Living to 100 and Beyond

On a trip to Florida ten years ago, my sister and I spent some time visiting with my Grandpa Harry. As we walked around his condo complex, we couldn’t help but notice all the women calling after him.
“Harry, I need a jar opened.”
“Harry, I was hoping you could drive me to Publix later.”
“Harry, just the man I was hoping to see…”

Kind and quiet in a way that men aren’t these days, Harry was twice-widowed, living independently with a valid driver’s license. He was the Big Man on Campus.

My sister and I, worried about him being lonely and a bit stunned by all the female attention, suggested to him that maybe he should get a girlfriend.

He waved his hand off at us. “Eh…. Five or ten years ago, maybe. But now I’m just too old for that kind of business.”

He was 91 at the time. Clearly he felt that he would have been up to the task at age 86.

I thought about my grandfather a lot after attending the one-year anniversary celebration of At Home Scarsdale on Sunday, November 6th at the Scarsdale Woman’s Club.

At Home provides referrals to services providers, transportation to doctor appointments as well as social gatherings and events for senior citizens in our community. I was invited because of the work I do with the library.

The speaker was Edgemont resident Dr. Nir Barzilai, the Director of the Institute for Aging Research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He ws invited by At Home coordinator Susan Gilbert. Barzilai is the head of the Longevity Project at Einstein. He took to the center of the room to talk about his study of centenarians (those who live to 100). If this sounds familiar, it may be because Barzilai's study was on the front cover of New York Magazine just two weeks ago for an article called “They’re Old, They’re Jewish and They Have DNA Like You Wouldn’t Believe.”

The amusing title pertains to the 540 Ashkenazi Jews he tracked all of whom have lived beyond the age of 95. In his presentation he focuses on Irving Kahn, an investment banker who, at the age of 105, still goes to work with his son and grandson at their offices in Manhattan every day. We also get a glimpse of his sister Helen, or “Happy” who died this past September at 109. Irving, Happy and their two other siblings all lived past the age of 100. In an obituary Happy was reported to reveal that the secret to her longevity was “chocolate truffles, hamburgers, Budweiser beer, cigarettes and New York night life. Strictly forbidden were vegetables, exercising, getting up early and complaining.”

Even if she had a dramatic flair, Barzilai’s study seems to corroborate Happy’s view. Indeed, the majority of those in the study were not incredibly healthy eaters and admitted to smoking at some point in their lives. Most didn’t claim to be terribly religious or spiritual. In fact, many just seemed to believe that their secret to living was, well, just living. Most, like the Kahns in the study, say that their family members also lived long lives. This leads Barzilai and his team to question if longevity is in the genes.

Why the Jews?

Of course that’s always been the question for the Jewish people. In this case, the answer is perhaps a bit more pedestrian than you’d expect: Barzilai explained that this group’s ancestry is fairly intact. While of course there is intermarriage, compared to other racial and ethnic groups there is less ‘cross-pollination’ so to speak. This is why Ashkenazi women often have to give what feels like a gallon of blood for genetic testing during their pregnancies. (At least that’s what it felt like to me). There is also a sizeable super-elderly population of this group in the area.

The Holocaust:

You can’t talk about this generation of Ashkenazi Jews without bringing up the Holocaust. While he didn’t offer the statistics of how many in the study lived in Eastern Europe during that time, Barzilai said that those who did live through Nazi Germany and the concentration camps -- statistically speaking, should not have survived until now. But they did. Again, this could be genetics. A tough gene perhaps?

On the whole, the group in the study is a healthy lot. They spend less time at the doctor’s office compared to the overall population. Barzilai showed that the health care costs for this group are considerably lower than those who live to the average age of 80. Many are in good health until the very end. That was the case with my grandfather. He was the picture of health until the very end. He had a fall, deteriorated quickly and six weeks later he was gone. He was about two months shy of his 95th birthday.

Barzilai is a dynamo. Witty and charming with a slight Israeli accent, the audience was rapt when he spoke. Not only did Barzilai want to look at these centenarians, but at their children- now in their 60s and 70s -- to see if, as he suspects, it may be in the genes.

He says that down the road, this study could lead to new drug therapies to keep people healthier longer and avoid or delay age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Of course we all want our loved ones to live as long as possible, yet a society where 100 is feasible for an ever-growing population presents some serious social and economic dilemmas.

But for many in this group, social or economic dilemmas are beside the point. … staying alive and healthy is key. These folks just keep going, because they just keep going. As my grandmother (on my father’s side) who turns 91 at the end of this month explains, “There is always a wedding or a new great-grandchild or someone’s birthday for me to look forward to.” That, and a healthy batch of Law & Order reruns seems to be her secret to longevity.

If you are interested in learning more about this study or if you fit the criteria and want to take part in it (65+ and the child of someone who lived to 95+ and are of Eastern European Jewish descent) check out the website superagers.com.

(Pictured at top: Dr. Nir Barzilai)