Simple measures can slow ageing
“In addition to high blood pressure, smoking and excess weight are some of the risk factors for the elderly,” notes Peter Nordström, Professor of Geriatrics. Photo: Mikael Wallerstedt
Early detection of high blood pressure and personalised advice on lifestyle changes can have a major impact on the health of older people. This is shown by studies conducted by Peter Nordström, Professor of Geriatrics at Uppsala University.
In studies at Umeå University, you researched the health of 7,000 seventy-year-olds. What was it you wanted to find out?
“In 2012, we started health examinations for 70-year-olds. We really just wanted to find ways to describe this group of people and find out what their risk factors were. But then it turned out that they had a lot of risk factors. For example, 39 percent had high blood pressure. So it only took six months before we decided that we had to make some kind of intervention,” explains Nordström, Professor of Geriatrics at the Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences and Senior Physician in Geriatrics at Uppsala University Hospital.
What did this intervention entail?
“The tests we carried out took about 3.5 hours. And then the people were sent home with an accelerometer, which is like a pedometer but much more advanced. They had to wear it around their waist for a week, then when they came back for the next appointment, we had analysed all the test results. They were then given personalised advice on how to change their lifestyle to live better and healthier lives.”
What were the results?
“We reduced the risk of heart attack and stroke by 20 percent, compared to other 70-year-olds who had not received this intervention.”
What can be learnt from this study?
“The biggest risk factor among older people is high blood pressure. However, there are effective medicines that can lower blood pressure, as long as people recognise that they actually have high blood pressure. Getting people to change lifetime habits can be difficult, but getting them to take medicine is fairly easy.”
You are a geriatrician, something you specialised in early in your career. What got you interested in diseases among older people?
“There is a legendary professor in Umeå who is still working, called Yngve Gustafsson. After I had taken my geriatrics exam, he called my parents’ house and told them not only about the results, but also that it was clear that I would become a geriatrician! It should be added that he knew my parents a little. But I did really want to do well in that exam.”
What is it like to combine academic work with clinical work?
“The positive aspect is that you get variety. This morning I went to a meeting at the University. Then I sat for an hour and a half with the relatives of a patient and explained our thinking and what the options are for this patient going forward. And of course there are rewarding interactions with other people. The major disadvantage is that there is not enough time.”
Sandra Gunnarsson