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Diseases reappearung due
to social problems
BY JOAQUIN ORAMAS
THERE is a time in life, especially after getting
past the first six decades, when periodic medical
exams become essential, affirmed Dr. Enrique Vega,
on analyzing the basic precautions that should take
be taken by everyone who wishes to live longer and
reach the age of 120.
In a
meeting with hundreds of members of 120 Years Club
at the Teatro Astral in Havana, the scientist shared
a rich exchange of ideas with older people who – in
spite of their age – are quite independent in their
everyday activities.
After reiterating the importance of determination in
terms of reaching the Club’s goals, he ceded the
stage to Vidal Padrón, who, at 88 years old,
exercises, maintains an adequate diet and lives with
positive thinking. Likewise, some participants in
the meeting suffering from various health problems
affirmed that they have not given in to adversity
and have decided to keep fighting against those
afflictions. It is that determination that has
enabled them to live longer with quality of life.
For
her part, Mirta Martel, 89 years old, with a serious
heart condition, did not resign herself to wait for
the end, but joined the Senior Center and graduated
from the Older Adult University, given that “we have
a lot to learn still.” She ended her presentation
with a demonstration of the Chinese tai chi
exercises that she practices.
CENTENARIANS STUDIED
Few
countries have studies on people aged 100 or older
and Cuba, which does, has completed one on
centenarians in Havana. Professor Vega revealed that
one of the most common characteristics of
centenarians is what is scientifically referred to
as the capacity to confront life’s problems.
Regarding the incidence of harmful habits and
whatever reflects negatively on health, he referred
to the contradictory cases of those who are routine
smokers and drink rum or other alcoholic drinks and
live longer.
He
cited the case of the last Mambí in the
central province of Sancti Spíritus, who at 122
years of age was drinking aguardient and
coffee, and smoking cigars. When he was presented
with a single-sized mattress he gave it back asking
for another because he was considering sleeping with
a woman.
Professor Vega explained that there are individuals
who have a greater capacity to resist any toxin,
which makes them exceptional, like all centenarians.
Those individuals have something that is yet to be
discovered, he says, but we want ordinary people who
are more sensitive to risk factors to live longer
with quality of life, just like the exceptional
ones.
In
order for people to get past the barrier of the 60s,
we must control risk factors, such as high
cholesterol, hypertension and others, he noted. At
the same time, factors common to aging – which after
a certain stage of life play a greater role – cannot
be ignored.
Professor Vega explained that there are long-lived
persons who smoke and ingest alcoholic drinks and
have an active life in a world in which infectious
diseases persist, some of them outside of any
effective controls by medicine.
However, the fundamental problem of humanity is not
a scientific, but a social one, he emphasized.
The
majority of diseases that resurface, such as
tuberculosis, cholera and others, are related to
lack of access to treatment due to economic problems
and the deplorable living conditions of millions of
people. Today, neither HIV nor AIDS is totally
uncontrollable, he affirmed, given that the use of
retroviral drugs enables zero-positives to live
significantly longer if they have the opportunity to
receive treatment.
However, millions of patients in Africa, Asia and
Latin America do not have that luxury because they
lack the economic resources to pay for the
treatment, he noted. Life expectancy would rise
considerably in the world if all of the sick had
access to the medications available for combating
illness.
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