A good wife, a good grip, a good education and no ciggies and you'll live to 85!!

According to a long-term study which was conducted over a 40 year period, among the most significant factors influencing longevity in men were a strong grip, a wife, not smoking and a good education.

Dr. Bradley J. Willcox and colleagues of the Pacific Health Research Institute and Kuakini Medical Center in Honolulu, examined potential biological, lifestyle and sociodemographic risk factors present at middle-age to identify risk factors for healthy survival.

Their study of 5,820 Japanese-American middle-aged men with an average age of 54 in Honolulu, Hawaii, came up with nine important factors which appear to provide a clue to why some men live longer than others.

It is suggested that having low blood pressure, low blood sugar levels, low levels of bad cholesterol, not drinking alcohol excessively, keeping down the weight, not smoking, having a strong grip, achieving a high level of education, and being married appear to be the keys to a healthy life during old age.

Grip strength, which can be measured by a test, is a strong indication of upper body strength.

The researchers say this is consistent with theories of aging that suggest that better-built organisms last longer and that physiological reserve is an important determinant of survival, and may also be a marker of physical fitness.

The fastest-growing age group in most industrialized countries are those who survive to 85 years or older and they are among the largest consumers of health care resources; therefore being able to identify strategies for remaining healthy, vigorous, and disability-free at older ages has become a major priority.

At the start of the study in 1965 the participants were on average 54 years old and the researchers found that the men who managed to meet all the healthy criteria had an 80 percent chance of living to age 80, and also were much more likely to reach old age while avoiding illness.

Dr. Willcox, the author of the study says if the risk factors were avoided a man had a 60 percent plus chance of being healthy at that age, whereas if a man had six or more of these risk factors he had less than a 10 percent chance of living into his mid-80s.

The study also found that more than twice as many American women than men lived to age 85, and three times as many women lived into their 90s.

Of the 5,820 original study participants, 2451, or 42 per cent, survived to age 85, and 655 participants, or 11 per cent, reached that age without suffering serious health problems such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes.

The study is published in the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.