Insight into the Degree to Which Longevity is Inherited

The present consensus on the inheritance of longevity is that genetic influences over aging only rise to importance in later life. Even then it is perhaps more a matter of resistance to accumulated molecular damage and its consequences than a slower pace of aging per se. Environment and choice throughout life are the overwhelming determinants of the course of aging leading into middle age, meaning exposure to pathogens, amount of visceral fat tissue, smoking, and similar line items. That of course raises the question as to the degree to which inherited longevity is a cultural rather than genetic phenomenon. Only a tiny minority of individuals can legitimately blame their genes for the sort of shape they are in at 65. Health and survival status at 95 are a different story, however, and genetics plays a larger role - at least in the context of a world lacking rejuvenation therapies, but that will cease to be the case soon enough. Researchers report that women whose mothers lived to at least age 90 were more likely to also live to 90, free of serious diseases and disabilities. The study found women whose mothers lived into their ninth decade enjoyed 25 percent increased likelihood of also doing so without suffering from serious or chronic illness, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, hip fractures or other debilitating disabilities. Interestingly, the study also found that if only the father lived to 90, it did not correlate to increased longevity ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs