University of Hawai’i at Manoa researchers found that Native Hawaiians age faster than Whites and Japanese.
The study published by the Journal of American Medical Association said that Native Hawaiians are likely to age more rapidly because of underlying health conditions and socioeconomic status.
Alika Maunakea, the lead author of the study, found that people who engage in higher physical activity and healthier diets tended to have closer to normal biological aging, even in low-income neighborhoods.
The aging study started in 2017 and used the data collected from blood samples from 376 participants, measuring against White and Japanese people. In addition, the Honolulu Star Advertiser said that researchers examined biological aging, which is determined by looking at a person’s blood cells rather than chronological age (the time since they were born).
Native Hawaiians are diagnosed with diabetes around ten years younger than other racial or ethnic groups and have a 25% higher rate of biological aging than Whites, according to Maunakea.
“Say you give an 80-year life span of longevity. That 10% difference in the rate of aging is about an eight-year difference in longevity,” Maunakea said in an interview with Hawaii Public Radio.
Maunakea, born and raised in a Hawaiian homestead in Waianae, has seen health disparities occur right in his community—be it higher rates of diabetes or cancer. The study, he said, has hit very close to home for him personally and relationally on the issues it calls out.
“People feel in that community that if you’re Hawaiian, you’re gonna get this because it’s so pervasive,” Maunakea said. “But actually, the data that we provided here, and the data that we’re seeing today, actually shows that no, disease is not our destiny.”
Researchers are examining whether variations in biological age in different ethnic groups can be attributed to inherent biological differences or to social inequalities, according to Maunakea. His recommendations for Native Hawaiians include lifestyle choices, education, nutrition, and exercise.
AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.
We are supported through donations and such charitable organizations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. This holiday season, double your impact by making a tax-deductible donation to Asian American Media Inc and AsAmNews. Less than $5,000 remains in matching grant funds. Donate today to double your impact and bring us closer to our goal of $38,000 by year-end.
Please also follow us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and X.
