Events Jeanne Louise Calment, a
Frenchwoman, passed away at the age of 122 in 1997. She is considered to be the oldest person on Earth ever known to humankind. Only one out of six hundred thousand people on our planet lives to be 100 years old. Scientists have been asking these questions for a long time whether there is anything in common between centenarians, whether genetics affects a person's unique age. Today, researchers say they have found the answer to this question, and it is affirmative.
A team of specialists led by Paola Sebsstiani and Tom Perls compared 300,000 genetic markers of 800 centenarians with profiles ordinary people. They developed a genetic model that could be used to find out whether a person is genetically predisposed to live long. It turned out that among those who lived to be 100 years old, there are common genetic signatures that determined life expectancy with 77 percent accuracy. The results of the study suggest a breakthrough in our understanding that genes do influence a person's life expectancy.
“Out of 77 centenarians, we were able to correctly predict how many years they lived,” says Sebastiani. Experts believe that the error rate of 23 percent is a genetic difference not yet known to scientists and not included in the analysis. In addition, there are some other factors that affect durability. Science editor Andrew Sagden believes that a healthy lifestyle – a balanced diet, exercise and quitting bad habits play an undeniable role in how much years of life have been given to us.
By the age of 93, 90 percent of centenarians are fully capable, Perls notes. He notes that scientists are trying to understand how these genetic traits arise, how and how much the environment influences them, and what role each factor plays in this longevity puzzle.
According to Perls, a number of studies are planned in the future to shed light on how centenarian genes protect against common “age-related” diseases – dementia, heart disease and cancer. “This will not help ordinary people become centenarians, but perhaps the research results will clarify where age-related diseases come from. Like Alzheimer's, for example,” says Perls.
The results of the study were published on the Science Express website.