Active aging is economic category - Valery Benberin, Head of Medical Center under the Office of the Kazakh President

- Increased life expectancy in Kazakhstan is one of the main objectives of the President's Address to the People. Will you tell us what it has been dictated by?
- You should not only speak much about life, but about how to increase active longevity. Because that active longevity gives a person a chance to be useful to the society he lives in and at the same time to enjoy advantages of that society.
I would say that the active longevity is an economic category, because currently there is a decrease of labor, and reduction of the experienced human resources. It happens not only here in Kazakhstan, but all over the world too. And this is directly reflected in many industrial processes .
Active Aging is, first of all, understanding of the high challenges that lie before every citizen of the country. Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev declared fundamental and realistic targets to increase life expectancy. Namely, it is improving the quality of life. And thanks to his initiative, the country began to significantly change the situation concerning the issue.
- Are there any data that we can assess the improvements reached?
- Today, life expectancy in Kazakhstan has risen. Four years ago, it was 68.2 years , and now it is 69.6 years. At the same time, for 4 years we have been lagging behind those states that have the same income per capita. Thanks to the President there has begun organization of large-scale research and clinical centers throughout the country. Thus, given a big push for research, and implementation of clinical and therapeutic measures in the whole country .
Today in Kazakhstan twe have almost all the high-tech interventions on the human body, with screening programs carried out. And the Ministry of Health is playing important role in realizing the policy of the President to ensure the health services of the population in Kazakhstan.
- You are working in a health sector, which in the context of these problems becomes more and more important, called gerontology . What advice do you have for our readers who want to live long?
- Aging can also be viewed as a disease that has a whole bunch of age-dependent pathology. I'll give you some figures: in Kazakhstan, only 14.6% of people die a natural death, going all the way of life. And more than 85 percent do not pass this way, they die earlier because of age-dependent and socially significant diseases. These are multifocal atherosclerosis, coronary atherosclerosis, cerebrovascular disease, and abdominal ischemic heart disease. There are also diabetes and widespread insulin resistance, cancer, injuries , which have a very wide spread.
Increasing the active longevity, we must first deal with the fact that these diseases in time to be diagnozed, treated and poreventive meausres taken. And if you have a disease, then you need to know what complications may develop, and to prevent their spreading.
- You said that gerontology is in need of scientific developments and discoveries. Is there any progress done by domestic gerontologists?
- The Medical Center of the Administration of the President of Kazakhstan for the first time in the country conducted research in the scientific program to study the metabolic syndrome among public servants. It is well known that the public servants are 4-5 times more likely to get sick in comparison with the whole country. So, metabolic syndrome includes those socially significant diseases, which I have mentioned.
We have built an entire system of control, which provides year-round cycle of case management. Since the outpatient phase, when a patient comes to a complete screening, including regular monitoring. Patient is selected individual nutrition for, and a physical program for him to live actively. If necessary, there will be prescibed a drug therapy. Repeated tests are carried out the following 3, 6 and 12 months.
As a result, we get objective data for the year of observations that tell us, if the patients are not too lazy to exercise and eat in a right way, do everything what the doctor prescribes, they have many of the indicators tend to improve or recover completely.
- Your research has been underway for four years, and you're ready to share the results with the entire health care system of the country when completed. But can only medicine save a person from aging?
- No public investment, no software will achieve active longevity and quality of life, if we don't take responsibility for ourselves. That is, there should be joint responsibility of both physicians and the public. I see it as the most important approach to increase the active period of life. You have to properly build your physical program, to be very attentive to your diet.
It is already known, and a number of works in different countries confirmed the fact that the decline in food increases life, its active period. Therefore, we should not overeat, have a positive attitude and actively work for the good of our beloved country . Then the result of your work - a positive result - will give you strength. But at the same time it is necessary to carry out regular health examinations. And if there is imbalance in the body, or metabolic disorders , it is necessary to correct them in time .
- Thank you for the interview!