More Evidence Against a Late Life Mortality Plateau

It has been suggested that in very late life mortality rates flatten out and cease to increase. This effect has been observed in flies and other short-lived species, and insofar as aging is defined as an increase in mortality rate over time, it implies that old individuals cease to age. This isn't a desirable sort of agelessness, of course, as the plateaued mortality rates are very high; individuals are in poor health and do not live much longer. How might we interpret this? That all of the most harmful damage has already been done, and further accumulated damage doesn't much change the near future outcome? In humans it is questionable as to whether there is enough data for people of 110 years and older to support any sort of rigorous conclusion about mortality rate trends in that sparse age group. The few researchers who have tried to crunch the numbers come away with quite different conclusions, depending on the details of their methodology, with the example here being one of those leaning towards an absence of a late life mortality plateau in our species. Accurate estimates of mortality at advanced ages are essential for forecasts of population aging and for testing the predictions of competing theories of aging. They also contribute to more reliable forecasts of future longevity. Earlier studies suggest that exponential growth of mortality (Gompertz law) is followed by a period of deceleration, with slower rates of mortality increase at extreme old ages. ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs