Gallus Silvano, Mosconi Giansanto, Stival Chiara, Amerio Andrea, Bertolini Guido, Bosetti Cristina, Cavalieri d'Oro Luca, Fanucchi Tiziana, Iacoviello Licia, Lugo Alessandra, Stuckler David, Vigezzi Giacomo P, Zucchi Alberto, Odone Anna
Department of Medical Epidemiology, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milan, Italy.
Department of Public Health, Experimental and Forensic Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
Aging Clin Exp Res. 2023 Dec;35(12):2961-2969. doi: 10.1007/s40520-023-02586-6. Epub 2023 Oct 25.
People who reach old age enjoying good physical and mental health can be defined as (health) "superheroes", given their relatively low impact on healthcare expenditure and the desirable model they represent.
To evaluate prevalence and possible determinants of being "physical superheroes" (i.e., free from the ten major chronic conditions, plus obesity), "mental superheroes" (i.e., free from major mental symptoms), and "superheroes" (i.e., both mental and physical superheroes).
A telephone-based cross-sectional study (LOST in Lombardia) was conducted in November 2020 (i.e., during the COVID-19 pandemic) on a representative sample of 4,400 adults aged ≥ 65 years from Lombardy region, northern Italy. All participants provided both current data and data referring to one year before.
Mental and physical superheroes were 59.0% and 17.6%, respectively. Superheroes were 12.8% overall, 15.1% among men, and 11.1% among women; 20.2% among individuals aged 65-69 years, 11.3% among 70-74, 10.0% among 75-79, and 8.3% among ≥ 80 years. Multivariable analysis showed that female sex, higher age, disadvantaged socio-economic status, and physical inactivity (p for trend < 0.001) were inversely related to being superheroes. People not smoking (adjusted odds ratio, aOR = 1.40), alcohol abstainers (aOR = 1.30), and those free from feelings of hopelessness (aOR = 5.92) more frequently met the definition of superheroes. During COVID-19 pandemic, the proportion of superheroes decreased by 16.3%.
Differences in the older adults' health status are largely attributable to their lifestyles but are also likely due to gender, educational, and socio-economic disparities, which should be properly addressed by public health policies.
鉴于健康的老年人对医疗保健支出的影响相对较低且代表了理想的模式，可将身心健康状况良好的老年人定义为（健康）“超级英雄”。
评估成为“身体超级英雄”（即没有十种主要慢性病且无肥胖症）、“心理超级英雄”（即没有主要精神症状）以及“超级英雄”（即既是心理超级英雄又是身体超级英雄）的患病率及其可能的决定因素。
2020年11月（即新冠疫情期间），在意大利北部伦巴第大区对4400名年龄≥65岁的成年人进行了一项基于电话的横断面研究（伦巴第地区老年人健康状况研究）。所有参与者均提供了当前数据以及一年前的数据。
心理超级英雄和身体超级英雄的比例分别为59.0%和17.6%。超级英雄总体比例为12.8%，男性中占15.1%，女性中占11.1%；65 - 69岁人群中占20.2%，70 - 74岁人群中占11.3%，75 - 79岁人群中占10.0%，80岁及以上人群中占8.3%。多变量分析显示，女性、高龄、社会经济地位不利以及缺乏身体活动（趋势p<0.001）与成为超级英雄呈负相关。不吸烟的人（调整后的优势比，aOR = 1.40）、戒酒者（aOR = 1.30）以及没有绝望感的人（aOR = 5.92）更常符合超级英雄的定义。在新冠疫情期间,超级英雄的比例下降了16.3%。
老年人健康状况的差异很大程度上归因于他们的生活方式，但也可能是由于性别、教育程度和社会经济差异造成的，公共卫生政策应妥善解决这些问题。
