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Bill Clinton 70 years and counting

Life expectancies of ex-presidents now top Adams’ 90+ years

William Jefferson Clinton was born 70 years ago today at the Julia Chester Hospital in Hope. He grew up to become the 42nd president of the United States, after serving Arkansas as governor and attorney general.
William Jefferson Clinton was born 70 years ago today at the Julia Chester Hospital in Hope. He grew up to become the 42nd president of the United States, after serving Arkansas as governor and attorney general.

For most of the nation's history, the record for oldest ex-president belonged to John Adams.

His mark for longevity -- 90 years, 247 days -- remained intact throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, finally being shattered by Ronald Reagan in 2001.

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Since then, a string of modern American leaders has also surpassed Adams. And with medicine improving and lifespans expanding, there will likely be others living into their 90s and beyond, medical experts say.

That's good news for former Presidents Bill Clinton, who turns 70 today, and George W. Bush, who reached the same milestone last month.

"It is a good time, it is an absolutely fabulous time, to be alive because there's so many things you can do to improve life and extend life," said Dr. Gohar Azhar, an associate professor in the Department of Geriatrics in the College of Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

In 1911, when Reagan was born, the average life expectancy for a male at birth was about 51 years. By Aug. 19, 1946, the day Clinton arrived at Julia Chester Hospital in Hope, that figure had climbed to 64.4 years.

Today, the life expectancy is 76.4 years for a newborn boy and 81.2 years for a newborn girl, according to the latest available figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

For much of the 20th century, the nation's commanders in chief lived relatively short lives. John F. Kennedy, 46, and William McKinley, 58, died prematurely because of assassins' bullets. But illness cut the lives of others: Theodore Roosevelt at 60; Calvin Coolidge at 60; Franklin Roosevelt at 63; Lyndon Johnson at 64; and Woodrow Wilson at 67.

In more recent decades, however, the nation's leaders have had longer lives.

"Actually, everyone in the developed nations is living longer and longer, and presidents, of course, are just following the general trend in the population," Azhar said.

Early in the 20th century, tuberculosis and syphilis were among the top-10 killers; measles, mumps, smallpox and other maladies also lurked. Mid-century, polio cut lives short.

Today, vaccinations and antibiotics have greatly reduced the threat posed by infectious diseases, Azhar said.

Advances in cardiac medicine have also helped extend life, she added.

Clinton was diagnosed with coronary artery disease in 2004 and had bypass surgery. In 2010, Clinton underwent surgery to place stents in a coronary artery.

People who exercise, eat properly, avoid tobacco and maintain a healthy weight are likely to long endure, assuming they have the right DNA, she said. Clinton received public attention for changes made to his diet after his heart procedures.

"You have to choose your parents wisely. You have to have good genes," Azhar said. "Once you have the good genetic makeup, if you have the good lifestyle along with it and you have the best medical care, there's no reason nowadays [not] to live into the 90s or past 90s."

In the late 1960s, there was a theory that winning the White House was hazardous to one's health. The Journal of the Mississippi State Medical Association even published an article in 1968 titled: "The Toll of the Presidency: A Shorter Life."

But S. Jay Olshansky, a professor in the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, did his own study, determining that presidents who die of natural causes typically live longer than other men in their age group.

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2011, Olshansky found that 23 of 34 presidents lived longer than others in their age groups.

In an interview, Olshansky said presidents "tend to be of a privileged class."

"They've almost all been wealthy. They've almost all been highly educated. They've almost all had access to the best medical care. You provide that to anyone else in the United States, and they're going to do just as well," he said.

But advances in the prevention and treatment of heart disease, strokes and cancer have benefited large numbers of people -- not just presidents.

"People who ordinarily would've died in their 50s, 60s and 70s are now living into their 70s, 80s and 90s. So we've done a very good job of extending life for a broad range of people," he said.

Adams, who entered this century designated as the nation's longest-lived ex-president, is now fifth on the list. Gerald Ford, who lived 93 years, 165 days, is now first. Reagan, who lived 93 years, 120 days, is second. Of living former presidents, two -- George H.W. Bush, at 92, and Jimmy Carter, at 91 -- have surpassed Adams and are still going.

Our current president? Barack Obama just turned 55.

Metro on 08/19/2016

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