Aging Gracefully in Hunza: Demographic Perspectives on Health and Longevity

Abstract

Aging being a fundamental phenomenon, significantly influences health, well-being and social relationships of a person. Over past few years, aging has been the point of interest for researchers to find a way to either reverse it or slow it down naturally. The Hunza community, which is also considered as Blue Zone of Pakistan is renowned for longevity and healthy life spans of its inhabitants. This study explores the biochemical health profiles of people living in Hunza with respect to the two age groups, below 18 years of age and above 18. There were total 229 participants of age range 1-95 years. A medical camp was organized in Hunza where medical doctors provided free consultation to people. Blood samples (2.5 ml) were taken from 229 participants with their consent. Out of which 78 were males (34%) and 151 were females (66%). 21 participants (males=9, females=12) were below 18 years of age and 208 (males=69, females=139) were 18 and above. The blood samples were then used to access their general health profile by performing major biochemical tests and prevalence of infectious diseases (Hepatitis B and C). The biochemical tests included serum Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol, triglycerides (TG), High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and creatinine. Serum instead of whole blood was used to perform these biochemical tests. The results from ALT tests gave liver health profile, cholesterol (total, LDL, HDL and TG) and blood pressure depicted cardiovascular health, creatinine levels were used to assess kidney function of the participants. Whereas the prevalence of Hepatitis B and C represented hygiene practises. The reports were shared with the participants to make them aware of their health status. Moreover, the study findings were divided with respect to two age groups to study the number of individuals that lie in normal or elevated ranges of the tests performed. Notably, most of the population had normal blood cholesterol, creatinine etc. levels with very few being high/low. Evidence from our data illustrate the combined role of lifestyle choices, environment, social bond and cohesion in promoting healthy aging. In conclusion, this research provides a dataset of healthy aging and long living population of Hunza which offers basis for replicable strategies to promote similar lifestyles in other populations.