Tips offered on how to slow ageing
“In addition to high blood pressure, smoking and excess weight are some of the risk factors for the elderly,” notes Peter Nordström, who will be inaugurated as Professor of Geriatrics on 15 November. 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, who is being inaugurated as a Professor of Geriatrics at Uppsala University.
The title of your lecture is Sju sätt att bromsa åldrandet: lärdomar från 7 000 70-åringar (Seven ways to slow ageing: lessons from 7,000 70-year-olds). What kind of study will you be discussing?
“What I was thinking to present are results from studies I conducted at Umeå University. 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.”
You have been a professor in Umeå since 2010 and will now be inaugurated in Uppsala. How does that feel?
“It is the university I would most like to work at in the whole of Sweden. In addition to the University's excellent reputation, Uppsala is also a very beautiful city.”
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.”
Last spring, Peter Nordström (right) received a grant from the King Gustaf V and Queen Victoria Foundation for his research project with the 70-year-olds. He is shown here with another grant recipient, Dorota Religa, and Queen Silvia of Sweden. Photo: FruBerggkvist
Du är geriatriker, något du riktade in dig på tidigt i karriären. Vad var det som fick dig intresserad av äldres sjukdomar?
− Det finns en legendarisk professor i Umeå som fortfarande är verksam som heter Yngve Gustafsson. När jag hade skrivit min tenta i geriatrik så ringde han hem till mina föräldrar och berättade inte bara om resultatet, utan även att det var klart att jag skulle bli geriatriker! Det ska tilläggas att han kände mina föräldrar lite. Men jag ville verkligen skriva bra på den tentan.
Du har redan varit i professor i Umeå sedan 2010 och ska nu bli installerad i Uppsala. Hur känns det?
− Det är det universitet jag helst vill jobba vid i hela Sverige. Förutom att universitetet har väldigt gott rykte så är ju dessutom Uppsala en väldigt vacker stad.
Hur är det att kombinera det akademiska arbetet med det kliniska?
− Det som är bra det är att du får en variation. I morse var jag på möte på universitetet. Sedan har jag suttit i en och en halv timme med anhöriga till en patient och förklarat hur vi tänker och vad den här patienten har för möjligheter framöver. Och det är ju naturligtvis givande interaktioner med andra människor. Den stora nackdelen är ju att tiden inte räcker till.
Sandra Gunnarsson
Facts
Peter Nordström will hold his inaugural lecture entitled: Sju sätt att bromsa åldrandet: lärdomar från 7 000 70-åringar (Seven ways to slow ageing: lessons from 7,000 70-year-olds) in Lecture Hall IV of the University Main Building on Thursday 14 November, just after 09:15.