What does it take to become a ‘SuperAger’?

Transcript

Leanne Kaufman:

Advances in healthcare and lifestyle science are making lifespans of more than 100 years an increasingly attainable reality rather than a distant aspiration. According to StatsCan, Canada’s population of around 12,000 centenarians or people over 100 has more than tripled in the last 20 years. And thanks to advancements in healthcare and medicine, that number could reach over 100,000 by 2073.

But what does it take to live beyond 100? Some might think that life at that age will be riddled with physical and mental decline, but that’s not always the case. A thriving cohort of SuperAgers is showing us that it’s actually much more attainable to have an active and desirable lifestyle at that age than we may have thought.

Hello, I’m Leanne Kaufman and welcome to Matters Beyond Wealth. With me today is Dr. Angela Roberts, a research associate with Western University’s Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging. She also leads the country’s first super-aging research initiative site.

Dr. Roberts, thanks for joining me today to talk about super aging and life beyond 100 and why this matters beyond wealth.

Angela Roberts:

Thank you, Leanne.

Leanne Kaufman:

So can you start by telling us what a SuperAger is and a bit about your research as it relates to SuperAgers?

Angela Roberts:

I can. A SuperAger is someone whose brain seems to age differently than others. And we’ve been exploring this as part of a North American research initiative led by the University of Chicago and funded by the National Institutes of Health and the McKnight Brain Research Foundation. As you have already noted, we lead not just Canada’s only, but the very first kind of super-aging research initiative site here in Canada.

And in research terms, we define SuperAgers as people who are over the age of 80, whose memory performance matches or even exceeds that of people who are 20 to 30 years younger. And we measure this using standardized cognitive tests. But what’s remarkable is not that they are immune to aging, but that their brains show greater resilience to age-related decline.

Our Super Aging Research Initiative has shown that many SuperAgers have preserved brain structure and regions important for memory and attention. They show resistance to the types of changes that we often associate with Alzheimer’s disease. And our work here in Canada builds on this by asking, how does this resilience show up in everyday life? We move beyond the biology to study how SuperAgers move, stay socially engaged, and function in their own homes and communities.

So we’re interested in what keeps people aging well beyond the 80s into the 90s and even longer.

Leanne Kaufman:

So I know from talking to you, your research is maybe a bit unconventional than some in the world of cognitive aging. So tell us a bit about that and what you’ve learned so far.

Angela Roberts:

You know, one of the challenges when we think about research in aging is that almost exclusively, we focus on decline, what’s going wrong. And the Super Aging Research Initiative, what’s most unconventional about it is it really flips this narrative on its head and seeks to understand what’s going right and how our older adults, both biologically, socially, physically, adapting over time.

And so some of the early findings from our research initiative has shown that SuperAgers tend to have better preserved brain structure, especially in the frontal parts of the brain and a region that we call the anterior cingulate cortex. And those regions are really important for emotional regulation, social behaviour, attention, and memory.

Our post-mortem studies, and so we do have a brain donation program. And when we get the opportunity to look at people’s brains after they’ve passed away, shows us that SuperAgers have a higher density of a very special type of neuron in the brain called von Economo neurons. And the reason why these specialized brain cells are important is they support this kind of fast and really efficient communication across brain networks that are involved in social and emotional behaviour. And that’s striking because strong social engagement is one of the most consistent features that we see in SuperAgers.  

On the genetic side, there doesn’t seem to be a magic super-aging gene. Instead, many of us actually carry multiple genetic influences that affect how we age. And we often call this our polygenic risk factor. And together, different genes can control how we age, do we develop dementia, do we age well. But some of our SuperAgers do have lower genetic risk for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, but not all of them. In fact, some of our SuperAgers who are 100 years and older actually carry genes that put them at exceptionally high risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease. And yet in life, they do not ever develop the condition.

And so this gives us this idea that there may be discoverable protective factors that we’ve yet to find, but our group is working on that help to modify what we expect around the gene expression that contributes to these conditions. So what it tells us is that the genes in biology may set the stage, but they don’t write the script in terms of how we age. What seems to matter most is this resilience piece and how well our brain networks are supported over time through biology, good cardiovascular health, and lifelong social and cognitive engagement. So super aging isn’t about a magic genetic formula or a perfect brain. It’s about a brain that stays biologically and socially resilient as we get older. There really is no single SuperAger profile. People say, what is the profile? They’re all incredibly diverse in terms of how they’ve gotten to this space. They’re not all marathon runners, but what they do tend to share is sustained engagement in the world around them. So SuperAgers aren’t avoiding aging, they’re just actively adapting to it.

Leanne Kaufman:

And it’s so interesting what you’re saying about the social connectivity and how we’re hearing so much about that now. So how realistic do you think it is for an average Canadian to achieve this SuperAger status? Do you think it’s like demographically hit or do you think it’s more these modifiable factors that you’ve been talking about already?

Angela Roberts:

I love this question and I’m going to turn to what our SuperAgers tell us. They remind us that this is the new 80 and the new 90 and the new centenarian in our country. Our 80-year-old SuperAgers will look at us and say, there’s nothing exceptional about me. But look at Roy, he’s 98. He turns 100 this year and he’s really doing things. That’s something, right? That’s really something.

So they often do not look at themselves as being exceptional. And I think what’s also really important when we say, is this rare? Larger population studies around the world have shown us that SuperAgers, if we look at studies of 80-year-olds and older, about 9 to 11 percent, depending on the study of those individuals, will have this exceptionally robust cognitive profile, right, well into older age.

But it’s really interesting because in this study, the primary way that we find super aging participants is through other SuperAgers. They know who these individuals are in their community and they become one of our greatest recruiting tools. So I would say that super aging isn’t a club, but it is actually a spectrum. But it is important to be honest here. Aging well into 80s and beyond reflects both individual behaviours, but also lifelong structural factors. Things like education, housing stability, access to healthcare, safe environments. We’re starting to really understand and think about viral exposures and climate influences on aging because we know that one of the greatest populations affected by climate change is actually older adults. And we’re starting to think about how do these factors affect how well people age in a cognitive state?

But these factors are important because they can affect our gene expression, resilience to age-related conditions, and importantly, those opportunities. Access to good housing and access to safe spaces are not equally distributed in our society, and that actually really matters. I’ll highlight something that may be of interest here, a recent CBC story that just came out kind of cited the fact that Vancouver’s fastest growing population of unhoused people and those with precarious housing situations are older adults. And we’re seeing this phenomenon across Canada. And in particular, older women seem to be affected by this loss of housing security. Ageism in our healthcare system and limited robust evidence for how we do this in people who are 80 and older. And what that means is that our healthcare system is often ill-equipped to manage the needs of Canada’s fastest growing demographic. And you highlighted the importance of social space, social isolation in older adults is an epidemic and just, you know, something that we’re really struggling with as a country.

Groups such as our LGBTQ2S community, those providing care for family members, those with mental health conditions are particularly vulnerable. So I think while super aging is attainable for many, and I think people are actually aging better than sometimes we see in our society.

It does really underscore the importance of considering equity and education and health policies and community and healthcare decisions and all of these things that ensure that we have food security, safe spaces, robust communities to help people age well in Canada. So, you know, the way we sometimes think about this in our program of research is that super aging shouldn’t be a privilege. But it should be a public health goal, right? And if this is where our aging population is going, we all have a responsibility in ensuring we have communities that are well set up for this to help people achieve this.

Leanne Kaufman:

Yeah, preventative, right? I mean, we don’t maybe think of it that way. So you said there isn’t really like a standard profile of a SuperAger, but is there a common day in the life? Are there certain activities or things that seem to be a common denominator across your research group?

Angela Roberts:

Yeah, a great question. I, you know, I really, anyone who hears this podcast, you know, call us and I’ll invite you to connect with this community. Because I will say while you may be walking around the grocery store and you don’t necessarily pay attention to someone that is a SuperAger, once you’re engaged with them, you never want to let that conversation go.

And so they have this incredible, what they do share in common in this daily life is just this ability to connect deeply and meaningfully and almost immediately with anyone that they meet. And so once engaged, you just want to say, can you go have a coffee with me? You never kind of want to let them go. So they really are, if you encounter a SuperAger on a daily basis, just almost fascinating, right, in terms of how they can envelop you into their world. But they’re really, as you kind of indicated, there’s no real secret formula here, but what does stand out beyond that kind of immediate ability to connect with others is just how busy they are.

So we run a research study that requires them to come in for a couple days of testing every few years. They engage with us in community events. I am a busy person, but tracking them down in their schedules is a really challenging thing to do. They are going all the time. And I should say, you know, not all of our SuperAgers are physically well. They have arthritis and they have back issues and hip issues and mobility issues like many of us, but it doesn’t stop or slow them down. They’re volunteering. They’re often finding new sources of occupation. We have SuperAgers who have created entire institutes and programs and travel the world and consult. They engage actively. You can always find them engaging in self-development and self-betterment activities, learning new skills. We have people who have become philosophers late in life.

We have a SuperAger who wants to do a competitive athletic event. And so she does not know how to swim and at the age of 82 is taking swimming lessons, competitive swimming lessons so that she can compete in this event. We have a SuperAger who was someone who was relatively inactive in her whole in her life and in her late 70s decided she wanted to be a competitive track athlete and now competes all over the world and has set world records in her age group and she’s well into her 80s.

So they are physically active in practical ways. They refuse to be intellectually or emotionally stagnant. They are consistent in their approach to lifelong learning and this persistent and deep curiosity about the world around them.

They’re socially engaged and what our research, and research around the world, has shown is this isn’t about the number of social contacts that people have. So people often say to me, gosh, I’m an introvert—can I be a SuperAger? Yes. It’s not about the number of contacts, but it’s about that depth, right? The depth of those socially meaningful relationships. And that’s what I mean by once you’ve met a SuperAger, you’re just immediately engaged. So it’s not about doing more perhaps, but that varied profile that we see in SuperAgers really reflects their ability and their motivation to stay engaged in what matters, right? And what matters to them.

Leanne Kaufman:

So the flip side of everything you’ve described is some of that more traditional stigma around aging and maybe not treating people like the SuperAgers that they really are. Can you talk a bit about the impacts that that more traditional portrait of aging has on the cohort of people you study, but just maybe even more broadly in your research?

Angela Roberts:

Thanks for that question, Leanne. It’s such an important point that you raise and I’m sure something that you see in your everyday interactions as well within your work. For us, one of the motivations of the Super Aging Research Program is not just to understand the mechanisms or biology, although that’s a large part of what we do of how people age, but to have an influence, particularly for us here on our Canadian site, to have an influence on how the world sees aging and how the world sees older adults. And this is important for us, not just in terms of how society sees them, but how older adults see themselves, right?

And I think one of the most impactful spaces for me is when somebody I meet, someone in an airport or somebody calls the lab to say ‘your research has made a difference in how my neighbours see me’.

And I’m reflecting on a particular story of a gentleman out in Alberta who’s not necessarily involved in our study but he called me out of the blue and said, you know, I go to work every day. I’m 98. I still work in my family’s business. I want to continue to do that. I get on the bus every day. I go to work. And people used to look at me and say, you know, why are you still doing this?

And he was so tired and so demoralized of having to explain why still having work was important to him. But he said, now that the super aging study has come out and there’s this kind of profile of it across Canada—and thanks to you for kind of continuing that story—he says people no longer ask him that question. Instead, what people do is look at him and say, you must be one of those SuperAgers. And it’s made such a difference, right, in how he sees himself.

When we think about what ageism and our negative perspectives of how we see older adults, when we think about this, we have to really consider that how we talk about aging really does shape how people age. And not only that, it also shapes the kind of society that we are and the kind of society that we’re becoming. Ageism isn’t just socially harmful, it’s biologically harmful. Decades of research has shown us that negative stereotypes about aging are linked to worse physical health, poorer cognitive outcomes, increased stress, biological stress responses in the body, higher risk of cardiovascular disease, and even shorter lifespan. When people are repeatedly told that decline is inevitable, those messages actually become embodied in terms of how people see themselves. And that has an influence on the biological system, even at a cellular level.

Ageism, though, doesn’t just harm the older adults that experience it, it harms all of us. When we sideline older people, we lose access to their lived experiences, their long-term perspectives, their historical memories. We lose voices that have seen cycles repeat, systems fail and recover, communities adapt over time. That knowledge can help all of us, can help us as a society avoid repeating mistakes and help us to make more thoughtful decisions. I’m often blown away, right, when our SuperAgers have the most incredible insights. And many of our 80-plus year olds, you know, are studying roles, not just SuperAgers, but people who are 80 and older who are doing well generally. Their insights into environmental concerns, their insights into war and political policies, their insights into how we build our communities is such a foundational knowledge that when those voices are erased, it actually is a huge harm to us as a society. So when older adults are treated as fragile or irrelevant, many actually withdraw from society and they’re pushed out of meaningful roles, not because they lack an ability, but because that opportunity disappears for them. Our work and others, we hope, elevates that message that participation and inclusive communities that provide opportunities to really integrate older adults meaningfully into society are central to our collective identity and our collective health. So being heard, being included, and being able to contribute meaningfully supports this cognitive resilience and well-being. While the biology findings we have are important, I think probably the most important thing that we do is provide an opportunity to amplify the voices of older adults so that we’re not just supporting healthy aging, but we’re actually strengthening our Canadian society. And that mission, that part of this work is incredibly important to me.

Leanne Kaufman:

So fascinating. And like I said earlier, I’m really grateful, you know, on a personal level, but societal level that you’re all undertaking this work. I always like to ask, what’s the one thing—we’ve talked about a lot in our conversation—but if you if you hope listeners just take one thing away from listening today, what would that one thing be?

Angela Roberts:

I’ll invoke some teachings from Sally Chivers, who’s a gerontologist and writer here in Canada, to say that for me personally, you know, the one thing that I want people to take away is that aging is not a problem to be solved. It’s a stage of life that we need to plan for. And I think this is particularly important as we have more research and more kind of front-facing public work telling us that aging is a bad thing, that at the age of 30 and 40, you need to start taking medications that will prevent aging. Our SuperAgers would tell us that getting older is part of the human existence and that richness and diversity that you experience as your body changes, as you experience life is part of what makes us human. Longevity is one of our greatest achievements perhaps, but now our challenge is to design a society that knows how to use it for good for all and is accepting of how we find ourselves as we travel this journey in life. So I think for me, that’s probably one of the most important components of this.

Leanne Kaufman:

Well, that’s great advice and I think you’ve said it very profoundly. So thank you so much, Dr. Roberts, for joining me today to delve into the life of a SuperAger and why this matters beyond wealth.

Angela Roberts:

Thank you, Leanne, for the engaging conversation. I’ve really enjoyed it.

Leanne Kaufman:

Me too. You can find out more about Dr. Roberts and her work on super aging at superagingcanada.uwo.ca . If you enjoyed this episode and you’d like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media or leave a rating and review. Until next time, I’m Leanne Kaufman. Thank you for joining us.

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