Surviving Holocaust contributes to longevity

HOLOCAUST survivors live an average seven years longer than Jewish people who avoided the Nazi death camps, according to new research.

Their ordeal may have made them mentally and physically tougher – and more health aware, say scientists.

The study of around 83,000 men and women found mortality rates are around 16 per cent lower for those who were imprisoned.

Their average age at death was 84.8 years – compared to 77.7 for those who escaped Europe before Hitler’s reign of terror. This is despite suffering more life-threatening conditions such as high blood pressure, obesity, heart and kidney disease, dementia, cancer and osteoporosis.

It shows the old adage that ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’ really might be true.

Author Dr Gideon Koren, of Maccabi Healthcare Services, Tel Aviv, said: “The findings suggest although Holocaust survivors may experience more illnesses, the mortality in the group may be lower, which may be associated with the improved health literacy and unique resilience characteristics among Holocaust survivors.”

It is the first analysis of its kind and adds to evidence that survivors of horrific events emerge with a renewed sense of purpose and meaning – dubbed ‘post traumatic growth’.

Prisoners of war have been shown to emerge with remarkable productivity – and the phenomenon has also been identified in survivors of terrorism and natural disasters.

The study compared more than 38,000 Holocaust survivors born in Europe and nearly 35,000 Israelis all born between 1911 and 1945.

Both groups were insured by Maccabi Healthcare Services providing the team with extensive health data collected from 1998 to 2017.

Dr Koren said serious illnesses should shorten life so the discovery reported in JAMA Network Open is a “paradox”.

He said: “There is a broad understanding that a genocide experience sustained for five years would have serious consequences on the psycho- logic and physical well-being of individuals because of psychosocial trauma, post traumatic injury, poor hygiene, prolonged malnutrition, and suboptimal preventive means.”

Rates of hypertension, kidney disease and dementia were 16, eleven and seven per cent higher among the Holocaust survivors.

But a recent much smaller study of nearly 500 people found Holocaust survivors selected “maintaining good health” as a coping strategy almost twice as much as pre and post war Israeli immigrants.

This could lead to them being more likely to participate in medical screening for cancer and heart disease for example – and be diagnosed and treated earlier.

Dr Koren added: “There may be other factors among Holocaust survivors that have not been appropriately quantified but that may be associated with improved ability to survive.

“It can be argued that the subgroup that survived the extreme conditions that many individuals did not survive had coping abilities that rendered them more resilient to illnesses. It is conceivable that the stress response among Holocaust survivors is different so that these survivors are less sensitive to the consequences of some illnesses.”

Soldiers who have experienced combat-related trauma find greater meaning and satisfaction in their later lives secondary to these experiences.

Dr Koren said: “Resilience is commonly defined as adaptive characteristics of individuals to cope with and recover from adversity.

“Psychosocial determinants promoting resilience include optimism, cognitive flexibility, active coping skills, maintaining a supportive social network, attending to personal physical wellbeing and embracing a personal moral compass.

“It is conceivable that the Darwinistability to survive among Holocaust survivors who reached Israel was associated with favourable resilience despite the enduring consequences of serious illnesses.”

The findings could also have implications for the long-term health of the children of Holocaust survivors – thanks to the genes of their parents.

Added Dr Koren: “Moreover, the study underscores the paucity of existing information about psychosocial determinants of longevity, such as health literacy and community support.”

These survivors are less sensitive to the consequences of

some illnesses DR GIDEON KOREN