Predicting Death

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I read an article this morning that I would best sum up by "Predicting Death". Which falls in line with a statistical probability approach.

Human physiology is complex, involving many chemical, cellular, and neuronal mediators. As a result of the multiplicity of interactions, there are continuous, tiny fluctuations, whether we measure chemical or electrical biomarkers. Homeostasis is not a static point; it describes a range or cloud of minute differences. Fractal regulation defines the cloud. So a study was performed to measure these minute differences in physiology using them as a predictor to death. The study suggests that as we age and our fractal regulation declines, we become "less adaptive to perturbations and more vulnerable to catastrophic events." Those subtle changes, manifested by, in this instance, physical activity, occur approximately four years before clinically observed frailty or disability. It seems that aging maybe like the death of a thousand cuts – tiny changes, for a while reversible, but as they accumulate less and less so.

The motor activity was captured using a "watch-like" device (think a medical FitBit), so it is both non-invasive and unobtrusive, on roughly 1400 patients age 56 to 100 followed for a mean of six years. The motor activity the researchers investigated was not the participants' actual physical activity, but the subtle alterations in that fractal regulation – can we recover from extremes or are our adaptive responses blunted with age. The data on movement was collected upon entrance to the study for a period of up to 10 days; frailty and disability were subsequently determined annually.

Patients were categorized based on their loss of fractal regulation into ten groups or deciles. The researchers compared those in the lowest decile (the most significant loss of fractal control) with those in the highest group (the most preserved fractal regulation).

* Of 936 participants not frail initially, 31% became frail over a mean of 4.7 years. Those in the lowest decile had a 30% greater chance of becoming frail compared to those in the 90th percentile – it was "equivalent to being 3.3 years older at baseline."
* Of 1073 participants without baseline disability, almost 50% developed some impairment of the activities of daily living over a mean 4.2 year period. Depending on how disability was measured, those in the lowest decile had a 25 to 30% greater chance of being disabled – it was equivalent to being 1-2.6 years older than their chronologic age.
* Of 1275 participants, 42% died over a mean of 5.8 years. Older age, male gender, or having less education were all associated with an increased risk of death. When accounting for those demographics, those in the lowest decile had a 26% greater chance of dying – equivalent to two years older at baseline.

Source: 'We All Are Men, In Our Own Nature's Frail.' How Physiologic Frailty Precedes Clinically-Manifested Disease

How might this relate to Aspies and those on the AS. Aspies experience a abnormally high degree of stress than the average NT. Stress should probably be considered our middle name. As a result often our bodies are thrown out of homeostasis. As a result our stress can transform into distress and manifest in a variety of medical conditions and disabilities. Therefore it is very important for all Aspies and those on the AS to learn proper techniques for venting stress energy. Otherwise it may manifest into a shortened lifespan.