Health Highlight: Mon. 27, Mar.
Today’s highlight: Interesting connection between hydration and chronic illness.
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“The Faucet of Youth Scientists Explore Links Between Hydration and Aging” (URL, Glasp)
✍🏼 Michael Tabasko, OD • 🗞️ The NIH Catalyst • 🗣️ @NIHCatalyst
BRIEF
According to a recent National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) study, good hydration is linked to a lower risk of chronic disease and greater longevity, especially during middle age. 1
CONTEXT
The study emphasizes the significance of staying hydrated throughout one’s life. The study also found that being dehydrated in middle age makes you age faster and makes you more likely to get chronic diseases.
“Population surveys have shown that approximately 50% of people worldwide don’t drink the recommended amount of water. This could be due to factors such as thirst sensation, which diminishes as we age, or family habits, perceptions, and traditions.”
DETAILS
The NHLBI team analyzed health data from over 11,000 people over the course of 36 years and discovered that people with higher serum sodium concentrations (the amount of sodium in blood plasma) 2 were biologically older than their actual (chronological) age and were at a higher risk of developing chronic diseases and dying younger than their counterparts in the study who had lower serum sodium levels. 1
Fifteen biomarkers relating to the functioning of organ systems (like the cardiovascular system, metabolic system, respiratory system, etc.) were calculated using Klemera and Doubal’s method (KDM) utilizing open-source computer software from the Biological Age Project for Python. Klemera and Doubal’s method (KDM) uses factor analysis of biomarkers to estimate biological age (BA). 3
WRAP-UP
While the study’s results about biological age, health risk, and hydration were clear, more research is needed to explain how and why they are interconnected.
“The NHBLI team has plans to analyze how individual chronic diseases might be separately linked to hydration. They note that the new findings don’t prove causality and that intervention studies are needed to confirm the link between hydration, biomarkers of hydration such as [antidiuretic hormone] ADH, and aging.”
One area of focus is ADH, a hormone that signals the kidneys to conserve water but affects all organs. Consistently high levels of ADH (which triggers water conservation) may be causing slight tissue damage, leading to chronic health issues.
So how much water should I drink?
The answer to this question is related to a number of different personal factors—how old and healthy you are, your level of activity, where you live, and how hot it is, all play a role in answering this question. According to the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, if you are a healthy adult living in a temperate climate, you should aim for between 2.7 and 3.7 liters of fluid intake (water, other beverages, and food). 4
Further reading
🏷️ Tags: #hydraton #chronicillness #researchstudy #health
“Middle-age high normal serum sodium as a risk factor for accelerated biological aging, chronic diseases, and premature mortality” https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352–3964(22)00586–2/fulltext
“Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations. 3rd edition., Chapter 194 Serum Sodium” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK306/
“Common methods of biological age estimation” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5436771/
“Nutrition and healthy eating” https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256?p=1