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Longevity: More than a trend?
Potential from prevention to disease management to health tourism Our understanding of health is increasingly experiencing a paradigm shift against the backdrop of the longevity debate: from pure treatment to extending healthy years of life - the core goal behind longevity. Complementary approaches such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are becoming increasingly important. This is particularly true when combating common diseases...
Longevity: More than a trend?
Potentials from prevention to disease management to health tourism
Against the background of the longevity debate, our understanding of health is increasingly experiencing a paradigm shift: from pure treatment to extending healthy years of life - the core goal behind longevity. Complementary approaches such as Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are becoming increasingly important. This is particularly true when combating common diseases such as diabetes mellitus. There is potential here for patients, society and the economy: through a reduction in the burden of disease as well as a better quality of life, a reduction in costs and new offers on the part of the healthcare industry.
Against this background, the network meeting “Synergies.Rhein-Main.Leshan” recently took place at the IHK Darmstadt. Different areas and actors were brought together here: health industry from the Rhine-Main region, expertise on TCM from China and modern tourism. The meeting was organized by InnoNet Health Economy e. V. and International Culture Cooperations (ICC).
Longevity 1: We need new strategies for health
The urgency of new, holistic strategies can be demonstrated by looking at the widespread disease diabetes mellitus. Data from the Robert Koch Institute (2021) shows that diabetes can significantly shorten the life expectancy of those affected. The difference in expected healthy years of life for young adults can therefore be over eleven years!
Against this background, too, the InnoNet specialist contributions set the pace at the network meeting:
– Brigit Härtle, InnoNet President, introduced the topic block of medicine, health and life sciences with a lecture on the network.
– Daniel Schilling (Board Member, IKK Südwest) looked at the role of disease management programs in Germany, with a focus on diabetes mellitus.
– Dr. Alexander Scherrer (Fraunhofer ITWM, deputy head of the “Optimization in the Life Sciences” department) provided insights into research and transfer projects relating to data science and AI in the healthcare sector.
– Prof. Dr. Bernd Sagemann (HealthCare Compliance Officer) took a critical look at medical ethics and compliance in the life science sector.
– Diana Klich (Development Manager at Qurasoft GmbH) presented multifunctional “digital medical solutions for chronically ill people”.
Longevity 2: From phytomedicine to acupuncture
The synergies between TCM and longevity are diverse and can be visualized in the basic idea of TCM, which focuses on prevention and maintaining balance. This was evident in Darmstadt during the lecture by Zeng Wei, director of the Leshan Health Commission, who presented the region's medicinal and herbal culture.
Research projects are increasingly focusing on the connections between longevity, common diseases and TCM:
– This is how e.g. B. TCM phytotherapy has been investigated as an adjuvant therapy to Western antidiabetic medication: This shows, among other things, significant improvements in blood sugar levels and blood lipids (Scholz A., 2020).
– The TCM herbal mixture Tianqi could have the potential to reduce the rate of new diabetes cases in pre-diabetes patients as effectively as the drug metformin (Lian et al., 2014).
– The health-promoting effects of TCM acupuncture have been proven, among other things. the ACUDPN study (Dietzel, 2023). A pain-relieving effect on diabetic neuropathy (DPN) and a significant improvement in quality of life were demonstrated here.
Longevity 3: A completely new type of health tourism
The longevity idea is not only exciting from a health and economic perspective, but also for tourism. The so-called “longevity tourism” uses, among other things, the holistic programs of TCM: from personalized diagnostics for the early identification of imbalances to Qigong and anti-stress acupuncture.
The fact that entire regions can be networked, e.g. When it comes to city marketing, for example, it became clear in Darmstadt: As a tourist greeting, the delegation from Leshan brought large-format photographs of the “Big Buddha” (UNESCO World Heritage) to the IHK. In return, the Chinese delegation experienced an exclusive tour of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Mathildenhöhe. The temple block on tourism and culture was organized by Skål International Germany.
And how “durable” is that now?
In the spirit of long-term networking, the event ended with a warm invitation from the Vice Mayor of Leshan to the participants for further exchange as part of the 2026 Tourism and Culture Fair in Leshan. A potential “long-lasting effect” of this event that arouses curiosity about possible projects and new ideas in the spirit of Longevity.
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