Investigation of hereditary factors of healthy aging

Scientists analyzed data from three studies: LonGenity, the New England Centenarian Study (NECS), and the UK Biobank. In total, they compared 2,319 descendants of centenarians and 2,703 control participants. The descendants of centenarians had at least one parent who lived to be 100 years old, while the parents of the control participants lived to be 85 years old or less.

It turned out that, after taking into account lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, physical exercise and diet, as well as education and socio‑economic status, the descendants of long‑lived individuals have a 42 % lower risk of death at any age, a 33 % lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, and a 32 % lower risk of hypertension compared to people whose parents lived shorter lives.

Moreover, these diseases occur later in the descendants of long‑lived individuals: death occurs approximately three years later, and hypertension — five years later. Having a long‑lived parent does not provide clear protection against stroke (the risk is reduced only in the LonGenity and NECS studies) and cancer (offspring of long‑lived individuals do not develop cancer more often).

“This does not mean that lifestyle is unimportant — healthy behavior is important for everyone. But some people from families with exceptional longevity appear to have biological advantages that help them stay healthy despite the environmental and behavioral factors that affect all of us,” says Eric Reid, the lead author of the study.