The Longevity Revolution: Can Personalized Health Data Really Extend Your Life?

Launch your favorite streaming channel and you are immediately inundated with personalized, curated recommendations based on your viewing history and preferences. Open a shopping app and you’ll discover recommendations based on prior purchases and items you perused that are often spot on. So many of the things in our lives are personalized and date-driven. So why should healthcare be one size fits all?

It’s changing. Thanks to advances in AI and medical technology, personalized medicine and individualized programs are being implemented. Some incorporate wearables that deliver up-to-date info on everything from an individual’s exercise and sleep patterns to blood sugar and cholesterol levels. Other programs incorporate regular check-ins via telemedicine and video chat. Can personalized health data add years to your lifespan while improving your health? Read on to discover more.

Has the Average American Life Expectancy Plateaued?

The good news is after years of COVID-related declines, average American life expectancy has recently increased. Not only have deaths from COVID decreased to where they mirror annual flu fatalities, but death rates from heart disease, type 2 diabetes. cancer, Alzheimer’s, and unintentional injuries (including drug overdoses) also declined. Unfortunately, the average life expectancy of 78.4 is still lower than it was in 2019. 

In the United States, the average lifespan enjoyed an incredible increase in the 20th century, when it exploded from around age 40 to over 70. However, in the 21st century this progress has slowed considerably. Part of the reason is that chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity are robbing people of healthy years. Many of these diseases are completely preventable with lifestyle adjustments. Extending lifespans isn’t about endlessly treating chronic conditions. That’s because ideally, longevity isn’t about just living a long life. It’s about living a healthy, happy, disease-free life. 

Increasingly, longevity research has focused on how data-driven, personalized medicine can improve outcomes. One reason for the recent interest is the growing staffing shortages of health care personnel. Although it’s somewhat counterintuitive, individualized medicine can actually consume less time than more traditional treatments. That’s partly because studies show patients are more protective and focused on preventative care when they are more involved. By its very nature, personalized medicine puts the patient firmly in control of their own health. That means they are more likely to complete annual check-ups and through personalized programs of diet, exercise, and other lifestyle adjustments are less likely to have time-intensive chronic conditions. 

Individualized medicine has been triumphed in medical journals for some time, with a 2010 article on the subject noting that, “personalized medicine has the potential to tailor therapy with the best response and highest safety margin to ensure better patient care. By enabling each patient to receive earlier diagnoses, risk assessments, and optimal treatments, personalized medicine holds promise for improving health care while also lowering costs.” 

One ongoing issue is that a sizable percentage of patients have negative reactions to prescribed medication. Deaths from prescription drugs in the U.S. number in the thousands with at least half of these fatalities are from people who used the drugs exactly as they were supposed to. Thousands more are hospitalized from side affects. This variation in reaction is genetically determined. Other factors include the health of the patient along with their age, diet, environmental exposure and a number of other reasons. For decades, pharmacogenetics (which draws from genetics, biochemistry, and pharmacology) along with more recent discoveries in molecular medicine which examines reactions to medication on a molecular level (pharmacogenomics) have sought to design safer, individualized drugs. 

Research into exploring how these new sciences can improve patient outcomes while still being economically viable for the manufacturer is a significant component of the emerging field of individualized medicine. As the 2010 article notes, “…ultimately personalized medicine will affect the entire landscape of our healthcare system. “ 

Part of personalized medicine involves screenings at a DNA level that can help physicians prescribe the right medications. Plus, as technology improves, both drug and device manufacturers will be able to produce targeted products for those patients who don’t respond to common treatments. Much of this work dates to 2003’s mapping of the human genome. Yet it’s also important to use what we know to reduce the impact of chronic conditions. 

Longevity expert Sergey Young believes a 150-year lifespan is achievable. He tells anyone who wants a long and healthy life to be tested regularly. Along with annual physicals, MRIs, CT scans, and ultrasounds getting your blood tested for hidden symptoms is vital. As he told Lewis Howes, “Two of the biggest killers in our society are heart disease and cancer, and both of these diseases can be mostly prevented through a healthy lifestyle and regular checkups. Your chances of recovery from cancer is 93-100%  depending on the cancer type if you catch it early. I think most people delay their check ups until they need to do it. Once they have symptoms they will check it out, but then it could be too late. Preventive care is probably the best thing you can do for a number of reasons.”

The first step toward preventative care and longevity is a simple, at-home blood test. After downloading the Kyla app, you’ll be asked a few simple questions. This helps the app formulate a risk analysis that includes your projected life expectancy. The app offers the option to order an at-home Hormone & Vitamin Panel from Kyla. You can also order it online. Just complete an easy two-minute, online health quiz and select the best test for you.

Some home-testing companies charge hundreds of dollars for a hormone test. Kyla’s comprehensive tests cost just $99 – which may be covered by your insurance. You’ll receive the kit a few days after ordering. Follow the simple instructions for sample collection and return it to our labs postage-free. You’ll soon receive the results which will reveal whether or not you have a hormone imbalance along with the current state of your heart, kidney, and liver health. Along with hormone levels, you’ll learn about your blood sugar and cholesterol levels. You’ll also discover if you have deficiencies in vitamin D, B9, or B12. You’ll be able to take control of your well-being, prevent chronic illnesses, and extend your healthy years with at-home blood tests and AI-driven action plans. Because setting actionable goals is an important step toward personalized medicine. 

Wearables Can Help Extend Longevity 

One of the most important steps in the data-driven longevity revolution involves something so familiar it’s easy to ignore: wearables. Because devices like the Apple Watch and Fitbit have been around for over a decade, it’s easy to forget that they have been invaluable and game changing when it comes to improving health outcomes.

“We used to have to hook people up to expensive machinery [to monitor heart function],” Jamie Robertson, PhD, MPH, Director of Innovation in Surgical Education at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Program Co-Director of Harvard Medical School’s Post-Graduate Medical Education explained to Lisa D. Ellis. “Today, we have lots of effective heart rate–monitoring options [via wearables] that are easy to use and noninvasive [for patients to use themselves].” Patients who need to have their heart rate monitored are now able to engage in normal daily activities because they’re wearing a small device that records their heart rate. It’s not just convenient but also provides more realistic data than would be provided in a clinical setting. 

In one study of Apple Watch wearers and early warnings, it was shown that the device could identify heart rhythm irregularities. This can indicate atrial fibrillation – a condition that often goes undetected because it’s usually symptom-free. This type of irregular heart rhythm is a leading cause of stroke and hospitalization in the United States. The study enrolled more than 400,000 participants over eight months. “The study’s findings will help patients and clinicians understand how devices like Apple Watch can play a role in identifying atrial fibrillation, a deadly and often undiagnosed disease,” Mintu Turakhia, MD, associate professor of cardiovascular medicine told Stanford Medicine News Center. “Additionally, these important findings lay the foundation for further research into the use of emerging wearable technologies in clinical practice and demonstrate the unique potential of large-scale app-based studies.” 

In a study of bus drivers who were given a wearable fitness device (in this case a Fitbit) the average total healthcare cost for participants in the program was almost 25 percent or $1,300 less per person than those who didn’t. One year after enrolling in the program, the average Fitbit-wearing driver enjoyed an average decrease in LDL cholesterol levels of 12 points and an average decrease in glucose levels of 17 points. A different Fitbit corporate wellness program saved an employer $2.3 million over two years thanks to improved health outcomes. 

Today, there are over one billion wearable devices worldwide. Meanwhile, a research paper on “The Healthcare Data Explosion” shows that almost one-third of global data volume is generated by the healthcare industry (mostly from wearables and hospital diagnostics). Much of this data remains untapped and unstructured. It could be utilized.

Kyla is working hard to do just that. As Kyla founder, Garick Hismatullin notes, “The goal of Kyla is to create a global primary care program that tackles human longevity. When we think about primary care, we think about going to an office where an old doctor takes our blood pressure and does blood work. These doctors don’t have access to all of your data and are not thinking about extending your life 20 to 30 years beyond natural human lifespan and beyond.” 

Personal medicine means that AI constantly ingests and analyses data about you including basic family history, nutrition, and your genome. Hismatullin believes that future progress in longevity will be driven by “…remote diagnostics, such as mail in blood work or smartwatch data… If you combine those two, you have an AI in your pocket that is constantly working with your medical team on monitoring and improving your biomarkers through medications, supplements, personalized nutrition plans, and eventually prescribing anti-aging therapies. Something that even the best concierge doctor is not capable of doing.” If you want to join the longevity revolution, download the Kyla app today!

Sources:

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“The Healthcare Data Explosion: The Convergence of Healthcare and Technology,” Capital Markets RBC. https://www.rbccm.com/en/gib/healthcare/episode/the_healthcare_data_explosion#content-panel