The Study
Risk factors for all-cause and coronary heart disease mortality in the oldest-old. The Adventist Health Study.
This study looked at what habits people had and who died later, but didn’t change anyone’s habits on purpose. So it can say things like 'people who ate nuts lived longer,' but it can’t say nuts made them live longer — maybe they also exercised more or didn’t smoke.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at what foods and habits were linked to living longer or dying sooner in people aged 84 and older.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — these habits appear to matter even at very old ages, with some foods and activities strongly linked to living longer or dying sooner.
- 2Diabetes raised death risk by 51% and CHD death risk by 95%.
- 3Exercising 3+ times a week lowered death risk by 20% and CHD death risk by 26%.
- 4Eating nuts 5 times a week lowered death risk by 18% and CHD death risk by 39%.
- 5Men who ate donuts regularly had 40% higher death risk and 110% higher CHD death risk.
- 6Men who ate beef 4x/week had double the CHD death risk compared to vegetarians; women saw no such risk.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Related Content
Claims (5)
Men aged 84 and older who eat beef four times a week have twice the risk of dying from coronary heart disease compared to vegetarian men of the same age. Women in this age group show no difference in risk based on beef consumption.
Adults aged 84 and older with diabetes mellitus have a 51% higher rate of death from any cause and a 95% higher rate of death from coronary heart disease compared to those without diabetes.
Adults aged 84 and older who eat nuts five times per week have an 18% lower rate of death from any cause and a 39% lower rate of death from coronary heart disease than those who eat nuts less than once a week.
Adults aged 84 and older who engage in vigorous physical activity at least three times per week have a 20% lower risk of dying from any cause and a 26% lower risk of dying from coronary heart disease compared to those who do not engage in regular vigorous activity.
Men aged 84 and older who regularly eat donuts have a 40% higher rate of death from any cause and a 110% higher rate of death from coronary heart disease than those who do not regularly eat donuts.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.