‘People above 70 healthier than young people’

Against the general perception that old age is a synonym for diseases, a new study reveals that people living more than 70 years in the national capital are healthier and are also able to ward off diseases better than the younger people.

The study, conducted by the senior orthopaedic surgeon at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, Dr Raju Vaishya, was presented this month at a conference of “American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons” in the US.

The three-year-long retrospective cohort study was conducted on patients of more than 70 years of age and who underwent simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty (SBTKA) in the national capital. The study revealed that people living beyond 70 years have been maintaining a balanced lifestyle and their physical and mental health is relatively better. It was found in the study that about 25 per cent are free from diseases. It was also found that around 80 per cent of the patients having their age beyond 70 years were found completely fit for anaesthesia before undergoing a surgery.

“In the carefully selected patients in the study, we found significant improvements in the functional score of the knees. None of the patients died either during a hospital stay or within one year of the index surgery of SBTKA. No case developed deep surgical site infection and required a revision TKA within one year after the index surgery,” Dr Vaishya said. According to the doctor, out of 46 patients, only seven died after five to six years die to reasons others than the operation.

The remaining patients are still healthy and alive. Of these patients, several of them are alive for the past 10 years. Also, a patient, who created a world record for SBTKA, will be completing hundred years of his life in April.