Drinking, smoking and being inactive catch up to you by this age

By Stephen Beech

The health impacts of boozing, smoking and lack of exercise are felt by the age of 36, according to new research.

The damage is even greater when those bad habits are indulged in over the long term, say scientists.

Their findings, published in the journal Annals of Medicine, show that smoking and other vices are associated with declines in health in people as young as 36.

Researchers in Finland tracked the mental and physical well-being of hundreds of people for more than 30 years.

Previous studies followed people from middle age, usually for around 20 years.

But the Finnish team wanted to track people from a younger age – and to unpick, at the same time, the effect of unhealthy habits on mental health.

Hundreds of people born in the Finnish city of Jyväskylä in 1959 were followed from childhood until their early 60s.

The research team analysed the participants’ mental and physical health through data that was collected from surveys and medicals when they were 27 years old, and again at age 36, 42, 50 and 61.

Mental health was assessed using surveys on symptoms of depression and on psychological well-being.

Physical health was assessed by creating a metabolic risk score based on blood pressure, waist size and levels of blood sugar, cholesterol and other blood fats.

Self-health was assessed by asking the participants to rate the state of their well-being over the previous year.

Three risky behaviours were also assessed at each point in time: smoking, heavy drinking - defined as consuming at least 875 units of alcohol a year for women and 1,250 units a year for men, and physical inactivity, defined as exercising less than once a week.

Analysis of the results showed that if a person had all three unhealthy habits – they smoked, drank heavily and were inactive – at a given point in time, their mental and physical health were poorer than if they didn’t have any of the risky habits.

Depressive symptoms rose by 0.1 points, metabolic risk score rose by 0.53 points, psychological well-being fell by 0.1 point and self-rated health fell by 0.45 points.

Depressive symptoms and psychological well-being were measured on a scale of 1-4; self-rated health was measured on a scale of 1-5; and metabolic risk was scored from 0-5.

Indulging in all three unhealthy habits long-term was even more strongly associated with poor health.

Depressive symptoms rose by 0.38 points, metabolic risk score rose by 1.49 points, psychological well-being fell by 0.14 points and self-rated health fell by 0.45 points.

The research team found that lack of exercise was "particularly linked" to poor physical health, smoking was mainly linked to poor mental health, while heavy drinking was associated with declines in both mental and physical health.

And the effects were apparent by the time the participants were in their mid-30s.

Study lead author Dr. Tiia Kekäläinen, of Laurea University of Applied Sciences, said: “Non-communicable diseases such as heart disease and cancer cause almost three-quarters of deaths worldwide.

“But by following a healthy lifestyle, an individual can cut their risk of developing these illnesses and reduce their odds of an early death."

The research team said their findings are likely to apply to people born in Western countries in late 1950s and in the 1960s, although they may not be as relevant to younger generations due to cultural and societal changes, and partly different risky behaviours today.

But Dr. Kekäläinen added: "Our findings highlight the importance of tackling risky health behaviours, such as smoking, heavy drinking and physical inactivity, as early as possible to prevent the damage they do to from building up over the years, culminating in poor mental and physical health later in later life.

“However, it is never too late to change to healthier habits. Adopting healthier habits in midlife also has benefits for older age.”