by Monica Mollica

Over the past decade, interest in anti-aging treatments and interventions aimed at promoting health, vitality and youthfulness over the life course into old age, has risen exponentially. The popularity and rise of anti-aging interventions has been fueled by the aging baby-boomer generation and the great dissatisfaction surrounding the current medical system in the us and many other Western nations.

Are you frustrated with today’s big-pharma dictated assembly line medicine with doctors who only spend 7 minutes per visit with their patients? Are you against the routine “have a symptom – take a pill” medical system mantra that is so pervasive in modern medicine? then anti-aging medicine, a medical specialty developed and led by The American Academy of Anti-Aging medicine (A4M) is for you.

The current medical system – background to the status quo

An editorial from the journal clinical Interventions In Aging eloquently outlines the emergence of the current medical system status quo (1):

“Prior to the discovery of penicillin and production of antibiotics, extrinsic disease was the greatest threat to achieving maximum life potential (longevity). That single event increased life-span several decades for the majority of people living in first world nations. However, protection against lethal infection provided by antibiotics exposed older humans to a wide variety of life-threatening diseases resulting from disintegration of internal order during senescence. These intrinsic diseases including diabetes, stroke, heart attack, cancer, and a multitude of others, resulted in creation of medical
subspecialties. Although each specialty focused upon different organs and systems, they all administered treatment in response to disease. In other words, the operative model for modern medicine which deals with intrinsic disease is the same as that which was used for extrinsic disease, i.e., a disease occurs and then it is treated.

However, unlike therapy for infection which generally cures disease, treatment of intrinsic diseases only provides symptomatic relief, rarely affecting the underlying causes. Also, because it targets specific symptoms, this approach treats the disease condition as an isolated entity, independent of other bodily functions. Thus, the cardiologist, neurologist, allergist, and dermatologist focus their attentions only upon problems occurring within the system(s) limited by their training. Accordingly, they prescribe drugs that were created to specifically suppress or relieve symptoms directly related to the problem(s).

Despite the fact that this approach rarely provides a cure, it is effective in extending life, if not necessarily its quality, because many of the symptoms of intrinsic disease such as extremely high blood pressure, severe hyperglycemia, or profound breathing difficulties can lead to fatal complications.

The pharmaceutical industry fits well within the disease model for medical practice. This is because advances in cellular biology and biochemistry allow medicinal chemists to design compounds capable of modulating receptor, enzyme, and other molecular functions that block or attenuate the symptoms of underlying disease. generally these effects are accompanied by secondary and unintended metabolic consequences. However, if the net result of administering the compound is to relieve primary symptoms then a simple and measurable indicator of efficacy has been achieved Camiseta Copa Mundial de Fútbol and a new drug is born. In other words, the pharmaceutical industry embraces the disease-oriented approach to medical practice because it provides a simple and unambiguous measure of efficacy for their products.

With continuing research into the consequences of aging, it is becoming apparent that medical practice must evolve from this disease-oriented model to one that is health-directed so as to ensure quality of life with longevity. In this alternative approach, patient health and vitality is prolonged and onset of intrinsic disease(s) is delayed or even prevented well into old age.

Although this approach is currently being employed by practitioners around the world, it is widely opposed by many in the traditional medical community and especially by the pharmaceutical industry. One reason for this reluctance is that a health-directed approach to medicine blurs the line between specialties since it requires consideration of the entire body and its interrelated functions, rather than single systems in isolation. This requirement tends to diminish a specialist’s expertise and thus is unacceptable to some. As a result, it is not surprising that medical practitioners who are committed to their individual specialty are not willing to accept change.

Another reason is that effective interventions that delay or prevent consequences of aging are not as easily demonstrated, because rather than simply reducing the intensity of preexisting symptoms (as is required in the disease-oriented treatments), proof for health-oriented interventions requires that efficacy be demonstrated by the absence or delay in onset of symptoms. This type of proof requires advanced and sensitive measurement technologies and need long-term studies.”

Thus, current medicine is effective in preventing death from age-related diseases without curing the diseases or delaying their onset. While preventing deaths, this disease-oriented medical approach increases in the number of people with age-related diseases. In addition, each disease of aging is now treated separately, which is costly and can lead to unintended and unavoidable adverse effects. For example, chemotherapy, used for cancer treatment, has a negative impact on normal tissues and organs. and insulin, which is used for diabetes, has pro-aging effects (2) and may accelerate some pathologies, such as cancer (3, 4).

Proof that the current disease-oriented medical system isn’t working

Recent reports show that the disease oriented traditional medical approach isn’t helping us:

* 7 out of 10 deaths among Americans each year are caused by chronic lifestyle-related diseases (5). By 2020, their contribution is expected to rise to 73% of all deaths globally (5, 6).

* Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in modern societies, followed by cancer (7, 8). In 2009, cardiovascular diseases accounted for 32.3% of all deaths, or 1 of every 3 deaths in the united states (8).

* In 2009, 34% of deaths attributable to cardiovascular diseases occurred before the age of 75 years, which is well before the average current life expectancy of 78.5 years (8).

* In 2005, 133 million Americans had at least one chronic illness (9).

* Overweight / Obesity has become a major health concern. among Americans age 20 and older, 154.7 million are overweight or obese (8). The current us population is 316.7 million (10); thus close to 49%, or almost 1 out of every 2 adults, are overweight or obese.

* In 2010, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese (11).

* Obesity is associated with 20% higher all-cause mortality in adults (12), and between 1990 and 2010, DALY (disability-adjusted life-years, which is the sum of years of life lost due to premature mortality and years lived with disability) related to elevated BMI, independent of diet composition, increased by 45% (13). If past obesity trends continue unchecked, the negative effects on the health of the U.S. population will increasingly outweigh the positive effects gained from declining smoking rates. failure to address continued increases in obesity could result in an erosion of the pattern of steady gains in health observed since early in the 20th century (14).

* Obesity in childhood and adolescence often tracks into adulthood, and elevates obesity-induced health risks later in life. For type-2 diabetes, obese adults who were also overweight or obese in childhood and adolescence have 12.6 higher odds, than for those who were obese in adulthood only (15). A similar trend is seen for cardiovascular risk in later life (15, 16).

* 33 % of us adults (78 million) over 20 years of age have high blood pressure (8). among these, almost 20 % aren’t aware of their condition (8).

* High blood pressure is a major and most common risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease and mortality (17). The mortality risk doubles for every 20-mmHg increase in systolic blood pressure above the threshold of 115mmHg and for every 10-mmHg increase above the diastolic blood pressure threshold of 75mmHg (18).

* In 2010, an estimated 19.7 million Americans had diagnosed diabetes, representing 8.3% of the adult population. An additional 8.2 million had undiagnosed diabetes, and 38.2% had pre-diabetes, with elevated fasting glucose levels (8). The prevalence of diabetes is increasing dramatically, in parallel with the increases in prevalence of overweight and obesity.

* On the basis of NHANES 2003–2006 data, the age-adjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of major cardiovascular risk factors related to overweight/obesity and insulin resistance, is approximately 34% (35.1% among men and 32.6% among women) (8).

* The united states spends significantly more on health care than any other nation. In 2006, our health care expenditure was over $7,000 per person (19), more than twice the average of 29 other developed countries (20). We also have one of the fastest growth rates in health spending, tripling our expenditures since 1990 (19). Yet the average life expectancy in the united states is far below many other nations that spend less on health care each year.

* An increasing percentage of health care dollars spent in the U.S. are spent on people with chronic conditions. In 2004, the care given to people with chronic conditions accounted for 85 % of all of health care spending (21).

* In 2000, the annual direct cost of physical inactivity in the USA was estimated as $76.6 billion (22).

* The total number of inpatient cardiovascular operations and procedures increased 28% between 2000 and 2010 (8).

* The total direct and indirect cost of CVD and stroke in the united states for 2009 was $312.6 billion. Camiseta RB Leipzig By comparison, in 2008, the estimated cost of all cancer and benign neoplasms was $228 billion. CVD costs more than any other diagnostic group (8).

* In treating patients with chronic conditions, 66% of physicians believe their training did not adequately prepare them to educate patients with chronic conditions, and provide effective nutritional guidance (23).

* The largest number of people with chronic conditions is of working age and is privately insured: 78 million people with chronic conditions have private insurance coverage and their care accounts for about 73 % of private insurance spending. almost all Medicare dollars and about 80% of Medicaid spending is for people with chronic conditions (21).
What are the causes behind the surge of chronic age-related diseases?

The risk factors for these chronic diseases are mainly caused by unhealthy lifestyles (24). four modifiable health risk behaviors – lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, tobacco use, and excessive alcohol consumption – are responsible for much of the illness, suffering, and early death related to chronic diseases. due to the importance of physical inactivity for morbidity and mortality, it has recently been suggested that physical inactivity per se should be regarded as a disease (25).

Stats related to unhealthy lifestyles:

* people consistently overestimate their own health behavior; almost 90% rate themselves as healthy. The reality is that 9 out of 10 have at least one risk factor for heart disease and stroke (26).

* among young adults aged 18-39 years, only 20% meet low risk criteria, and almost 60% have high levels of at least one risk factor (27). In young adult and middle-aged populations, aged 18 to 59 years, only 5-10% have a low health risk status (28).

* risk factor measurements in children, obtained at or after 9 years of age, are predictive of subclinical atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease risk in adulthood (29). As children are not screened for health risks to the same extent as adults, this might contribute to an increased disease burden in the coming decades when today’s kids are grownups.

* Today very few Americans are at low risk for heart disease. approximately 78% of adults aged 20-80 years alive today in the united states are candidates for at least one prevention activity (30). Over 55% of young adults have at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor, and over 37% reported having two or more (31).

* If everyone received the prevention activities for which they are eligible, heart attacks and strokes would be reduced by 63% and 31%, respectively (30). Of the specific prevention activities, the greatest benefits to the us population come from controlling pre-diabetes, weight reduction in obese individuals, lowering blood pressure, and improving blood lipids (30).

* lack of regular exercise has been estimated to account for 23% of U.S. deaths, with these deaths being attributable to nine chronic diseases (32).

* poor diet and physical inactivity were the second leading cause of preventable deaths from 1980–2002 (33).

* data very strongly support an inverse association between lifetime physical activity and all-cause mortality, with lifetime inactive individuals having over 30% higher risk of dying compared with lifetime active individuals (34).

* majority of adults (81.6%) and adolescents (81.8%) do not get the recommended amount of physical activity (150 min/week) (35), and 23% report no leisure-time physical activity at all in the preceding month (36).

*32 percent of U.S. adults engage in no aerobic leisure-time Camiseta Real Madrid physical activity (8).

* only 1-3 % of adults attain at least 30 min moderate-to-vigorous physical activity per day from three or more bouts o