Hormone may hold key to helping elderly men live longer

Elderly men with higher activity of an insulin growth hormone appear to have greater life expectancy and reduced cardiovascular risk, according to a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The hormone — known as IGF-1, or insulin growth factor 1 — is similar in molecular structure to insulin.

It is released from the liver and plays an important role in childhood growth and continues to have anabolic, or molecular building, effects in adults throughout their life.

In this study, Dutch researchers evaluated 376 healthy elderly men between the ages of 73 and 94.

A serum sample was taken from each man at the beginning of the study, and researchers were contacted about the status of the participants over an eight year period.

Elderly men with the lowest IGF-1 function had a significantly higher mortality rate than men with the highest IGF-1 bioactivity, the researchers reported.

These results were especially significant in individuals who have a high risk of death from cardiovascular complications.