A study published in the August 2002 American Psychological Association's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (http://www.apa.org/journals/psp/description.html) found that older individuals with positive self-perceptions of aging lived seven and one half years longer than individuals who perceived aging in a less positive light. The Yale University Department of Epidemiology and Public Health researchers analyzed information gathered from 338 male and 322 female participants in the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement. Participants answered questionnaires twenty-three years earlier which measured their perceptions of aging. For example, subjects were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the statement, "Things keep getting worse as I get older."

After analyzing mortality rates for the group and adjusting for age, gender, overall health, socioeconomic status and loneliness, the 7.5 year greater lifespan remained for those whose answers on the questionnaires were characteristic of a more positive outlook. The study also found that the will to live accounts partly for the relationship between positive perceptions of aging and lifespan. Cardiovascular response to stress, which can be affected when older individuals are exposed to negative aging stereotypes, may contribute to these findings as well.

Author Becca R Levy PhD, and colleagues write, "The effect of more positive self-perceptions of aging on survival is greater than the physiological measures of low systolic blood pressure and cholesterol, each of which is associated with a longer lifespan of four years or less. The survival advantage of more positive self-perceptions of aging is also greater than the independent contributions of lower body mass index; no history of smoking, and a tendency to exercise, each of these factors has been found to contribute between one and three years of added life . . . Our study carries two messages. The discouraging one is that negative self-perceptions can diminish life expectancy; the encouraging one is that positive self-perceptions can prolong life expectancy. "

The March, 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published the findings of S. C. Larsson of the Karolinska Instutet in Stockholm, Sweden and colleagues that men whose diets provide higher amounts of calcium and dairy foods have a lower risk of colorectal cancer.

The researchers enrolled 45,306 men with no history of cancer who were between the ages of 45 and 79 in 1997, and followed them for an average of 6.7 years. Food frequency questionnaires completed by the participants at the beginning of the study were analyzed for calcium and dairy product intake. During the follow-up period there were 276 cases of colon cancer and 173 cases of rectal cancer diagnosed.

Men whose calcium intake was in the top one-fourth of participants had a 32 percent lower risk of developing colorectal cancer than those whose intake was in the bottom fourth. The reduction in risk did not vary significantly with the site of the cancer. For dairy foods, consuming seven or more servings per day reduced the risk to 54 percent below that of men whose intake was less than two servings per day. Dairy foods appeared to have the greatest protective effect on the proximal colon. Milk emerged as the dairy food most strongly associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, possibly because it is the most important source of dietary calcium intake in Sweden. Additionally, milk provides conjugated linoleic acid, sphingolipids and lactoferrin, all of which have been demonstrated to help prevent colorectal cancer in animals. The authors write. "Future studies should examine the relation of other components of dairy foods, such as conjugated linoleic acid, sphingolipids, and milk proteins, with the risk of colorectal cancer."

The March, 2006 issue of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology published the findings of a World Health Organization randomized trial that a daily calcium supplement helps prevent complications associated with preeclampsia among pregnant women whose intake of the mineral is low. Preeclampsia is a condition that can occur during pregnancy which is characterized by high blood pressure and protein in the urine, and can lead to life-threatening complications for both mother and child.

The double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was conducted at prenatal care centers in Argentina, Egypt, India, Peru, South Africa and Vietnam, and included more than 8,300 pregnant women whose dietary intake of calcium was less than 600 milligrams per day, which is 50 percent of the amount recommended during pregnancy. Half of the participants were given 1500 milligrams calcium per day, while the remainder received a placebo.

While the incidence of preeclampsia did not differ between the two groups, eclampsia and other severe complications including severe gestational hypertension were significantly lower among those who received calcium. Preterm and early preterm delivery were reduced by calcium in women under the age of twenty, a group that is at greatest risk of being deficient in the mineral and experiencing the resulting complications. Additionally, children of women who received calcium had a lower rate of death.

Coauthor Jose Villar, MD, states, "This large randomized trial in populations with low calcium intake demonstrates that while supplementation with 1.5 gm calcium/day did not result in a statistically significant decrease in the overall incidence of preeclampsia, calcium significantly decreased the risk of its more serious complications, including maternal and severe neonatal morbidity and mortality, as well as preterm delivery, the latter among young women."

A study funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, reported at the 64th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Psychosomatic Society held in Denver on March 6, 2006, found that people who have higher blood levels of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are more likely to report a positive mood. Omega-3 fatty acids are abundant in fish and fish oils, as well as flaxseeds, walnuts and other plant foods. Research has continued to reveal an array of benefits associated with their intake, although the majority of the studies have focused on their cardiovascular effects.

Sarah Conklin, PhD and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine measured blood levels of omega-3 fatty acids in 106 healthy participants who were not asked to change their diets. Separate tests for depression, personality and impulsiveness were administered to all participants.

The researchers found that subjects with low omega-3 levels reported more mild to moderate symptoms of depression, a more negative outlook, and greater impulsivity. Those whose levels of the fatty acids were higher were discovered to be more agreeable.

Dr Conklin, who is a postdoctoral scholar with the Cardiovascular Behavioral Medicine Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine's department of psychiatry, commented, "A number of previous studies have linked low levels of omega-3 to clinically significant conditions such as major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance abuse and attention deficit disorder. However, few studies have shown that these relationships also occur in healthy adults. This study opens the door for future research looking at what effect increasing omega-3 intake, whether by eating omega-3 rich foods like salmon, or taking fish-oil supplements, has on people's mood."

The results of a three year randomized controlled trial published in the February 27 2006 issue of the American Medical Association journal Archives of Internal Medicine found that long-term supplementation with vitamin D and calcium reduces the risk of falls in older women. The combination did not appear to influence falls in older men.

Heicke A. Bischoff-Ferrari, MD, of University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland and colleagues at Harvard School of Public Health and Tufts University analyzed data from 199 men and 246 women aged 65 and older enrolled in a study designed to show the effect of vitamin D and calcium on bone density. Participants received 500 milligrams calcium citrate malate with 700 international units vitamin D in the form of cholecalciferol, or a placebo for three years. Three hundred-eighteen participants completed their course of treatment.

At the study's conclusion, 45 percent of the men and 55 percent of the women reported one or more falls. The vitamin D and calcium combination was found to reduce the odds of falling among active women by 46 percent compared to those who received the placebo. Among women classified as less physically active, vitamin D and calcium supplementation was associated with a 65 percent reduction in falls, and for women who completed treatment throughout the three year follow-up, the risk was further reduced. For men enrolled in the study, the number reporting at least one fall in the treatment and placebo groups was almost the same. Activity level among men did not appear to influence responsiveness to treatment.

"Our results have clinical significance," the authors conclude. "We show a significant reduction in the odds of falling in ambulatory older women with a very inexpensive, well-tolerated, and simple supplementation with cholecalciferol-calcium."