pract. 2014 Jan;68(1):111-6 - "Magnesium is the major intracellular divalent cation. Hypomagnesaemia is common among critically ill patients; it's prevalence is not known in patients admitted to general internal medicine ... Retrospective chart review. Hypomagnesaemic patients admitted from 1 October 2010 through 18 November 2010 compared with normomagnesaemic patients ... There was a significant difference in mortality between the normomagnesaemic group (7.2%) and the hypomagnesaemic group (17.2%)" - See magnesium supplements at Amazon.com.
• Calcium + Vitamin D: Surprises From Long-term Follow-up - Medscape, 12/11/13 - "also a marginally significant 9% reduction in all-cause mortality" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Coffee consumption and total mortality: a meta-analysis of twenty prospective cohort studies - Br J Nutr. 2013 Nov 27:1-12 - "Eligible studies were identified by searching the PubMed and EMBASE databases for all articles published through June 2013 and reviewing the reference lists of the retrieved articles ... The RR of total mortality for the high v. low category of coffee consumption was 0.86 (95 % CI 0.80, 0.92). The pooled RR for studies using ≥ 2-4 cups/d as a cut-off for the high category was similar to that for studies using ≥ 5-9 cups/d as the cut-off ... A weak, but significant, inverse association was found with moderate coffee consumption (1-2 cups/d; RR 0.92, 95 % CI 0.87, 0.98)"
• Dietary Magnesium Intake Is Inversely Associated with Mortality in Adults at High Cardiovascular Risk - J Nutr. 2013 Nov 20 - "The present study included 7216 men and women aged 55-80 y from the PREDIMED (Prevención con Dieta Mediterránea) study, a randomized clinical trial. Participants were assigned to one of two Mediterranean diets (supplemented with nuts or olive oil) or advice on a low-fat control diet ... median follow-up of 4.8 y ... Energy-adjusted baseline magnesium intake was inversely associated with cardiovascular, cancer, and all-cause mortality. Compared with lower consumers, individuals in the highest tertile of magnesium intake had a 34% reduction in mortality risk (HR: 0.66; 95% CI: 0.45, 0.95; P < 0.01). Dietary magnesium intake was inversely associated with mortality risk in Mediterranean individuals at high risk of CVD" - See Jarrow Formulas, MagMind at Amazon.com.
• Low thyroid levels may signal heightened risk of death in hospitalized patients - Science Daily, 10/30/13 - "When older individuals have low levels of thyroid hormones, particularly T3, it reflects that the body is weak and more susceptible to the harmful effects of disease ... As a result, older individuals who have a reduced ability to synthesize T3 hormones have a higher rate of mortality, both in the short- and long-term" - See T3 at International Anti-aging Systems.
• Tea Consumption and Mortality in the Oldest-Old Chinese - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2013 Oct 1 - "subjects who reported frequent tea drinking at age 60 and at the baseline survey had a 10% lower risk of mortality than subjects who reported infrequent tea drinking at age 60 and at the baseline survey" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• High Dietary Intake of Polyphenols Are Associated With Longevity - Science Daily, 10/9/13 - "the first to evaluate the total dietary polyphenol intake by using a nutritional biomarker and not only a food frequency questionnaire ... Polyphenols have antioxidant, antiinflammatory, anticarcinogenic, etc. effects ... based on a 12-year follow-up of a population sample composed by 807 men and women aged 65 or over from Greve and Bagno (Tuscany, Italy) ... the research proves that overall mortality was reduced by 30% in participants who had rich-polyphenol diets (>650 mg/day) in comparison with the participants who had low-polyphenol intakes (<500 mg/day)" - See Jarrow Formulas, OPCs + 95, 100 mg, 100 Capsules at iHerb.
• Experts Confirm That Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Reduces Risk of Mortality - Science Daily, 9/26/13 - "sample analyzed includes 25,682 deaths (10,438 due to cancer and 5,125 due to cardiovascular disease) among the 451,151 participants studied over more than 13 years ... a combined fruit and vegetable consumption of more than 569 grams per day reduces the risk of mortality by 10% and delays the risk of mortality by 1.12 years compared to a consumption of less than 249 grams per day ... for every 200 gram increase in daily fruit and vegetable consumption, the risk falls by 6% ... A diet rich in fruit and vegetables reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality by 15%" - Note: 569 grams is 20 ounces.
• Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Mortality - Medscape, 9/13/13 - "Survival analyses were performed, including 451,151 participants from 10 European countries, recruited between 1992 and 2000 and followed until 2010 ... Consumption of fruits and vegetables was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (for the highest quartile, hazard ratio = 0.90, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.86, 0.94), with a rate advancement period of 1.12 years (95% CI: 0.70, 1.54), and with a preventable proportion of 2.95%. This association was driven mainly by cardiovascular disease mortality (for the highest quartile, hazard ratio = 0.85, 95% CI: 0.77, 0.93). Stronger inverse associations were observed for participants with high alcohol consumption or high body mass index and suggested in smokers. Inverse associations were stronger for raw than for cooked vegetable consumption. These results support the evidence that fruit and vegetable consumption is associated with a lower risk of death"
• More than 28 cups of coffee a week may endanger health in under 55s - Science Daily, 8/15/13 - "A study of more than 40,000 individuals found a statistically significant 21% increased mortality in those drinking more than 28 cups of coffee a week and death from all causes, with a greater than 50% increased mortality risk in both men and women younger than 55 years of age ... No adverse effects were found in heavy coffee drinkers aged over 55 ... Between 1979 and 1998, nearly 45,000 individuals aged between 20 and 87 years old participated and returned a medical history questionnaire assessing lifestyle habits (including coffee consumption) and personal and family medical history ... Those who consumed higher amounts of coffee (both men and women) were more likely to smoke and had lower levels of cardiorespiratory fitness" - Note:  It doesn't say whether the results were adjusted for the smoking so maybe that was the real cause.
• High Concentrations of a Urinary Biomarker of Polyphenol Intake Are Associated with Decreased Mortality in Older Adults - J Nutr. 2013 Jun 26 - "Polyphenols might have a role in the prevention of several chronic diseases, but evaluating total dietary polyphenol (TDP) intake from self-reported questionnaires is inaccurate and unreliable. A promising alternative is to use total urinary polyphenol (TUP) concentration as a proxy measure of intake. The current study evaluated the relationship between TUPs and TDPs and all-cause mortality during a 12-y period among older adult participants ... In the multivariable Cox model, participants in the highest tertile of TUP at enrolment had a lower mortality rate than those in the lowest tertile [HR = 0.70 (95% CI: 0.49-0.99); P-trend = 0.045], whereas no significant associations were found between TDP and overall mortality. TUP is an independent risk factor for mortality among community-dwelling older adults, suggesting that high dietary intake of polyphenols may be associated with longevity" - See Jarrow Formulas, OPCs + 95 at Amazon.com.
• Low vitamin D status is an independent predictor of increased frailty and all-cause mortality in older men: the Health In Men Study - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Jun 20 - "4203 older men aged 70-88 years in Perth, Western Australia ... After a mean period of 5.3 years, the adjusted odds ratio of being frail at follow-up for men with low vitamin D and having zero deficit at baseline (FRAIL scale = 0) was 1.56 (95% CI 1.07 to 2.27). Low vitamin D also predicted all-cause mortality over a period of up to 9.2 years (hazards ratio 1.20, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.42), independent of baseline frailty and other covariates" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Coffee and Tea Consumption Are Inversely Associated with Mortality in a Multiethnic Urban Population - J Nutr. 2013 Jun 19 - "mean follow-up of 11 y ... Coffee consumption was inversely associated with all-cause mortality [for each additional cup/d, HR = 0.93 (95% CI: 0.88, 0.99); P = 0.02]. Caffeinated coffee was inversely associated with all-cause mortality, driven by a strong protection among those who drank ≥4 cups/d. An inverse dose-response relationship between tea and all-cause mortality was suggested [for each additional cup/d, HR = 0.91 (95% CI: 0.84, 0.99); P = 0.01]. Coffee consumption ≥4/d was protective against nonvascular death [vs. <1/mo, HR = 0.57 (95% CI: 0.33, 0.97)] and tea consumption ≥2/d was protective against nonvascular death [HR = 0.63 (95% CI: 0.41, 0.95)] and cancer [HR = 0.33 (95% CI: 0.14, 0.80)]. There was a strong inverse association between coffee and vascular-related mortality among Hispanics only"
• L-Carnitine in the Secondary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis - Mayo Clin Proc. 2013 Apr 15 - "A systematic review and meta-analysis of 13 controlled trials (N=3629) was conducted to determine the effects of L-carnitine vs placebo or control on mortality, ventricular arrhythmias (VAs), angina, heart failure, and reinfarction ... Compared with placebo or control, L-carnitine is associated with a 27% reduction in all-cause mortality, a 65% reduction in VAs, and a 40% reduction in anginal symptoms in patients experiencing an acute myocardial infarction" - See GPLC at Amazon.com.
• Eating fish associated with lower risk of dying among older adults: Risk of dying from heart disease significantly lowered - Science Daily, 4/1/13 - "Older adults who have higher blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids -- found in fatty fish and seafood -- may be able to lower their overall mortality risk by as much as 27% and their mortality risk from heart disease by about 35% ... older adults who had the highest blood levels of the fatty acids found in fish lived, on average, 2.2 years longer than those with lower levels ... The researchers examined 16 years of data from about 2,700 U.S. adults aged 65 or older who participated in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a long-term study supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute ... One type in particular -- docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA -- was most strongly related to lower risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) death (40% lower risk), especially CHD death due to arrhythmias (electrical disturbances of the heart rhythm) (45% lower risk). Of the other blood fatty acids measured -- eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosapentaenoic acid (DPA) -- DPA was most strongly associated with lower risk of stroke death, and EPA most strongly linked with lower risk of nonfatal heart attack" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Strong associations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations with all-cause, cardiovascular, cancer, and respiratory disease mortality in a large cohort study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Feb 27 - "ESTHER study, which is a German population-based cohort aged 50-74 y at baseline. Deaths were recorded during 9.5 y of follow-up (median) ... The overall mortality [HR (95% CI)] of subjects with vitamin D deficiency [25(OH)D concentrations <30 nmol/L] or vitamin D insufficiency [25(OH)D concentrations from 30 to 50 nmol/L) was significantly increased [1.71 (1.43, 2.03) and 1.17 (1.02, 1.35), respectively] compared with that of subjects with sufficient 25(OH)D concentrations (>50 nmol/L)]. Vitamin D deficiency was also associated with increased cardiovascular mortality [1.39 (95% CI: 1.02, 1.89)], cancer mortality [1.42 (95% CI: 1.08, 1.88)] and respiratory disease mortality [2.50 (95% CI: 1.12, 5.56)]. The association of 25(OH)D concentrations with all-cause mortality proved to be a nonlinear inverse association with risk that started to increase at 25(OH)D concentrations <75 nmol/L" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin D and risk of death from vascular and non-vascular causes in the Whitehall study and meta-analyses of 12 000 deaths - Eur Heart J. 2012 Dec 20 - "examined associations of plasma concentrations of 25(OH)D and cause-specific mortality in a prospective study of older men living in the UK and included findings in meta-analyses of similar studies identified by a systematic search reporting on vascular and all-cause mortality ... 13-year follow-up ... After adjustment for age and seasonality, higher concentrations of 25(OH)D were inversely and approximately linearly (log-log scale) associated with vascular and non-vascular mortality throughout the range 40-90 nmol/L. After additional adjustment for prior disease and cardiovascular risk factors, a doubling in 25(OH)D concentration was associated with 20% [95% confidence interval (CI): 9-30%] lower vascular and 23% (95% CI: 14-31%) lower non-vascular mortality. In meta-analyses of prospective studies, individuals in the top vs. bottom quarter of 25(OH)D concentrations had 21% (95% CI: 13-28%) lower vascular and 28% (95% CI: 24-32%) lower all-cause mortality"
• Low levels of vitamin D are associated with mortality in older adults - Science Daily, 10/2/12 - "We observed vitamin D insufficiency (defined as blood levels <20 ng/ml), in one third of our study participants. This was associated with nearly a 50 percent increase in the mortality rate in older adults" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin D with calcium shown to reduce mortality in elderly - Science Daily, 6/15/12 - "The findings from the study found that the reduced mortality was not due to a lower number of fractures, but represents a beneficial effect beyond the reduced fracture risk ... This is the largest study ever performed on effects of calcium and vitamin D on mortality ... Our results showed reduced mortality in elderly patients using vitamin D supplements in combination with calcium, but these results were not found in patients on vitamin D alone ... pooled data from eight randomized controlled trials with more than 1,000 participants each. The patient data set was composed of nearly 90 percent women, with a median age of 70 years. During the three-year study, death was reduced by 9 percent in those treated with vitamin D with calcium ... Some studies have suggested calcium (with or without vitamin D) supplements can have adverse effects on cardiovascular health ... Although our study does not rule out such effects, we found that calcium with vitamin D supplementation to elderly participants is overall not harmful to survival, and may have beneficial effects on general health" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Concentration and Mortality From Heart Failure and Cardiovascular Disease, and Premature Mortality from All-Cause in United States Adults - Am J Cardiol. 2012 Jun 1 - "the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which included 13,131 participants (6,130 men, 7,001 women) ≥35 years old at baseline (1988 to 1994) and followed through December 2000 ... Multivariate-adjusted Cox model indicated that subjects with serum 25(OH)D levels <20 ng/ml had 2.06 times higher risk (95% confidence interval 1.01 to 4.25) of HF death than those with serum 25(OH)D levels ≥30 ng/ml (p <0.001). In addition, hazard ratios (95% confidence intervals) for premature death from all causes were 1.40 (1.17 to 1.68) in subjects with serum 25(OH)D levels <20 ng/ml and 1.11 (0.93 to 1.33) in those with serum 25(OH)D levels of 20 to 29 ng/ml compared to those with serum 25(OH)D levels ≥30 ng/ml (p <0.001, test for trend). In conclusion, adults with inadequate serum 25(OH)D levels have significantly higher risk of death from HF and all CVDs and all-cause premature death" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Olive oil intake and mortality within the Spanish population (EPIC-Spain) - Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 May 30 - "In comparison with nonconsumers, the highest quartile of olive oil consumption was associated with a 26% (95% CI: 13%, 36%) reduction in risk of overall mortality and a 44% (95% CI: 21%, 60%) reduction in CVD mortality. For each increase in olive oil of 10 g ⋅ 2000 kcal(-1) ⋅ d(-1), there was a 7% (95% CI: 3%, 10%) decreased risk of overall mortality and a 13% (95% CI: 6%, 20%) decreased risk of CVD mortality. No significant association was observed between olive oil and cancer mortality"
• Fiber intake and total and cause-specific mortality in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition cohort - Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 May 30 - "The aim of this study was to assess the relation between fiber intake, mortality, and cause-specific mortality in a large European prospective study of 452,717 men and women ... Fiber intake was inversely associated with total mortality (HR(per 10-g/d increase): 0.90; 95% CI: 0.88, 0.92); with mortality from circulatory (HR(per 10-g/d increase): 0.90 and 0.88 for men and women, respectively), digestive (HR: 0.61 and 0.64), respiratory (HR: 0.77 and 0.62), and non-CVD noncancer inflammatory (HR: 0.85 and 0.80) diseases; and with smoking-related cancers (HR: 0.86 and 0.89) but not with non-smoking-related cancers (HR: 1.05 and 0.97). The associations were more evident for fiber from cereals and vegetables than from fruit. The associations were similar across BMI and physical activity categories but were stronger in smokers and participants who consumed >18 g alcohol/d"
• Fruit and vegetable intake, physical activity, and mortality in older community-dwelling women - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2012 May;60(5):862-8 - "During 5 years of follow-up, 82 (11.5%) participants died. Measured continuously, physical activity improved survival (HR = 0.52, 95% CI = 0.41-0.66, P < .001). The most active women were more likely to survive than the least physically active women (HR = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.13-0.59, P < .001). Continuous measures of carotenoids improved survival (HR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.51-0.89, P = .01). Women in the highest tertile of total carotenoids were more likely to survive those in the lowest (HR = 0.50, 95% CI = 0.27-0.91, P = .03). When examined in the same model, continuous measures of physical activity (HR = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.42-0.68, P < .001) and carotenoids (HR = 0.76, 95% CI = 0.59-0.98, P = .04) predicted survival during follow-up" - See Jarrow Formulas, CarotenALL at Amazon.com.
• Coffee May Be Part of the Recipe for a Longer Life - WebMD, 5/16/12 - "The study, described as the largest of its kind, found that coffee drinkers had a lower risk of death from heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, accidents and injuries, diabetes, and infections, but not from cancer ... Compared to people who drank no coffee, coffee drinkers who downed three or more cups a day had about a 10% lower risk of death overall and a lower risk of dying from each of a variety of leading killers. Cancer was the only exception .. Among women, coffee drinkers and non-drinkers were equally likely to die of cancer. Among men, there was only a slight connection between heavier coffee drinking and increased risk of dying from cancer ... Although their study can't prove that coffee itself lowers drinkers' risk of dying, Freedman and his colleagues speculate about how it might. Caffeine probably is not a factor, he says, because death rates linked to decaf, preferred by a third of the coffee drinkers, were similar to those associated with caffeinated. But other compounds in coffee, such as antioxidants, might be important, the researchers write"
• Red Meat Tied to Increased Mortality Risk - ABC News, 3/12/12 - "The study, which followed more than 120,000 American men and women, linked daily consumption of unprocessed red meat with a 13 percent increase in mortality risk ... A daily serving of processed meat carried an even bigger risk. Eating one hotdog or two strips of bacon per day was associated with a 20 percent increased risk of death ... The study could not conclude that red meat consumption caused the increased risk of death, rather that there was an association between the two. But red meat contains compounds known to boost the risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer, such as saturated fat, sodium nitrites and other "chemicals produced during processing and cooking," ... Swapping red meat for healthy protein sources, such as poultry, fish, legumes and whole grains was linked to a decrease in mortality risk, ranging from 7 percent for fish to 19 percent for nuts"
• Low Vitamin D Raises Mortality Risk in Nursing Home Patients - Medscape, 3/12/12 - "The first prospective cohort study to examine vitamin D deficiency and mortality among elderly female nursing home patients found that nearly all have 25(OH)D levels below the limits of normal, and that those with the lowest vitamin D levels were most likely to die within the next 27 months" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin D Levels Predict All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in Subjects With the Metabolic Syndrome: The Ludwigshafen Risk and Cardiovascular Health (LURIC) Study - Diabetes Care. 2012 Mar 7 - "Most subjects (92%) had suboptimal levels of 25(OH)D (<75 nmol/L), with 22.2% being severely deficient (<25 nmol/L) ... After full adjustment, including the metabolic syndrome components, those with optimal 25(OH)D levels showed a substantial reduction in all-cause (hazard ratio [HR] 0.25 [95% CI 0.13-0.46]) and cardiovascular disease mortality (0.33 [0.16-0.66]) compared with those with severe vitamin D deficiency" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Low 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Is Associated with Increased Mortality in Female Nursing Home Residents - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Feb 8 - "We examined 961 study participants (age 83.7 +/- 6.1 yr). Median 25(OH)D concentration was 17.5 (interquartile range 13.7-25.5) nmol/liter, and 93% of our cohort had 25(OH)D levels below 50 nmol/liter. During a mean follow-up time of 27 +/- 8 months, 284 patients died. Compared with the fourth quartile (25[OH]D >25.5 nmol/liter), the age-adjusted HR (with 95% confidence interval) was 1.49 (1.07-2.10) in the first 25(OH)D quartile (25[OH]D <14.0 nmol/liter), and this association remained significant after multivariate adjustments (HR = 1.56; 95% confidence interval = 1.01-2.40)" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Vitamins and Mortality: In Defense of Supplements - Medscape, 2/1/12 - "Mursu and colleagues' study, although well executed, has several methodological limitations. It used the Harvard Service Food Frequency Questionnaire, which was originally designed to assess the diets of low-income women and gather information on dietary supplements used. However, the dietary supplement portion of the questionnaire has not been independently validated. In addition, a certain subset of patients inappropriately substitutes dietary supplements for medications to manage chronic disease. This concerning, yet uncaptured, trend could potentially confound the results ... As is the case for pharmaceutical agents, various isomers of the same vitamin have different clinical effects. Considering vitamin E again, alpha-tocopherol (which is more commonly found in supplements) and gamma-tocopherol (which is more commonly found in food sources) have different anti-inflammatory properties and vary in bioavailability. It is likely that a healthy ratio of these 2 substances is more important to preventing coronary artery disease than is taking one isomer in excess, which may deplete the other.[5] In addition, unlike for pharmaceutical agents, the source of vitamin supplement plays an important role. Synthetic vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopherol) is thought to be much less potent than its natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol) counterpart and may have a varying clinical effect" - Note: Here’s my opinion on the Mursu study: Whenever I go to a friends’ house and see what supplements they are taking, it’s nearly always junk they purchased at Wal-Mart or Costco. Its stuff I wouldn’t take if it were given to me for free. The people in the Mursu study were low income so what they were taking was very likely even or lower quality than what my friends take.  As an example, my parents used to buy the 1,000 IU synthetic vitamin E in the half gallon size at Wal-Mart.  Err!!!
• Associations between frequency of tea consumption and health and mortality: evidence from old Chinese - Br J Nutr. 2012 Jan 16:1-12 - "The present study examines how self-reported frequency of tea consumption in daily life is associated with health and mortality among very old adults in China ... A total of four measurements between 1998 and 2005 resulted in 51 668 observations. Hazard regressions showed that men who drink tea almost every day have a 10-20 % lower risk of death compared to their counterparts who seldom drink tea, after adjusting for numerous confounders including baseline health. This relationship was stronger in younger male elders aged 65 to 84 years than in the oldest-old men aged 85 years and older. However, frequency of tea consumption was not significantly associated with mortality in women. Our analyses further show that high frequency of tea consumption is significantly associated with reduced OR of disability in activities of daily living, cognitive impairment, self-rated poor health, cumulative health deficits and CVD in both young elders and the oldest-old, and in both men and women" - See green tea extract at Amazon.com.
• Diet Quality Is Associated with All-Cause Mortality in Adults Aged 65 Years and Older - J Nutr. 2011 Dec 21 - "Three measures of diet quality were used: the Healthy Diet Score (HDS), the Recommended Food Score (RFS), and the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS) ... After adjustment for confounders, the MDS was significantly associated with mortality [highest vs. lowest quartile; HR = 0.78 (95% CI = 0.62-0.98)]. Similarly, the RFS was also associated with mortality [HR = 0.67 (95 % CI = 0.52-0.86)]; however, there were no significant associations for the HDS [HR = 0.99 (95% CI = 0.79-1.24)]"
• Mediterranean diet gives longer life, Swedish study suggests - Science Daily, 12/20/11 - "A Mediterranean diet with large amounts of vegetables and fish gives a longer life. This is the unanimous result of four studies to be published by the Sahlgrenska Academy ... The results show that those who eat a Mediterranean diet have a 20% higher chance of living longer"
• A Simple Food Quality Index Predicts Mortality in Elderly Taiwanese - J Nutr Health Aging. 2011;15(10):815-821 - "Overall Dietary Index-Revised (ODI-R) and the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS) ... During follow-up, 624 subjects died. The survivors had both significantly higher (P <0.001) ODI-R (66.9 vs. 63.6) and DDS (4.69 vs. 4.30) than the deceased. The two indices were correlated (r=0.46). After adjustment for potential covariates, the hazard ratios (HR) (95% CI) were 0.63 (0.42-0.97), 0.71 (0.49-1.04) and 0.53 (0.37-0.76) for those whose ODI-R scores were 60-65, 65-70, >70, respectively, compared to those whose ODI-R scores were > 50 (P for trend <0.001). For DDS, the multi-variable HRs (95% CI) were 0.74 (0.55-1.00), 0.52 (0.38-0.72) and 0.50 (0.31-0.81) for those whose DDS were 4, 5, 6, respectively, compared to those whose DDS were ≤3 (P for trend<0.001). Total cancer, diabetes mortalities and pneumonia were similarly benefited according to trends"
• Increased Fitness, Not Weight Loss, Improves Mortality - Medscape, 12/5/11 - "Fitness appears to trump weight loss when it comes to reducing all-cause and cardiovascular mortality [1]. Data from a large longitudinal study show that maintaining and improving physical-fitness levels were associated with lower risks of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality, whereas changes in body-mass index (BMI) were not ... Cardiorespiratory fitness, expressed in metabolic equivalents (METs), is a strong independent predictor of mortality ... men who maintained their physical-fitness levels had a 30% and 27% lower risk of death and cardiovascular death, respectively, when compared with men who lost fitness. Those who got into better shape from baseline had a 39% and 42% lower risk of death and cardiovascular mortality, respectively, when compared with those who lost fitness over the years. Every 1-MET improvement resulted in a significant 15% reduction in the risk of death and a 19% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease mortality ... BMI changes, on the other hand, were not significantly associated with all-cause mortality"
• Prediction of all-cause mortality by B group vitamin status in the elderly - Clin Nutr. 2011 Nov 7 - "Survivors had higher vitamin B-1 and niacin intakes and pyridoxal-phosphate and folate concentrations. Controlled for confounders, and relative to the lowest tertile of vitamin B-1 or B-6 intakes, the hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for tertile 3 were 0.74 (0.58-0.95) and 0.74 (0.57-0.97); both p for trend values were <0.05. Further adjustment for dietary diversity led to insignificant findings. For pyridoxal-phosphate, compared to those with deficiency levels, the multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (95% confidence interval) for adequacy was 0.52 (0.38-0.71) with p for trend <0.0001 and unchanged with dietary diversity adjustment ... Higher vitamin B-1 and B-6 intakes and plasma pyridoxal-phosphate were associated with lower risk of mortality up to 10 years and could be achieved by increased dietary diversity"
• Multivitamins and mortality: ‘Seeing-what-you-want’ science - Nutra USA, 10/14/11 - "The problem with these studies is that they don't show cause-and-effect. The researchers could not surmise any mechanism for the increased deaths related to vitamin E use. The problem is that men with prostate cancer take more supplements and in higher doses. They may have also been wearing tennis shoes. But obviously these are only associated factors, not causal factors ... So what to make of all this? It’s a high profile journal with a reputation of only publishing damning studies about supplements – look to the likes of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition or the Journal of Nutrition and you will see tens, even hundreds of studies reporting benefits of good nutrition, of which supplements play a role. JAMA has a better PR department, it would seem, and the medical community looks to it with reverence – don’t get me wrong, it is a great journal… for medical research" - Note:  I nearly have a Fred Sanford coronary when I visit someone's house and see the supplements they are taking.  They obviously hadn't done any research.  Things like taking huge quantities of the alpha form of vitamin E that they bought in some half gallon container at Walmart when doing that has been shown to cause a deficiency of the other forms of vitamin E.  Same for carotenoids, etc.
• The impact of a Mediterranean diet and healthy lifestyle on premature mortality in men and women - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 Jul 27 - "Adherence to the Mediterranean diet was significantly related to lower mortality in women but not significantly in men. The healthy lifestyle score was strongly inversely related to mortality in women and men. When the least-healthy to the healthiest lifestyle scores were compared, HRs of 4.07 (95% CI: 2.59, 6.40; P-trend <0.001) and 2.61 (95% CI: 1.79, 3.80; P-trend <0.001) were shown in women and men, respectively. For the same comparison, the mortality rate advancement period ("aging effect") was 15.1 y (95% CI: 9.9, 20.2 y) in women and 8.4 y (95% CI: 5.0, 11.8 y) in men ... This study suggests that adherence to 4 modifiable healthy lifestyle factors can substantially reduce premature mortality in women and men"
• Sodium/Potassium Ratio Important for Health - Medscape, 7/12/11 - "During a mean follow-up of 14.8 years, there were a total of 2270 deaths, including 825 cardiovascular deaths and 443 ischemic heart-disease deaths. After multivariable adjustment, higher sodium intake was associated with increased all-cause mortality (HR 1.20 per 1000 mg/day), whereas higher potassium intake was associated with lower mortality risk (HR 0.80 per 1000 mg/day) ... For sodium-potassium ratio, the adjusted hazard ratios comparing the highest quartile with the lowest quartile were 1.46 for all-cause mortality, 1.46 for CVD mortality, and 2.15 for ischemic heart disease (IHD) mortality ... The results show that sodium/potassium ratio of <1 is protective ... One simple way of boosting potassium, she notes, is to replace regular snacks with fruit"
• Adherence to the Mediterranean diet reduces mortality in the Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Spain) - Br J Nutr. 2011 May 17:1-11 - "Epidemiological studies show that adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MD) increases longevity; however, few studies are restricted to Mediterranean populations or explore the effect of a MD pattern that directly incorporates olive oil. Therefore the relationship between adherence to the MD and mortality was studied within the the Spanish cohort of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC-Spain) ... Risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality was assessed according to the level of adherence to a relative MD (rMED) score, measured using an 18-unit scale incorporating nine selected dietary components. A high compared with a low rMED score was associated with a significant reduction in mortality from all causes (hazard ratio (HR) 0.79; 95 % CI 0.69, 0.91), from CVD (HR 0.66; 95 % CI 0.49, 0.89), but not from overall cancer (HR 0.92; 95 % CI 0.75, 1.12). A 2-unit increase in rMED score was associated with a 6 % (P < 0.001) decreased risk of all-cause mortality. A high olive oil intake and moderate alcohol consumption contributed most to this association. In this Spanish cohort, following an olive oil-rich MD was related to a significant reduction in all-cause mortality, and reduced the risk of mortality from CVD. These results support the important role that the MD pattern has on reducing mortality in Mediterranean countries" - Click here for my olive oil mayonnaise recipe.
• An estimate of the global reduction in mortality rates through doubling vitamin D levels - Eur J Clin Nutr. 2011 Jul 6 - "Increasing serum 25(OH)D levels is the most cost-effective way to reduce global mortality rates, as the cost of vitamin D is very low and there are few adverse effects from oral intake and/or frequent moderate UVB irradiance with sufficient body surface area exposed"
• Low serum magnesium concentrations predict cardiovascular and all-cause mortality - Atherosclerosis. 2011 Jun 12 - "Low serum magnesium (Mg(++)) levels are associated with future development of left ventricular hypertrophy independently of common cardiovascular risk factors, as recently demonstrated in the five-year follow-up of the population-based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). As left ventricular hypertrophy has significant prognostic implications, we hypothesized that serum Mg(++) levels are associated with cardiovascular mortality ... median duration of mortality follow-up was 10.1 years ... During the follow-up, 417 deaths occurred. Mortality in subjects with Mg(++)≤0.73mmol/l was significantly higher for all-cause deaths (10.95 death per 1000 person years), and cardiovascular deaths (3.44 deaths per 1000 person years) in comparison to higher Mg(++) concentrations (1.45 deaths from all-cause per 1000 person years, 1.53 deaths from cardiovascular cause per 1000 person years). This association remained statistically significant after adjustment for multiple cardiovascular risk factors, including arterial hypertension, and antihypertensive therapy including diuretics (log-rank-test p=0.0001 for all-cause mortality, and p=0.0174 for cardiovascular mortality)" - See Jarrow Formulas, Magnesium Optimizer Citrate, 100 Easy-Solv Tablets at iHerb.
• Alternative Healthy Eating Index and mortality over 18 y of follow-up: results from the Whitehall II cohort - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May 25 - "Indexes of diet quality have been shown to be associated with decreased risk of mortality in several countries. It remains unclear if the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), designed to provide dietary guidelines to combat major chronic diseases, is related to mortality risk. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to examine the association between adherence to the AHEI and cause-specific mortality over 18 y of follow-up in a British working population. Design: Analyses are based on 7319 participants (mean age: 49.5 y; range: 39-63 y; 30.3% women) from the Whitehall II Study. Cox proportional hazards regression models were performed to analyze associations of the AHEI (scored on the basis of intake of 9 components: vegetables, fruit, nuts and soy, white or red meat, trans fat, polyunsaturated or saturated fat, fiber, multivitamin use, and alcohol) with mortality risk. Results: After potential confounders were controlled for, participants in the top compared with the bottom third of the AHEI score showed 25% lower all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR): 0.76; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.95] and >40% lower mortality from cardiovascular disease (CVD; HR: 0.58; 95% CI: 0.37, 0.91). Consumption of nuts and soy and moderate alcohol intake appeared to be the most important independent contributors to decreased mortality risk. The AHEI was not associated with cancer mortality or noncancer/non-CVD mortality. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that the encouragement of adherence to the AHEI dietary recommendations constitutes a valid and clear public health recommendation that would decrease the risk of premature death from CVD"
• Cruciferous vegetable consumption is associated with a reduced risk of total and cardiovascular disease mortality - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May 18 - "Overall, fruit and vegetable intake was inversely associated with risk of total mortality in both women and men, and a dose-response pattern was particularly evident for cruciferous vegetable intake. The pooled multivariate hazard ratios (95% CIs) for total mortality across increasing quintiles of intake were 1 (reference), 0.91 (0.84, 0.98), 0.88 (0.77, 1.00), 0.85 (0.76, 0.96), and 0.78 (0.71, 0.85) for cruciferous vegetables (P < 0.0001 for trend) and 0.88 (0.79, 0.97), 0.88 (0.79, 0.98), 0.76 (0.62, 0.92), and 0.84 (0.69, 1.00) for total vegetables (P = 0.03 for trend). The inverse associations were primarily related to cardiovascular disease mortality but not to cancer mortality"
• Dietary Fiber Intake and Mortality in the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study - Arch Intern Med. 2011 Feb 14 - "During an average of 9 years of follow-up, we identified 20 126 deaths in men and 11 330 deaths in women. Dietary fiber intake was associated with a significantly lowered risk of total death in both men and women (multivariate relative risk comparing the highest with the lowest quintile, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.73-0.82; P for trend, <.001] in men and 0.78 [95% CI, 0.73-0.85; P for trend, <.001] in women). Dietary fiber intake also lowered the risk of death from cardiovascular, infectious, and respiratory diseases by 24% to 56% in men and by 34% to 59% in women. Inverse association between dietary fiber intake and cancer death was observed in men but not in women. Dietary fiber from grains, but not from other sources, was significantly inversely related to total and cause-specific death in both men and women" - See brown rice pasta at Amazon.com (my favorite with turkey meatballs and roasted garlic tomato sauce).
• Eat fiber, live longer - MSNBC, 2/14/11 - "Most Americans aren't getting enough roughage in their diets. The average American eats only about 15 grams of fiber each day, much less than the current daily recommendation of 25 grams for women and 38 grams for men, or 14 grams per 1,000 calories. For example, a slice of whole wheat bread contains 2 to 4 grams of fiber ... In the new study, the people who met the guidelines were less likely to die during a nine-year follow-up period ... The men and women who ate the highest amount of fiber were 22 percent less likely to die from any cause compared to those who ate the lowest amount"
• High alpha-carotene levels associated with longer life - Science Daily, 11/22/10 - "Oxygen-related damage to DNA, proteins and fats may play a role in the development of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer ... Carotenoids -- including beta-carotene, alpha-carotene and lycopene -- are produced by plants and microorganisms and act as antioxidants, counteracting this damage ... Compared with individuals with blood alpha-carotene levels between 0 and 1 micrograms per deciliter, the risk of death during the study period was 23 percent lower among who had concentrations between 2 and 3 micrograms per deciliter, 27 percent lower with levels between 4 and 5 micrograms per deciliter, 34 percent lower with levels between 6 and 8 micrograms per deciliter and 39 percent lower with levels of 9 micrograms per deciliter or higher" - Note:  There are over 600 carotenoids and some claim that taking large amounts of just one of them can cause a deficiency of the others.  See Jarrow Formulas, CarotenALL, Mixed Carotenoid Complex at Amazon.com.
• Women's study finds longevity means getting just enough sleep - Science Daily, 9/30/10 - "the secret to a long life may come with just enough sleep. Less than five hours a night is probably not enough; eight hours is probably too much ... sleeping 6.5 to 7.5 hours per night was associated with best survival ... when sleep was measured objectively, the best survival was observed among women who slept 5 to 6.5 hours ... Women who slept less than five hours a night or more than 6.5 hours were less likely to be alive at the 14-year follow-up"
• Animal-Based Low-Carbohydrate Diet Linked to Higher All-Cause Mortality - Medscape, 9/7/10 - "In a pooled analysis comparing the lowest vs the highest deciles, overall low-carbohydrate score was associated with a slight increase in overall mortality rates (hazard ratio [HR], 1.12; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 - 1.24; P for trend = .136). Higher animal-based low-carbohydrate score was associated with higher all-cause mortality rates (pooled HR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.11 - 1.37; P for trend = .051), cardiovascular deaths (HR, 1.14; 95% CI, 1.01 - 1.29; P for trend = .029), and cancer-related deaths (corresponding HR, 1.28; 95% CI, 1.02 - 1.60; P for trend = .089) ... In contrast, higher vegetable-based low-carbohydrate score was linked to reduced all-cause mortality rates (HR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.75 - 0.85; P for trend ≤ .001) and cardiovascular deaths (HR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.68 - 0.87; P for trend < .001)"
• Plasma vitamin D and mortality in older men: a community-based prospective cohort study - Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Aug 18 - "An approximately 50% higher total mortality rate was observed among men in the lowest 10% (<46 nmol/L) and the highest 5% (>98 nmol/L) of plasma 25(OH)D concentrations compared with intermediate concentrations. Cancer mortality was also higher at low plasma concentrations (multivariable-adjusted HR: 2.20; 95% CI: 1.44, 3.38) and at high concentrations (HR: 2.64; 95% CI: 1.46, 4.78). For cardiovascular death, only low (HR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.21, 2.96) but not high (HR: 1.33; 95% CI: 0.69, 2.54) concentrations indicated higher risk ... Both high and low concentrations of plasma 25(OH)D are associated with elevated risks of overall and cancer mortality. Low concentrations are associated with cardiovascular mortality" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Vitamin D levels and mortality in type 2 diabetes - Diabetes Care. 2010 Jul 6 - "All-cause mortality was increased in patients with severe vitamin D deficiency; HR [95% CI] 1.96 [1.29-2.98] ... Severe vitamin D deficiency was associated with increased cardiovascular mortality; HR 1.95 [1.11-3.44]" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Coffee Consumption and Mortality Due to All Causes, Cardiovascular Disease, and Cancer in Japanese Women - J Nutr. 2010 Mar 24 - "In women, the multivariate hazard ratios (HR) (95% CI) for all-cause mortality in participants who drank coffee never, occasionally, 1-2 cups (150-300 mL)/d, and >/=3 cups/d were 1.00, 0.88 (0.73-1.06), 0.82 (0.66-1.02), and 0.75 (0.53-1.05), respectively (P-trend = 0.04). For CVD mortality in women, the multivariate HR (95% CI) were 1.00, 0.56 (0.36-0.86), 0.48 (0.29-0.80), and 0.45 (0.20-1.03), respectively (P-trend = 0.006). Of the specific CVD diseases, there was a strong inverse association between coffee consumption and mortality due to coronary heart disease (CHD) in women (P-trend = 0.02) but not in men. Death due to cancer was not associated with coffee consumption in either men or women, except for colorectal cancer in women. Our results suggest that coffee may have favorable effects on morality due to all causes and to CVD, especially CHD, in women"
• Vitamin combo may delay ageing: Mouse study - Nutra USA, 3/1/10 - "Results showed maintenance of youthful levels of locomotor activity into old age in the supplemented animals, whereas old non-supplemented mice showed a 50 per cent loss in daily movement, said the researchers. This was accompanied by a loss of mitochondria activity, and declines in brain signalling chemicals relevant to locomotion, such as striatal neuropeptide Y. This chemical is associated with a range of functions, including maintaining energy balance, as well as effects in memory and learning ... No such declines were observed in supplemented animals ... The supplement was composed of vitamins B1, B3 (niacin), B6, B12, C, D, E, folic acid, beta-carotene, CoQ10, rutin, bioflavonoids, ginko biloba, ginseng, green tea extract, ginger root extract, garlic, L-Glutathione, magnesium, selenium, potassium, manganese, chromium picolinate, acetyl L-carnitine, melatonin, alpha-lipoic acid, N-acetyl cysteine, acetylsalicylic acid, cod liver oil, and flax seed oil"
• Low serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels are associated with increased all-cause mortality risk in a general population. The Tromso study - Eur J Endocrinol. 2010 Feb 25 - "During a mean 11.7 years of follow up 1359 (19.0 %) participants died. In multivariate regression models there was a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR) 1.32, confidence interval (CI) 1.07-1.62), among non-smoking participants in the lowest 25(OH)D quartile when compared to participants in the highest quartile" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• High calcium intakes may improve male survival: Study - Nutra USA, 2/25/10 - "The highest average intakes, almost double the recommended levels, were associated with a 25 per cent reduction in so-called all-cause mortality, compared with the lowest average intakes" - [Abstract]
• Dietary Calcium and Magnesium Intake and Mortality: A Prospective Study of Men - Am J Epidemiol. 2010 Feb 19 - "Dietary calcium was associated with a statistically significant lower rate of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.75, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.63, 0.88; P(trend) < 0.001) and a nonsignificantly lower rate of CVD (HR = 0.77, 95% CI: 0.58, 1.01; P(trend) = 0.064) but not cancer mortality (HR = 0.87, 95% CI: 0.65, 1.17; P(trend) = 0.362) when the highest intake tertile (mean = 1,953 mg/day; standard deviation (SD), 334) was compared with the lowest (990 mg/day; SD, 187)"
• Continuous Aspirin May Lower Mortality Despite Increased Risk for Recurrent Peptic Ulcer Bleeding - Medscape, 12/1/09 - "Continuous low-dose aspirin therapy may increase the risk for recurrent peptic ulcer bleeding but potentially lowers mortality rates ... Compared with patients who received placebo, patients who received aspirin had lower all-cause mortality rates (1.3% vs 12.9%; difference, 11.6 percentage points; 95% CI, 3.7 - 19.5 percentage points). In addition, patients in the aspirin group had lower mortality rates resulting from cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or gastrointestinal tract complications vs patients in the placebo group (1.3% vs 10.3%; difference, 9 percentage points; 95% CI, 1.7 - 16.3 percentage points)"
• Aspirin is associated with reduced cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in type 2 diabetes in a primary prevention setting: The Fremantle Diabetes Study - Diabetes Care. 2009 Nov 16 - "Regular low-dose aspirin may reduce all-cause and CVD mortality in a primary prevention setting in type 2 diabetes. All-cause mortality reductions appear greatest in men and those aged >/=65 years. The present observational data support recommendations that aspirin should be used in primary CVD prevention in all but the lowest risk patients"
• Low vitamin D again linked to higher mortality - Nutra USA, 11/3/09 - "Writing in the journal Clinical Endocrinology, scientists from the Netherlands, Austria, and the US report that low blood levels of the sunshine vitamin are associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality, and mortality from heart disease ... several biologic mechanisms could explain a causal relationship between vitamin D deficiency and mortality, with the vitamin’s active form (1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D) linked to a range of effects including control of inflammatory compounds, regulating immune health and blood pressure, or reducing arterial hardening ... People with the lowest average vitamin D levels (30.6 nanomoles per litre) were found to be at a 124 and 378 per cent increased risk of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality, respectively" - [Abstract] - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
• Vitamin D and mortality in older men and women - Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2009 Nov;71(5):666-72 - "After adjustment for age, sex, diabetes mellitus, smoking status, arterial hypertension, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, glomerular filtration rate and waist-to-hip ratio, the HRs remained significant for all-cause [1.97 (1.08-3.58; P = 0.027)] and for cardiovascular mortality [5.38 (2.02-14.34; P = 0.001)]" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
• Insufficient Levels Of Vitamin D Puts Elderly At Increased Risk Of Dying From Heart Disease - Science Daily, 9/21/09 - "Compared to those with optimal vitamin D status, those with low vitamin D levels were 3 times more likely to die from heart disease and 2.5 times more likely to die from any cause ... Dr. Ginde says the findings suggest that current daily recommendations of vitamin D may not be enough for older adults to maintain optimal health" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
• Vitamin D, Calcium Shown to Reduce Mortality - Medscape, 9/17/09 - "Vitamin D and calcium have been shown to help lower mortality risk among older people, but the benefits are not necessarily explained by a reduced risk for hip fracture ... When given with vitamin D, calcium reduced mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 0.88 [0.81–0.97]; P < .01), whereas studies involving vitamin D alone showed no significant reduction in mortality" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
• Vitamin D deficiency and mortality - Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2009 Aug 25 - "Accumulating evidence suggests that vitamin D deficiency is linked to excess mortality" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
• Reduced Diet Thwarts Aging, Disease In Monkeys - Science Daily, 7/9/09 - "We observed that caloric restriction reduced the risk of developing an age-related disease by a factor of three and increased survival ... The incidence of cancerous tumors and cardiovascular disease in animals on a restricted diet was less than half that seen in animals permitted to eat freely. Remarkably, while diabetes or impaired glucose regulation is common in monkeys that can eat all they want, it has yet to be observed in any animal on a restricted diet"
• Study: Overweight People Live Longer - WebMD, 6/25/09 - "There is more evidence that people who are overweight tend to live longer than people who are underweight, normal weight, or obese ... Those classified as underweight were 73% more likely to die ... Those classified as extremely obese with BMI of 35 or greater were 36% more likely to die ... Those classified as obese with BMI 30-34.9 had about the same risk of death ... Those classified as overweight with BMI 25-29.9 were 17% less likely to die"
• Prospective Study of Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Level, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All-Cause Mortality in Older U.S. Adults - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009 Jun 22 - "In noninstitutionalized older adults, a group at high risk for all-cause mortality, serum 25(OH)D levels had an independent, inverse association with CVD and all-cause mortality" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
• Reductions In Cancer And Overall Mortality Persist 10 Years After Vitamin And Mineral Supplementation - Science Daily, 4/2/09 - "Individuals who took a dietary supplement called "factor D", which included selenium, vitamin E, and beta-carotene, continued to have lower gastric cancer and overall mortality 10 years after supplementation ceased compared with individuals who did not take the supplements ... Individuals who took factor D continued to show benefits, with a 5% reduction in overall mortality (from a cumulative mortality of 33.62% of participants not taking factor D to 32.19% of participants taking factor D) and an 11% reduction in gastric cancer mortality (from a cumulative gastric cancer mortality of 4.28% in the no-factor D group to 3.84% in the factor D group)"
• Total and Cancer Mortality After Supplementation With Vitamins and Minerals: Follow-up of the Linxian General Population Nutrition Intervention Trial - J Natl Cancer Inst. 2009 Mar 24 - "Treatment with "factor D," a combination of 50 mug selenium, 30 mg vitamin E, and 15 mg beta-carotene, led to decreased mortality from all causes, cancer overall, and gastric cancer ... Participants who received factor D had lower overall mortality (HR = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.91 to 0.99; P = .009; reduction in cumulative mortality from 33.62% to 32.19%) and gastric cancer mortality (HR = 0.89, 95% CI = 0.79 to 1.00; P = .043; reduction in cumulative gastric cancer mortality from 4.28% to 3.84%) than subjects who did not receive factor D. Reductions were mostly attributable to benefits to subjects younger than 55 years. Esophageal cancer deaths between those who did and did not receive factor D were not different overall; however, decreased 17% among participants younger than 55 (HR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.71 to 0.98; P = .025) but increased 14% among those aged 55 years or older (HR = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.00 to 1.30; P = .47)"
• Coffee consumption and risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality among women with type 2 diabetes - Diabetologia. 2009 Mar 6 - "After adjustment for age, smoking and other cardiovascular risk factors, the relative risks were 0.76 (95% CI 0.50-1.14) for cardiovascular diseases (p trend = 0.09) and 0.80 (95% CI 0.55-1.14) for all-cause mortality (p trend = 0.05) for the consumption of >/=4 cups/day of caffeinated coffee compared with non-drinkers. Similarly, multivariable RRs were 0.96 (95% CI 0.66-1.38) for cardiovascular diseases (p trend = 0.84) and 0.76 (95% CI 0.54-1.07) for all-cause mortality (p trend = 0.08) for the consumption of >/=2 cups/day of decaffeinated coffee compared with non-drinkers. Higher decaffeinated coffee consumption was associated with lower concentrations of HbA(1c) (6.2% for >/=2 cups/day versus 6.7% for <1 cup/month; p trend = 0.02)"
• Caffeinated Coffee Consumption, Cardiovascular Disease, and Heart Valve Disease in the Elderly (from the Framingham Study) - Am J Cardiol. 2008 Dec 1;102(11):1502-8. Epub 2008 Sep 11 - "A significant negative association between caffeinated coffee consumption and CHD mortality was observed for subjects with systolic blood pressure (BP) <160 mm Hg and diastolic BP <100 mm Hg. The decrease in risk of CHD mortality for any caffeinated coffee versus none was 43% (95% confidence interval 9 to 64). This decreased risk appeared to be caused primarily by an inverse prospective relation between caffeinated coffee consumption and the development or progression of heart valve disease. The decrease in risk of heart valve disease for subjects with systolic BP <160 mm Hg and diastolic BP <100 mm Hg for any caffeinated coffee versus none was 43%"
• Dietary fiber intake in relation to coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality over 40 y: the Zutphen Study -  J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct;88(4):1119-25 - "Every additional 10 g of recent dietary fiber intake per day reduced coronary heart disease mortality by 17% (95% CI: 2%, 30%) and all-cause mortality by 9% (0%, 18%). The strength of the association between long-term dietary fiber intake and all-cause mortality decreased from age 50 y (hazard ratio: 0.71; 95% CI: 0.55, 0.93) until age 80 y (0.99; 0.87, 1.12). We observed no clear associations for different types of dietary fiber. CONCLUSIONS: A higher recent dietary fiber intake was associated with a lower risk of both coronary heart disease and all-cause mortality. For long-term intake, the strength of the association between dietary fiber and all-cause mortality decreased with increasing age"
• Coffee consumption and the risk of cancer: An overview - Cancer Lett. 2008 Sep 30 - "Habitual coffee drinking has been associated with a reduced risk of mortality and chronic diseases, including cancer. The favourable influence of coffee is supported by several plausible mechanisms due to the presence of a variety of biological compounds such as caffeine, diterpenes, caffeic acid, polyphenols as well as volatile aroma and heterocyclic substances. Current evidence suggests that coffee consumption is associated with a reduced risk of liver, kidney, and to a lesser extent, premenopausal breast and colorectal cancers, while it is unrelated to prostate, pancreas and ovary cancers. Coffee drinking may still help reduce death due to liver cancer"
• A Healthy Lifestyle Halves The Risk Of Premature Death In Women - Science Daily, 9/16/08 - "Over half of deaths in women from chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease could be avoided if they never smoke, keep their weight in check, take exercise and eat a healthy diet low in red meat and trans-fats"
• Fish, omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids, and Mortality From Cardiovascular Diseases in a Nationwide Community-Based Cohort of Japanese Men and Women The JACC (Japan Collaborative Cohort Study for Evaluation of Cancer Risk) Study - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008 Sep 16;52(12):988-996 - "For mortality from total cardiovascular disease, intakes of fish and omega-3 PUFA were associated with 18% to 19% lower risk ... We found an inverse association between fish and omega-3 PUFA dietary intakes and cardiovascular mortality, especially for heart failure, suggesting a protective effect of fish intake on cardiovascular diseases" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com and Jarrow Max DHA at Amazon.com.
• Omega-3 Fatty Acids, But Not Statin Therapy, Cuts Mortality and Hospitalizations in Heart Failure - Medscape, 8/31/08 - "The long-term administration of omega-3 fatty acids reduced all-cause mortality and admission to the hospital for cardiovascular reasons, while there was no effect on these end points with 10-mg rosuvastatin (Crestor, AstraZeneca)" - See Mega Twin EPA at Amazon.com.
• The relationship of coffee consumption with mortality - Ann Intern Med. 2008 Jun 17;148(12):904-14 - "Regular coffee consumption was not associated with an increased mortality rate in either men or women. The possibility of a modest benefit of coffee consumption on all-cause and CVD mortality needs to be further investigated"
• Low Vitamin D Levels Pose Large Threat To Health; Overall 26 Percent Increased Risk Of Death - Science Daily, 8/12/08 - "This translates overall to an estimated 26 percent increased risk of any death, though the number of deaths from heart disease alone was not large enough to meet scientific criteria to resolve that it was due to low vitamin D levels ... Previous results from the same nationwide survey showed that 41 percent of men and 53 percent of women are technically deficient in the nutrient, with vitamin D levels below 28 nanograms per milliliter" - See vitamin D at Amazon.com.
• Low Level of Vitamin D Ups Death Risk - WebMD, 8/11/08 - "Over an average follow-up period of about nine years, 1,806 participants died. The researchers found a 26% increased risk of death from any cause for the quartile of participants with the lowest vitamin D levels compared to those with the highest levels" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
• Running Slows the Effects of Aging - WebMD, 8/11/08 - "Older runners have fewer disabilities, remain more active as they get into their 70s and 80s, and are half as likely as non-runners to die early deaths, the study shows ... If you had to pick one thing to make people healthier as they age, it would be aerobic exercise ... The researchers used national death records to learn which participants died and why. Nineteen years into the study, 34% of the non-runners had died, compared with only 15% of the runners" - [Science Daily]
• The relationship of coffee consumption with mortality - Ann Intern Med. 2008 Jun 17;148(12):904-14 - "Regular coffee consumption was not associated with an increased mortality rate in either men or women. The possibility of a modest benefit of coffee consumption on all-cause and CVD mortality needs to be further investigated"
• Chinese Red Yeast Rice Is Good For Your Heart, Study Suggests - Science Daily, 6/9/08 - "a partially purified extract of Chinese red yeast rice, Xuezhikang (XZK), reduced the risk of repeat heart attacks by 45%, revascularization (bypass surgery/angioplasty), cardiovascular mortality and total mortality by one-third and cancer mortality by two-thirds" - See Red yeast rice products at iHerb.
• Total plasma carotenoids and mortality in the elderly: results of the Epidemiology of Vascular Ageing (EVA) study - Br J Nutr. 2008 May 29:1-7 - "After controlling for potential confounding factors, mortality risk increased significantly in men (P = 0.03) with plasma carotenoids in the lowest quintile compared with men with plasma carotenoids in the highest (relative risk 2.94 (95 % CI 1.21, 7.17)). A significant association between mortality by cancer and low plasma carotenoid level variable was also found in men (unit = 1 mumol/l; relative risk 1.72 (95 % CI 1.02, 2.86); P = 0.01)" - See Jarrow Formulas, CarotenALL, Mixed Carotenoid Complex, 60 Softgels.  I think the problem with beta-carotene in smokers was due to the fact that taking large doses of a single carotenoid has been shown to reduce levels of the others.  There are over 600 carotenoids.
• A Too-Good-to-Be-True Nutrient? - washingtonpost.com. 4/29/08 - "Among the more intriguing findings is a recent review of 18 studies involving nearly 60,000 people that showed those who took Vitamin D supplements had a 7 percent reduction in mortality from all causes compared with those who didn't take the supplements" - See vitamin D products at iHerb.
• Dietary Lignans Improve Breast Cancer Survival - Medscape, 4/25/08 - "a high intake of lignans was associated with about a 50% reduction in mortality from all causes. This included cardiovascular disease and other cancers" - See Flax Essence at iHerb.
• Omega-3 fatty acid supplementation reduces one-year risk of atrial fibrillation in patients hospitalized with myocardial infarction - Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2008 Feb 29 - "N-3 PUFA reduced the relative risk of the hospitalization for AF [hazard ratio (HR) 0.19, 95% CI 0.07-0.51] and was associated with a further and complementary reduction in all-cause mortality (HR 0.15, 95% CI 0.05-0.46)" - See Mega Twin EPA at iHerb.
• Serum Selenium Levels and All-Cause, Cancer, and Cardiovascular Mortality Among US Adults - Arch Intern Med. 2008 Feb 25;168(4):404-10 - "we found a nonlinear association between serum selenium levels and all-cause and cancer mortality. Increasing serum selenium levels were associated with decreased mortality up to 130 ng/mL. Our study, however, raises the concern that higher serum selenium levels may be associated with increased mortality"
• Fitness Cuts Men's Death Rate - WebMD, 1/22/08 - "Compared to men with a low level of fitness, death rates were 50% lower for highly fit men and 70% lower for men in the "very fit" category"
• Increased fitness associated with 50% to 70% reductions in all-cause mortality - theheart.org, 1/22/08 - "the adjusted risk of dying was reduced by 13% for every 1 MET increase in exercise capacity; men with the greatest exercise capacity reduced their mortality risk by 70%"
• Coffee consumption and mortality in a 14-year follow-up of an elderly northern Finnish population - Br J Nutr. 2007 Dec 6;:1-8 - "The total mortality rate was inversely related to the number of cups (average volume, 125 ml) of coffee consumed daily. After adjustment for age, sub-period of follow-up, sex, marital status, basic educational level, previous occupational group, current smoking, BMI, history of myocardial infarction, self-rated health and presence of diabetes, cognitive impairment or physical disability, the estimated relative risk reduction of total mortality per an increment of one more cup of coffee per d reported at baseline was 4 (95 % CI 0, 8) % ... The present study provides evidence for daily (caffeine-containing) coffee intake being inversely associated with mortality in the elderly"
• Fifteen year mortality in Coronary Drug Project patients: long-term benefit with niacin - J Am Coll Cardiol. 1986 Dec;8(6):1245-55 - "Mortality in the niacin group was 11% lower than in the placebo group"

Other News:

• Association between IGF-1 levels ranges and all-cause mortality: A meta-analysis - Aging Cell 2022 Jan 20 - "with respect to the low IGF-1 category, higher IGF-1 was not associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.68-1.05). Dose-response analysis revealed a U-shaped relation between IGF-1 and mortality HR. Pooled results comparing low vs. middle IGF-1 showed a significant increase of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.14-1.57), as well as comparing high vs. middle IGF-1 categories (HR = 1.23, 95% CI = 1.06-1.44). Finally, we provide data on the association between IGF-1 levels and the intake of proteins, carbohydrates, certain vitamins/minerals, and specific foods. Both high and low levels of IGF-1 increase mortality risk, with a specific 120-160 ng/ml range being associated with the lowest mortality. These findings can explain the apparent controversy related to the association between IGF-1 levels and mortality"
• Increasing red meat intake linked with heightened risk of early death - Science Daily, 6/12/19 - "After adjusting for age and other potentially influential factors, increasing total red meat intake (both processed and unprocessed) by 3.5 servings a week or more over an eight year period was associated with a 10% higher risk of death in the next eight years ... Similarly, increasing processed red meat intake, such as bacon, hot dogs, sausages and salami, by 3.5 servings a week or more was associated with a 13% higher risk of death, whereas increasing intake of unprocessed red meat was associated with a 9% higher risk."
• What Constitutes Normal Hemoglobin Concentrations in Community-Dwelling Older Adults? - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016 Jun;64(6) - "Men with hemoglobin concentrations of 15.0 to 15.9 g/dL and women with hemoglobin concentrations of 13.0 to 13.9 g/dL had the lowest risks of all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality. Risks of all-cause and cancer mortality increased significantly when hemoglobin concentrations were less than 14 g/dL in men and less than 12 g/dL in women. Even mild anemia (11.0-11.9 g/dL) was associated with greater mortality risk"
• Relationship Between Circulating Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone, Free Thyroxine, and Free Triiodothyronine Concentrations and 9-Year Mortality in Euthyroid Elderly Adults - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2016 Mar;64(3):553-60 - "Participants with TSH in the lowest quartile had higher mortality than the rest of the population. After adjusting for multiple confounders, participants with TSH in the lowest quartile (hazard ratio = 2.22, 95% confidence interval = 1.19-4.22) had significantly higher all-cause mortality than those with TSH in the highest quartile. Neither FT3 nor FT4 was associated with mortality"
• Glycemic load and coronary heart disease in a Mediterranean population: The EPIC Greek cohort study - Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2014 Dec 11 - "High adherence to MD with low/moderate GL was associated with lower risk of CHD incidence (HR = 0.61, CI: 0.39-0.95) and mortality (HR = 0.47, 95% CI: 0.23-96)"
• Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol was inversely associated with 3-year all-cause mortality among Chinese oldest old: Data from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey - Atherosclerosis. 2015 Jan 14;239(1):137-142 - "Each 1 mmol/L increase of LDL-C concentration corresponded to a 19% decrease in 3-year all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.71-0.92). The crude HR for abnormally higher LDL-C concentration (≥3.37 mmol/L) was 0.65 (0.41-1.03); and the adjusted HR was statistically significant around 0.60 (0.37-0.95) when adjusted for different sets of confounding factors. Results of sensitivity analysis also showed a significant association between higher LDL-C and lower mortality risk ... Among the Chinese oldest old, higher LDL-C level was associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality. Our findings suggested the necessity of re-evaluating the optimal level of LDL-C among the oldest old"
• Relation of Resting Heart Rate to Risk for All-Cause Mortality by Gender After considering Exercise Capacity (the Henry Ford Exercise Testing Project) - Am J Cardiol. 2014 Dec 1 - "The mean age was 53 ± 12 years and mean RHR was 73 ± 12 beats/min ... There was an increased risk of all-cause mortality with increasing RHR (p trend <0.001). Compared with the lowest RHR group, participants with an RHR ≥90 beats/min had a significantly increased risk of mortality even after adjustment for fitness (hazard ratio 1.22, 95% confidence interval 1.10 to 1.35). This relationship remained significant for men, but not significant for women after adjustment for fitness"
• Compared With Usual Sodium Intake, Low- and Excessive-Sodium Diets Are Associated With Increased Mortality: A Meta-Analysis - Am J Hypertens. 2014 Mar 20 - "all-cause mortality (ACM) and cardiovascular disease events (CVDEs) in populations exposed to dietary intakes of low sodium (<115 mmol), usual sodium (low usual sodium: 115-165 mmol; high usual sodium: 166-215 mmol), and high sodium (>215 mmol) ... the risks of ACM and CVDEs were decreased in usual sodium vs. low sodium intake (ACM: HR = 0.91, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.82-0.99; CVDEs: HR = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.82-0.99) and increased in high sodium vs. usual sodium intake (ACM: HR = 1.16, 95% CI = 1.03-1.30; CVDEs: HR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.02-1.24). In population representative samples adjusted for multiple confounders, the HR for ACM was consistently decreased in usual sodium vs. low sodium intake (HR = 0.86; 95% CI = 0.81-0.92), but not increased in high sodium vs. usual sodium intake (HR = 1.04; 95% CI = 0.91-1.18). Within the usual sodium intake range, the number of events was stable (high usual sodium vs. low usual sodium: HR = 0.98; 95% CI = 0.92-1.03)"
• Testosterone, Dihydrotestosterone and Incident Cardiovascular Disease and Mortality in the Cardiovascular Health Study - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2014 Mar 14 - "Low testosterone (T) is associated with prevalent cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT), a more potent androgen, may also be associated with CVD and mortality ... we evaluated whether total T, calculated free T (cFT), DHT, and calculated free DHT were associated with incident CVD and mortality in men in the Cardiovascular Health Study (mean age 76, range 66-97) who were free of CVD at the time of blood collection ... total T and cFT were not associated with incident CVD or all-cause mortality, while DHT and calculated free DHT had curvilinear associations with incident CVD (p<0.002 and p=0.04, respectively) and all-cause mortality (p<0.001 for both)"
• Statin Therapy, Fitness, and Mortality Risk in Middle-Aged Hypertensive Male Veterans - Am J Hypertens. 2014 Jan 16 - "Peak exercise capacity was assessed in 10,202 hypertensive male subjects (mean age = 60.4±10.6 years) in 2 Veterans Affairs Medical Centers. We established 4 fitness categories based on peak metabolic equivalents (METs) achieved and 8 categories based on fitness status and statin therapy ... follow-up period (median = 10.2 years) ... Mortality risk was 34% lower (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.66; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.59-0.74; P < 0.001) among individuals treated with statins compared with those not on statins. The fitness-related mortality risk association was inverse and graded regardless of statin therapy status. Risk reduction associated with exercise capacity of 5.1-8.4 METs was similar to that observed with statin therapy. However, those achieving ≥8.5 METs had 52% lower risk (HR = 0.48; 95% CI = 0.37-0.63) when compared with the least-fit subjects (≤5 METs) on statin therapy"
• Statins and the risks of stroke recurrence and death after ischemic stroke: The Fukuoka Stroke Registry - Atherosclerosis. 2013 Dec;231(2):211-5 - "CVEs: stroke recurrence or transient ischemic attack) and all-cause mortality in a cohort of Japanese patients with first-ever ischemic stroke ... The 2822 eligible patients registered in the Fukuoka Stroke Registry with first-ever acute ischemic stroke from June 2007 to February 2011 were classified into statin users (n = 993) and non-users (n = 1829) at discharge, and followed up until March 2012 ... The cumulative risks of CVE and death after 4 years were significantly lower in statin users than in non-users (13.8% versus 19.5%, P = 0.005 for CVE; 11.8% versus 21.7%, P < 0.001 for death). After adjusting for multiple confounding factors, statin treatment significantly reduced the risks of CVE (HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.92; P = 0.011) and all-cause mortality (HR, 0.67; 95% CI, 0.50 to 0.89; P = 0.006)"
• Excessive testosterone raises mortality risk in older men - Science Daily, 11/22/13 - "Men with circulating testosterone levels in the 9.8 to 15.8 nmol/L range tended to live longer"
• In Older Men an Optimal Plasma Testosterone Is Associated With Reduced All-Cause Mortality and Higher Dihydrotestosterone With Reduced Ischemic Heart Disease Mortality, While Estradiol Levels Do Not Predict Mortality - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2013 Nov 20 - "Participants were community-dwelling men aged 70 to 89 years who were residing in Perth, Western Australia ... E2 was not associated with either all-cause or IHD mortality ... Optimal androgen levels are a biomarker for survival because older men with midrange levels of T and DHT had the lowest death rates from any cause, whereas those with higher DHT had lower IHD mortality"
• High dietary phosphorus intake is associated with all-cause mortality: results from NHANES III - Am J Clin Nutr. 2013 Nov 13 - "a prospective cohort of healthy US adults (NHANES III; 1998-1994) ... higher phosphorus intake was associated with higher all-cause mortality in individuals who consumed >1400 mg/d [adjusted HR (95% CI): 2.23 (1.09, 4.5) per 1-unit increase in ln(phosphorus intake); P = 0.03]. At <1400 mg/d, there was no association. A similar association was seen between higher phosphorus density and all-cause mortality at a phosphorus density amount >0.35 mg/kcal [adjusted HR (95% CI): 2.27 (1.19, 4.33) per 0.1-mg/kcal increase in phosphorus density; P = 0.01]. At <0.35 mg/kcal (approximately the fifth percentile), lower phosphorus density was associated with increased mortality risk. Phosphorus density was associated with cardiovascular mortality [adjusted HR (95% CI): 3.39 (1.43, 8.02) per 0.1 mg/kcal at >0.35 mg/kcal; P = 0.01], whereas no association was shown in analyses with phosphorus intake"
• A Few Extra Pounds Linked to a Longer Life - WebMD, 1/1/13 - "The review, of 97 studies that included a combined 2.88 million people, questions the notion that people of normal weight live longest ... People with BMIs under 30 but above normal were less likely to die during the studies compared to people with normal BMIs ... A reduction in the risk of death from all causes was about 6% lower for people who were overweight ... Those people considered obese based on BMI, however, were worse off. They were about 18% more likely to die of any cause compared to those of normal weights"
• Serum total cholesterol: A mortality predictor in elderly hospitalized patients - Clin Nutr. 2012 Nov 23 - "mean age 81.36 +/- 6.3 years ... In the Cox regression analysis, serum total cholesterol emerged as a significant, independent predictor of mortality in this cohort. Specifically, each 1 mg/dl increase in serum total cholesterol reduced risk of death by 0.4% ... In very elderly hospitalized subjects, increased levels of serum total cholesterol and albumin may be associated with reduced mortality risk"
• Rethinking the Association of High Blood Pressure With Mortality in Elderly Adults: The Impact of Frailty - Arch Intern Med. 2012 Jul 16:1-7 - "The association between BP and mortality varied by walking speed. Among faster walkers, those with elevated systolic BP (≥140 mm Hg) had a greater adjusted risk of mortality compared with those without (hazard ratio [HR], 1.35; 95% CI, 1.03-1.77). Among slower walkers, neither elevated systolic nor diastolic BP (≥90 mm Hg) was associated with mortality. In participants who did not complete the walk test, elevated BP was strongly and independently associated with a lower risk of death: HR, 0.38; 95% CI, 0.23-0.62 (systolic); and HR, 0.10; 95% CI, 0.01-0.81 (diastolic)"
• Subclinical Hypothyroidism Is Associated With Increased Risk for All-Cause and Cardiovascular Mortality in Adults - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2012 Jun 7 - "subclinical hypothyroidism (SCH) ... SCH may increase the risks of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis ... Euthyroidism was defined as a serum TSH level of 0.47 to 4.9 mIU/l ... Compared with subjects with euthyroidism, after adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking, alcohol consumption, betel nut chewing, physical activity, income, and education level, the RRs (95% confidence interval) of deaths from all-cause and CVD among subjects with SCH were 1.30 (1.02 to 1.66), and 1.68 (1.02 to 2.76), respectively"
• Dietary Sodium Intake and Cardiovascular Mortality: Controversy Resolved? - Am J Hypertens. 2012 May 25 - "Universal reduction in sodium intake has long been recommended, largely because of its proven ability to lower blood pressure for some. However, multiple randomized trials have also demonstrated that similar reductions in sodium increase plasma renin activity and aldosterone secretion, insulin resistance, sympathetic nerve activity, serum cholesterol, and triglyceride levels. Thus, the health consequences of reducing sodium cannot be predicted by its impact on any single physiologic characteristic but will reflect the net of conflicting effects. Some 23 observational studies (>360,000 subjects and >26,000 end points) linking sodium intake to cardiovascular outcomes have yielded conflicting results. In subjects with average sodium intakes of less than 4.5 g/day, most have found an inverse association of intake with outcome; in subjects with average intakes greater than 4.5 g/day, most reported direct associations. Finally, in two, a "J-shaped" relation was detected. In addition, three randomized trials have found that heart failure subjects allocated to 1.8 g of sodium have significantly increased morbidity and mortality compared with those at 2.8 g. At the same time, a randomized study in retired Taiwanese men found that allocation to an average intake of 3.8 g improved survival compared with 5.3 g. Taken together, these data provide strong support for a "J-shaped" relation of sodium to cardiovascular outcomes. Sodium intakes above and below the range of 2.5-6.0 g/day are associated with increased cardiovascular risk"
• Testosterone Treatment and Mortality in Men with Low Testosterone Levels - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2012 Apr 11 - "The mortality in testosterone-treated men was 10.3% compared with 20.7% in untreated men (P<0.0001) with a mortality rate of 3.4 deaths per 100 person-years for testosterone-treated men and 5.7 deaths per 100 person-years in men not treated with testosterone. After multivariable adjustment including age, body mass index, testosterone level, medical morbidity, diabetes, and coronary heart disease, testosterone treatment was associated with decreased risk of death (hazard ratio 0.61"
• Association between serum cholesterol and noncardiovascular mortality in older age - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2011 Oct;59(10):1779-85 - "Participants were evaluated for total cholesterol and subfractions and followed for mortality for a median of 13.9 years ... Age- and sex-adjusted analyses showed that each 1-mmol/L increase in total cholesterol was associated with an approximately 12% lower risk of noncardiovascular mortality (hazard ratio (HR) = 0.88, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.84-0.92, P < .001). Age group-specific analyses demonstrated that this association reached significance after the age of 65 and increased in magnitude across each subsequent decade. This was driven largely by non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (non-HDL-C) (HR = 0.89, 95% CI 0.85-0.93, P < .001) and was partly attributable to cancer mortality. Conversely, HDL-C was not significantly associated with noncardiovascular mortality (HR = 0.92, 95% CI 0.79-1.07, P = .26)"
• Cancer mortality according to lipid-lowering drugs and lipoproteins in a general population - Curr Med Res Opin. 2011 Sep 7 - "The beneficial effect of lipid-lowering drugs (LLD) on cardiovascular risk is established, but long term safety data remain scarce. Our aim was to assess 10-year risk of cancer mortality according to blood lipoprotein levels and LLD exposure, in a general population ... There were 3262 participants and 177 deaths were recorded over the 10-year period (78 due to a cancer). The sample comprised 64% of normolipidaemic, 25% of untreated dyslipidaemic and 11% of dyslipidaemic subjects treated with LLD (4% statins, 6% fibrates and 1% other hypolipidaemic drugs). After adjustment for centre, age, gender, smoking, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase and mean corpuscular volume, the hazard ratios (HR) for cancer mortality in subjects with non-HDL cholesterol <3.5 mmol/L (135 mg/dL) and in those with HDL cholesterol <0.90 mmol/L (35 mg/dL) were 2.74 (95% confidence interval: 1.66-4.52, p < 0.001) and 2.83 (1.62-4.96, p < 0.001), respectively. The adjusted HR for cancer mortality was 0.31 (0.11-0.86, p = 0.025) in people on LLD compared to untreated subjects. Conclusions: In the present study, we confirm the significant association between low cholesterol and cancer mortality without finding any harmful signal regarding cancer risk associated with the use of LLD"
• Persistence of Mortality Risk in Patients With Acute Cardiac Diseases and Mild Thyroid Dysfunction - Am J Med Sci. 2011 Aug 26 - "A total of 1026 patients (mean age: 67.7 years) were divided into 4 groups: (1) euthyroid (EU, n = 579); (2) subclinical-like hypothyroidism (SLHYPO, n = 68); (3) subclinical-like hyperthyroidism (SLHYPER, n = 23) and (4) low-triiodothyronine syndrome (LowT3, n = 356). Follow-up started from the day of thyroid hormone evaluation (mean follow-up: 30 months). The events considered were cardiac and overall deaths ... Survival rate for cardiac death was lower in SLHYPO and in LT3 than in EU (log rank test; χ = 33.6; P < 0.001). Survival rate for overall death was lower in SLHYPO, SLHYPER and LowT3 than in EU (48.3; P < 0.001). After adjustment for several risk factors, the hazard ratio for cardiac death was higher in SLHYPO (3.65; P = 0.004) in LowT3 (1.88; P = 0.032) and in SLHYPER (4.73; P = 0.047). Hazard ratio for overall death was higher in SLHYPO (2.30; P = 0.009), in LowT3 (1.63; P = 0.017) and in SLHYPER than in EU (3.71; P = 0.004). Hazards for SLHYPO, SLHYPER and LowT3 with respect to EU were proportional over the follow-up period ... In patients with acute cardiac disease, a mildly altered thyroid status was associated with increased risk of mortality that remains constant during all the follow-up" - See T3 at International Anti-aging Systems.
• The Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial: 11-year mortality follow-up of the lipid-lowering arm in the UK - Eur Heart J. 2011 Aug 28 - "ASCOT-LLA was stopped prematurely after a median 3.3-year follow-up because of a 36% relative risk reduction (RRR) in non-fatal myocardial infarction and fatal coronary heart disease (CHD) (the primary outcome) in favour of atorvastatin and a non-significant reduction in CV deaths (16%) and all-cause mortality (13%). After a further 2.2 years at the end of ASCOT-BPLA, despite extensive crossovers from and to statin usage, the RRR in all endpoints remained essentially unchanged. A median 11 years after initial randomization and years after closure of LLA, all-cause mortality (n= 520 and 460 in placebo and atorvastatin, respectively) remained significantly lower in those originally assigned atorvastatin (HR 0.86, CI 0.76-0.98, P= 0.02). CV deaths were fewer, but not significant (HR 0.89, CI 0.72-1.11, P= 0.32) and non-CV deaths were significantly lower (HR 0.85, CI 0.73-0.99, P= 0.03) in those formerly assigned atorvastatin attributed to a reduction in deaths due to infection and respiratory illness"
• Daily TV quota of six hours could shorten life expectancy by five years - Science Daily, 8/15/11 - "every single hour of TV watched after the age of 25 shortened the viewer's life expectancy by just under 22 minutes ... an individual who spends a lifetime average of six hours a day watching TV can expect to live just under five fewer years than someone who does not watch TV ... other research has shown that lifelong smoking is associated with the shortening of life expectancy by more than 4 years after the age of 50, with the average loss of life from one cigarette calculated to be 11 minutes -- equivalent to half an hour of TV watching"
• Fat and healthy? Study finds slim isn't always superior - Science Daily, 8/15/11 - "obese people who are otherwise healthy live just as long as their slim counterparts, and are less likely to die of cardiovascular causes ... Kuk's team looked at 6,000 obese Americans over a 16-year span, comparing their mortality risk with that of lean individuals"
• Is the association between overt hyperthyroidism and mortality causal? Critical review and meta-analysis - Eur J Endocrinol. 2011 Jul 1 - "In patients diagnosed with hyperthyroidism mortality is increased by approximately 20%"
• Effect of Cholesterol on Mortality and Quality of Life up to a 46-Year Follow-Up - Am J Cardiol. 2011 Jun 27 - "A strong and graded relation was found between the cholesterol level and total mortality, with the men with a cholesterol level ≤4 mmol/L (154 mg/dl) having the lowest mortality. In all, the men with the lowest cholesterol gained the most life years. However, no association was found with the cholesterol level in 2000 (when 16% were using statins) and subsequent mortality. The lowest (≤4 mmol/L) cholesterol value in midlife also predicted a higher score in the physical functioning scale of RAND-36 in old age. In conclusion, a low total cholesterol value in midlife predicts both better survival and better physical functioning in old age"
• Coffee consumption and mortality in women with cardiovasculardisease - Am J Clin Nutr. 2011 May 11 - "The relative risks (RRs) of all-cause mortality across categories of cumulative coffee consumption [<1 cup (240 mL or 8 oz)/mo, 1 cup/mo to 4 cups/wk, 5-7 cups/wk, 2-3 cups/d, and ≥4 cups/d] were 1, 1.04 (95% CI: 0.86, 1.27), 1.13 (0.95, 1.36), 1.01 (0.86, 1.18), and 1.18 (0.89, 1.56), respectively (P for trend = 0.91). The RRs of CVD mortality across the same categories of coffee intake were 1, 0.99 (0.75, 1.31), 1.03 (0.80, 1.35), 0.97 (0.78, 1.21), and 1.25 (0.85, 1.84), respectively (P for trend = 0.76). Similarly, caffeine intake was not associated with total or CVD mortality. Finally, we observed no association of the most recent coffee and caffeine intakes with total and CVD mortality in the subsequent 2 y ... Consumption of filtered caffeinated coffee was not associated with CVD or all-cause mortality in women with CVD"
• Combined Effect of High-Normal Blood Pressure and Low HDL Cholesterol on Mortality in an Elderly Korean Population: The South-West Seoul (SWS) Study - Am J Hypertens. 2011 Apr 28 - "high-normal blood pressure (HNBP) ... Study, a prospective cohort study of 2,376 elderly Koreans, aged >60 years.ResultsDuring the median follow-up of 7.6 years, 353 deaths occurred from all causes, and 113 of these were attributed to CVD. Prehypertension was nonsignificantly associated with an increased risk of mortality (hazard ratio (HR): 1.06, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.68-1.64). Subjects with HNBP exhibited a nonsignificantly higher risk of mortality compared with those with optimal blood pressure by the ESH/ESC guideline (HR: 1.35, 95% CI: 0.84-2.18). However, the combination of low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and HNBP showed a twofold higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR: 2.01, 95% CI: 1.11-3.64) independent of other risk factors. Conclusions Although prehypertension was not associated with increased risk of mortality, individuals in the elderly Korean population with HNBP, especially when combined with low HDL cholesterol, showed a significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality"
• Glycated Hemoglobin Predicts All-Cause, Cardiovascular, and Cancer Mortality in People Without a History of Diabetes Undergoing Coronary Angiography - Diabetes Care. 2011 Apr 22 - "The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HR) (95% CI) for glycated hemoglobin values of <5.0, 5.0-5.4, 5.5-5.9, 6.0-6.4, 6.5-7.4, and ≥7.5% for all-cause mortality were 1.36 (0.85-2.18), 1.00 (0.76-1.32), 1.00 (reference), 1.11 (0.88-1.41), 1.39 (1.07-1.82), and 2.15 (1.32-3.53), respectively. Similar J-shaped relationships were found between glycated hemoglobin and cardiovascular and cancer mortality. The associations of glycated hemoglobin with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality remained significant after inclusion of fasting glucose as a covariate. However, fasting glucose was not significantly related to mortality when adjusting for glycated hemoglobin"
• Increased metabolic rate may lead to accelerated aging - Science Daily, 4/27/11 - "higher endogenous metabolic rate, that is how much energy the body uses for normal body functions, is a risk factor for earlier mortality .... This increased metabolic rate may lead to earlier organ damage (in effect accelerated aging) possibly by accumulation of toxic substances produced with the increase in energy turnover ... these data do not apply to exercise-related energy expenditure"
• The Effects of Education on Health - National Economic Trends, 4/11 - "The chart shows the age-adjusted mortality rate (deaths per 100,000 people) for Americans 25 to 64 years of age who attained different levels of education. In 2007, the mortality rates for the three groups were as follows: fewer than 12 years of education, 664.4; 12 years of education, 477.0; and 13 or more years of education, 195.4 ... more-educated people are less likely to die or suffer from these health problems, primarily because they are more likely to engage in healthier behaviors: They exercise more, smoke and drink less, and use seat belts and preventative medicines more often ... In 2007, for example, an estimated 9 percent of individuals with a bachelor’s degree or higher smoked, whereas 30 percent of those with a high school diploma or less education smoked ... differences in income account for only about 20 percent of the positive effect of higher education on health-related behaviors ... As an alternative explanation, the authors propose that education provides individuals with better access to information and improves critical thinking skills" - Note:  (664.4 - 195.4)/664.4 = .71 or a 71% reduced mortality for having 13 or more years of education vs. having less than 12 year of education.
• Time lived with obesity linked with mortality - Science Daily, 3/21/11 - "for those who had a medium number of years lived with obesity (between five years and 14.9 years), the risk of mortality more than doubled than for those who had never been obese. The risk of mortality almost tripled for those with the longest duration of obesity (more than 15 years)"
• Fountain of youth from the tap? Environmental lithium uptake promotes longevity, scientists demonstrate in worms - Science Daily, 2/18/11 - "A regular uptake of the trace element lithium can considerably promote longevity ... even a low concentration of lithium leads to an increased life expectancy in humans as well as in a model organism, the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans ... the Jena scientists analyzed the mortality rate in 18 adjacent Japanese municipalities in relation to the amount of lithium contained in tap water from the respective regions. "We found that the mortality rate was considerably lower in those municipalities with more lithium in the drinking water," Ristow explains the key finding. In a second experiment, the Jena scientists examined exactly this range of concentration in the model organism C. elegans. The result was confirmed: "The average longevity of the worms is higher after they have been treated with lithium at this dosage," ... we know already that a higher uptake of lithium through drinking water is associated with an improvement of psychological well-being and with decreased suicide rates" - See lithium products at iHerb.
• Effects of a growth hormone-releasing hormone antagonist on telomerase activity, oxidative stress, longevity, and aging in mice - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2010 Dec 6 - "Both deficiency and excess of growth hormone (GH) are associated with increased mortality and morbidity. GH replacement in otherwise healthy subjects leads to complications, whereas individuals with isolated GH deficiency such as Laron dwarfs show increased life span. Here, we determined the effects of treatment with the GH-releasing hormone (GHRH) receptor antagonist MZ-5-156 on aging in SAMP8 mice, a strain that develops with aging cognitive deficits and has a shortened life expectancy. Starting at age 10 mo, mice received daily s.c. injections of 10 μg/mouse of MZ-5-156. Mice treated for 4 mo with MZ-5-156 showed increased telomerase activity, improvement in some measures of oxidative stress in brain, and improved pole balance, but no change in muscle strength. MZ-5-156 improved cognition after 2 mo and 4 mo, but not after 7 mo of treatment (ages 12, 14 mo, and 17 mo, respectively). Mean life expectancy increased by 8 wk with no increase in maximal life span, and tumor incidence decreased from 10 to 1.7%. These results show that treatment with a GHRH antagonist has positive effects on some aspects of aging, including an increase in telomerase activity"
• Metformin Use and Mortality Among Patients With Diabetes and Atherothrombosis - Arch Intern Med. 2010 Nov 22;170(21):1892-1899 - "The mortality rates were 6.3% (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.2%-7.4%) with metformin and 9.8% 8.4%-11.2%) without metformin; the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 0.76 (0.65-0.89; P < .001). Association with lower mortality was consistent among subgroups, noticeably in patients with a history of congestive heart failure (HR, 0.69; 95% CI, 0.54-0.90; P = .006), patients older than 65 years (0.77; 0.62-0.95; P = .02), and patients with an estimated creatinine clearance of 30 to 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) (0.64; 95% CI, 0.48-0.86; P = .003) (to convert creatinine clearance to mL/s/m(2), multiply by 0.0167)" - See metformin at IAS.
• Uric acid level and allopurinol use as risk markers of mortality and morbidity in systolic heart failure - Am Heart J. 2010 Nov;160(5):928-33 - "The allopurinol group and highest uric acid quartile had the highest total mortality (41.7 and 42.4 per 100 person-years, respectively) and combined morbidity/mortality (45.6 and 51.0 per 100 person-years, respectively). Allopurinol use and highest uric acid quartile were independently associated with mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.65, 95% CI 1.22-2.23, P = .001 and HR 1.35, 95% CI 1.07-1.72, P = .01, respectively) and combined morbidity/mortality (uric acid quartile 4 vs 1: HR 1.32, 95% CI 1.06-1.66, P = .02; allopurinol use: HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.11-1.99, P = .008) ... Elevated uric acid level was independently associated with mortality in patients with severe systolic HF, even when accounting for allopurinol use"
• Effects of telmisartan added to Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors on mortality and morbidity in hemodialysis patients with chronic heart failure a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial - J Am Coll Cardiol. 2010 Nov 16;56(21):1701-8 - "In hemodialysis patients, CHF is responsible for a high mortality rate ... At 3 years, telmisartan significantly reduced all-cause mortality (35.1% vs. 54.4%; p < 0.001), cardiovascular death (30.3% vs. 43.7%; p < 0.001), and hospital admission for CHF (33.9% vs. 55.1%; p < 0.0001). With Cox proportional hazards analysis, telmisartan was an independent determinant of all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.51; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.32 to 0.82; p < 0.01), cardiovascular mortality (HR: 0.42; 95% CI: 0.38 to 0.61; p < 0.0001), and hospital stay for deterioration of heart failure (HR: 0.38; 95% CI: 0.19 to 0.51; p < 0.0001). Adverse effects, mainly hypotension, occurred in 16.3% of the telmisartan group versus 10.7% in the placebo group" - Note:  It makes me wonder if similar effects on mortality might be seen in people without kidney disease.  See my telmisartan as a first line treatment page.
• What Is the Optimal Blood Pressure in Patients After Acute Coronary Syndromes?: Relationship of Blood Pressure and Cardiovascular Events in the Pravastatin or Atorvastatin Evaluation and Infection Therapy-Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (PROVE IT-TIMI) 22 Trial - Circulation. 2010 Nov 8 - "The relationship between BP (systolic or diastolic) followed a J- or U-shaped curve association with primary, secondary, and individual outcomes, with increased events rates at both low and high BP values, both unadjusted and after adjustment for baseline variables, baseline C-reactive protein, and on-treatment average levels of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. A nonlinear Cox proportional hazards model showed a nadir of 136/85 mm Hg (range 130 to 140 mm Hg systolic and 80 to 90 mm Hg diastolic) at which the incidence of primary outcome was lowest. The curve was relatively flat for systolic pressures of 110 to 130 mm Hg and diastolic pressures of 70 to 90 mm Hg. Conclusions- After acute coronary syndrome, a J- or U-shaped curve association existed between BP and the risk of future cardiovascular events, with lowest event rates in the BP range of approximately 130 to 140 mm Hg systolic and 80 to 90 mm Hg diastolic and a relatively flat curve for systolic pressures of 110 to 130 mm Hg and diastolic pressures of 70 to 90 mm Hg, which suggests that too low of a pressure (especially <110/70 mm Hg) may be dangerous"
• Low testosterone linked to heightened risk of early death - Science Daily, 10/19/10 - "tracked for around 7 years ... One in four of the men was classified as having low testosterone, using measurements of either bioavailable testosterone (bio-T) -- available for tissues to use -- of under 2.6 mmol/l or total testosterone (TT) of under 8.1 mmol/l ... During the monitoring period almost twice as many men with low testosterone died as did those with normal levels"
• Long-term exposure to elevated blood pressure and mortality from cardiovascular disease in a Japanese population: the Ibaraki Prefectural Health Study - Hypertens Res. 2010 Oct 7 - "Multivariate HRs (95% confidence interval) associated with a 10 mm Hg increase in systolic BP were measured in 1993 and 1998, and their averages were 1.11 (1.05-1.16), 1.13 (1.07-1.18) and 1.17 (1.10-1.27), respectively. Multivariate HRs for a 10 mm Hg increase in time-averaged systolic BP were 1.12 (1.03-1.21) in men and 1.24 (1.13-1.35) in women. The subgroup analysis of antihypertensive use showed that multivariate HRs for time-averaged systolic BP were 1.20 (1.11-1.29) in sustained non-users and 1.17 (1.04-1.32) in sustained users. Similar results were also obtained for diastolic BP. In conclusion, long-term exposure to elevated BP substantially associates with excess risk for cardiovascular disease mortality among Japanese subjects, irrespective of antihypertensive medication use. Thus, appropriate management of BP is important in both users and non-users of antihypertensive medication"
• Resting heart rate in patients with stable coronary artery disease and diabetes: a report from the Euro Heart Survey on Diabetes and the Heart - Eur Heart J. 2010 Oct 8 - "resting heart rate (RHR) ... cardiovascular events (CVE) ... Overall, median RHR was 70 (62-78) b.p.m. The RHR quartile stratification was significantly associated with outcome in the overall population (P = 0.002 and P = 0.021 for survival and CVE, respectively), whereas it was not in patients without DM. In patients with DM, the RHR quartiles correlated with survival (P = 0.032). In an adjusted regression model performed in patients without DM, RHR associated with neither survival [hazard ratio (HR): 0.97, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.74-1.27; P = 0.804] nor CVE (HR: 0.85, 95% CI: 0.71-1.01, P = 0.068). In contrast, a 10-b.p.m. increase in RHR was independently associated with survival (HR: 1.34, 95% CI: 1.06-1.69, P = 0.015), but not with CVE (HR: 0.99, 95% CI: 0.84-1.18; P = 0.359) in patients with DM. Conclusion The present report, based on patients with stable CAD, is the first to reveal that the association between RHR and CVE seems to subsist in those with DM, however, not in those without DM"
• Use of medication for insomnia or anxiety may increase mortality risk, study suggests - Science Daily, 9/9/10 - "results through analysis of 12 years of data on over 14,000 Canadians ... A number of hypotheses have been put forward to explain the link between use of these medications and increased mortality. Sleeping pills and anxiolytics affect reaction time, alertness, and coordination and are thus conducive to falls and other accidents. They may also have an inhibiting effect on the respiratory system, which could aggravate certain breathing problems during sleep. These medications are also central nervous system inhibitors that may affect judgment and thus increase the risk of suicide"
• Inflammation is associated with lower intelligence and premature death - Science Daily, 9/6/10 - "with low-grade inflammation performed more poorly on standardised intelligence tests, even after excluding those with signs of current illness. Inflammation also predicted an increased risk of premature death ... This suggests that even low levels of inflammation can have detrimental consequences for health and brain function ... it is the largest study to date to show that low-grade inflammation in young adulthood is associated with intelligence and mortality"
• Metabolic Syndrome, Its Components, and Mortality in the Elderly - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Sep 1 - "After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, health behaviors, and health status, a 50% increased risk for all-cause mortality was observed in participants with MetS at baseline compared with those without, with a hazard ratio of 1.54 [95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.24-1.92]. Elevated fasting blood glucose, high triglycerides, and low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were the major contributors to this association, acting synergistically on mortality risk. For coronary heart disease mortality and cancer mortality, the hazard ratios associated with MetS were 2.21 (95% CI = 1.07-4.55) and 1.49 (95% CI = 1.04-2.14), respectively. Conclusions: By showing that an elevated fasting blood glucose potentiates the excess mortality risk associated with lipid abnormality, our study supports the status of MetS as a risk factor for mortality in the elderly. Our findings emphasize the importance of MetS screening and managing dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia in older persons in general practice"
• Familial Longevity Is Associated with Decreased Thyroid Function - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2010 Aug 25 - "We found that a lower family mortality history score (less mortality) of the parents of nonagenarian siblings was associated with higher serum TSH levels (P = 0.005) and lower free T4 levels (P = 0.002) as well as lower free T3 levels (P = 0.034) in the nonagenarian siblings"
• Waist Circumference but Not Body Mass Index Predicts Long-Term Mortality in Elderly Subjects with Chronic Heart Failure - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2010 Jul 28 - "Mortality increased as WC increased in elderly subjects without CHF (from 47.8% to 56.7%, P=.01), and the increase was even greater in patients with CHF (from 58.1% to 82.0%, P=.01). In contrast, mortality decreased as BMI increased in elderly subjects without CHF (from 53.8% to 46.1%, P0 =.046) but not in those with CHF. According to Cox regression analysis, BMI protected against long-term mortality in the absence but not in the presence of CHF. In the absence of CHF, WC was associated with a 2% increased risk of long-term mortality for each 1-cm greater WC (Hazard Ratio (HR)=1.02, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.01-1.03; P<.001), versus 5% increased in the presence of CHF (HR=1.06, 95% CI=1.02-1.10; P<.001)"
• Relationships improve your odds of survival by 50 percent, research finds - Science Daily, 7/27/10 - "social connections -- friends, family, neighbors or colleagues -- improve our odds of survival by 50 percent. Here is how low social interaction compares to more well-known risk factors: ... Equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day ... Equivalent to being an alcoholic ... More harmful than not exercising ... Twice as harmful as obesity ... Relationships provide a level of protection across all ages"
• More time spent sitting linked to higher risk of death; Risk found to be independent of physical activity level - Science Daily, 7/22/10 - "more leisure time spent sitting was associated with higher risk of mortality, particularly in women. Women who reported more than six hours per day of sitting were 37 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat fewer than 3 hours a day. Men who sat more than 6 hours a day were 18 percent more likely to die than those who sat fewer than 3 hours per day. The association remained virtually unchanged after adjusting for physical activity level. Associations were stronger for cardiovascular disease mortality than for cancer mortality"
• Egg consumption and CHD and stroke mortality: a prospective study of US adults - Public Health Nutr. 2010 Jul 16:1-10 - "'high' egg consumption (>/=7 times/week v. <1 time/week) was not associated with significantly increased CHD mortality (HR = 1.13, 95 % CI 0.61, 2.11 (men); HR = 0.92, 95 % CI 0.27, 3.11 (women)). There was a statistically significant inverse association between 'high' egg consumption and stroke mortality among men (HR = 0.27, 95 % CI 0.10, 0.73), but the estimate was imprecise because of sparse data. We did not observe a statistically significant positive association between 'high' egg consumption and CHD or stroke mortality in analyses restricted to individuals with diabetes, but these analyses may be limited due to the small number of diabetics. CONCLUSIONS: We did not find a significant positive association between egg consumption and increased risk of mortality from CHD or stroke in the US population. These results corroborate the findings of previous studies"
• Low serum testosterone levels are associated with increased risk of mortality in a population-based cohort of men aged 20-79 - Eur Heart J. 2010 Feb 17 - "Men with low serum testosterone levels had a significantly higher mortality from all causes than men with higher serum testosterone levels (HR 2.24; 95% CI 1.41-3.57). After adjusting for waist circumference, smoking habits, high-risk alcohol use, physical activity, renal insufficiency, and levels of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate, low serum testosterone levels continued to be associated with increased mortality (HR 2.32; 95% CI 1.38-3.89). In cause-specific analyses, low serum testosterone levels predicted increased risk of death from cardiovascular disease (CVD) (HR 2.56; 95% CI 1.15-6.52) and cancer (HR 3.46; 95% CI 1.68-6.68), but not from respiratory diseases or other causes"
• Overweight Older People Live Longer - WebMD, 1/28/10 - "people who met the criteria for being overweight were 17% less likely to die compared to people of normal weight ... In the newly reported research, overweight study participants in their 70s followed for up to 10 years had a 13% lower risk of death than participants classified as normal weight ... Obese and normal-weight study participants had a similar risk of death over the 10 years of follow-up. Underweight study participants had the highest risk of death, even after the researchers adjusted for the wasting effects of disease"
• Look Young to Live Longer? - WebMD, 12/15/09 - "Perceived age, the researchers say, adjusted for chronological age and sex, also correlated with physical and cognitive functioning, as well as length of leukocyte telomeres - chromosome tips on DNA of people's white blood cells ... Shorter telomere length is associated with a “host of diseases related to aging and lifestyle factors and has been shown to be associated with mortality,”"
• Statins Lower Mortality, but Not Health Services Use - Medscape, 12/10/09 - "After adjustment for clinical and demographic variables, receipt of statins was associated with a 59% reduction in mortality"
• Hormone Replacement Therapy Decreases Mortality In Younger Postmenopausal Woman, Study Shows - Science Daily, 10/28/09 - "HRT use by younger postmenopausal women was associated with a significant reduction in total mortality ... results from 19 randomized trials that included age-specific data from the WHI, with 16,000 younger postmenopausal women (mean age 55 years) followed for 83,000 patient-years, and showed a mortality relative risk of 0.73. When data from 8 observational studies were added to the analysis, the resultant relative risk was 0.72. Using Bayesian analysis to synthesize the available data, the probability of a mortality benefit in this population was 1.0. This means that the probability of the hypothesis that hormone therapy reduces total mortality in younger women is essentially 1"
• Be Overweight And Live Longer, German Study Suggests - Science Daily, 10/16/09 - "overweight does not increase death rates, although obesity does increase them by 20%. As people grow older, obesity makes less and less difference ... For coronary heart disease, overweight increases risk by about 20% and obesity increases it by about 50%. On the other hand, a larger BMI is associated with a lower risk of bone and hip fracture"
• High, Low Estradiol Levels and Mortality in Men With Systolic HF - Medscape, 5/19/09 - "Both low and high serum levels of estradiol, compared with mid-range levels, are significantly and independently associated with increased all-cause mortality in men with chronic systolic heart failure" - Note:  See my aromatization page for ways to reduce it.  I take a quarter tablet of letrozole every day.  See letrozole at OffshoreRx1.com.
  Serum Estradiol Concentration Quintiles as Predictors of All-Cause Mortality in Men (With Quintile 3 as the Reference Group)

  Parameter	Quintile 1	Quintile 2	Quintile 3	Quintile 4	Quintile 5
  Estradiol concentration (pg/mL)	<12.903	12.90–21.79	21.80–30.11	30.12–37.39	>37.40
  3-y survival* (%)	44.6	65.8	82.4	79.0	63.6
  Quintile as mortality predictor,* HR (95% CI) vs quintile 3	4.17 (2.33–7.45)	2.15 (1.16–3.99)	--	1.22 (0.64–2.31)	2.33 (1.30–4.18)

  HR= hazard ratio
• Low Serum Testosterone and Estradiol Predict Mortality in Elderly Men - J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2009 Apr 28 - "mean follow-up period of 4.5 years ... low levels (within quartile 1; versus quartiles 2-4) of both testosterone (hazard ratio [HR] 1.65, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.29-2.12) and estradiol (HR 1.54, 95% CI 1.22-1.95) associated with mortality. A model including both hormones showed that both low testosterone (HR 1.46, 95% CI 1.11-1.92) and estradiol (HR 1.33, 95% CI 1.02-1.73) predicted mortality. Risk of death nearly doubled (HR 1.96, 95% CI 1.46-2.62) in subjects with low levels of both testosterone and estradiol compared with subjects within quartiles 2-4 of both hormones ... Elderly men with low serum testosterone and estradiol have increased risk of mortality, and subjects with low values of both testosterone and estradiol have the highest risk of mortality"
• Half A Glass Of Wine A Day May Boost Life Expectancy By Five Years - Science Daily, 4/29/09 - "light long term alcohol consumption of all types—up to 20 g a day— extended life by around two extra years compared with no alcohol at all. Extended life expectancy was slightly less for those who drank more than 20 g ... men who drank only wine, and less than half a glass of it a day, lived around 2.5 years longer than those who drank beer and spirits, and almost five years longer than those who drank no alcohol at all"
• Eating Red, Processed Meat Associated With Increased Risk of Death From All Causes - Doctor's Guide, 3/23/09 - "When comparing the one-fifth of participants who ate the most white meat to the one-fifth who ate the least white meat, those with high white meat intake had a slightly lower risk for total death, death from cancer and death from causes other than heart disease or cancer ... For overall mortality, 11% of deaths in men and 16% of deaths in women could be prevented if people decreased their red meat consumption to the level of intake in the first quintile ... The impact on cardiovascular disease mortality was an 11% decrease in men and a 21% decrease in women if the red meat consumption was decreased to the amount consumed by individuals in the first quintile. For women eating processed meat at the first quintile level, the decrease in cardiovascular disease mortality was approximately 20%" - [Science Daily]
• Moderate Obesity Takes Years Off Life Expectancy - Science Daily, 3/19/09 - "moderate obesity, which is now common, reduces life expectancy by about 3 years, and that severe obesity, which is still uncommon, can shorten a person’s life by 10 years. This 10 year loss is equal to the effects of lifelong smoking"
• High IQ Linked To Reduced Risk Of Death - Science Daily, 3/13/09 - "a lower IQ was strongly associated with a higher risk of death from causes such as accidents, coronary heart disease and suicide ... the link between IQ and mortality could be partially attributed to the healthier behaviours displayed by those who score higher on IQ tests ... People with higher IQ test scores tend to be less likely to smoke or drink alcohol heavily, they eat better diets, and they are more physically active"
• High Levels of Serum C-Reactive Protein Are Associated with Greater Risk of All-Cause Mortality, but Not Dementia, in the Oldest-Old: Results from The 90+ Study - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2009 Feb 23 - "Subjects with detectable CRP levels had significantly greater risk of mortality (HR=1.7, 95% CI=1.0-2.9), but not dementia (HR=1.2, 95% CI=0.6-2.1), 0.4 to 4.5 years later than subjects with undetectable CRP"
• Belly Fat Doubles Death Risk - WebMD, 11/12/08 - "Belly fat has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes. Now an important new study links belly fat to early death ... Each 2-inch increase in waist circumference was associated with close to a 17% increase in mortality in men and a 13% increase in women"
• Fatigue Predicts Mortality in Older Adults - J Am Geriatr Soc. 2008 Sep 22 - "Mortality rates at 10 years were 59% (123/210) for older adults with fatigue, versus 38% (106/282) for those without fatigue"
• HbA1c Tied to Cardiovascular Risks in Patients With Symptomatic HF - Medscape, 8/28/08 - "Over a median follow-up period of almost 3 years, the researchers found that for each 1% rise in HbA1c, the risk of cardiovascular death, heart failure hospitalization and overall mortality rose by about 25%. Moreover, this was true in subjects with and without a history of diabetes and whether or not ejection fraction was reduced or preserved"
• Hemoglobin A1C Levels Strongly Linked to Subsequent Mortality in Diabetes - Medscape, 6/9/08 - "For participants without a previous diagnosis of diabetes, HRs for all-cause mortality steadily increased from the A1C reference category to the highest category (≥ 7.0%; HR, 2.36; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.72 - 3.25). In addition, A1C was associated with mortality from circulatory, endocrine, nutritional, metabolic, and immune diseases as well as from other and unknown causes"
• Blood pressure and mortality among Chinese patients with cardiovascular disease - J Hypertens. 2008 May;26(5):859-865 - "For example, compared with those with a systolic BP less than 120 mmHg, patients with a systolic BP of 120-129, 130-139, 140-159, 160-179, and at least 180 mmHg had relative risks (95% confidence interval) of 1.28 (0.92, 1.78), 1.62 (1.19, 2.20), 2.09 (1.58, 2.77), 2.31 (1.73, 3.10), and 2.66 (2.01, 3.53) for CVD mortality, and 1.08 (0.84, 1.38), 1.26 (1.00, 1.60), 1.44 (1.17, 1.79), 1.57 (1.25, 1.96), and 1.86 (1.50, 2.30) for all-cause mortality (both P values < 0.0001 for linear trends), respectively"
• Significant Reductions In Mortality Shown Using Blood Pressure-lowering Treatment In Very Elderly - Science Daily, 3/31/08 - "Lowering the blood pressure of elderly patients could cut their total mortality by a fifth and their rate of cardiovascular events by a third"
• Elevated Liver Enzymes Associated With Higher Future Mortality - Science Daily, 3/4/08 - "Liver enzymes include aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and high concentrations in the blood tend to indicate liver disease ... elevated AST was associated with a significantly increased standardized mortality rate (SMR). Elevated ALT was also associated with a higher SMR. The SMRs ranged between 1.21 and 1.78 ... elevated serum AST and ALT may be markers of cardiovascular diseases (nearly 34 percent of the deaths in the study population were due to cardiovascular causes)" - See my liver disease page for ways to reduce ALT and AST.  For example:
  • Green tea shows benefits against fatty liver - Nutra USA, 1/22/08 - "the obese mice fed the GTE-supplemented diets had 23 to 25 per cent less body than the obese mice fed the non-supplemented diet. Moreover, the lean mice fed the GTE-supplemented diets had 11 to 20 per cent less body than their lean counterpart on the non-supplemented diet ... Measurements of the blood enzymes alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, used as markers of liver damage, showed that GTE-supplementation was associated with 30 to 41 per cent and 22 to 33 per cent lower activities, respectively" - [Abstract] - Note:  Alanine aminotransferase is the "ALT" you see on blood tests and aspartate aminotransferase is the "AST" you see on blood tests.  See Jarrow green tea at iHerb.
• Elderly CHD Patients and Statins - Medscape, 1/3/08 - "the use of statins for secondary prevention in elderly patients with documented CHD reduced all-cause mortality 22% and reduced CHD mortality 30%. Nonfatal myocardial infarction was reduced 26%, the need for revascularization 30%, and stroke 25%"