Adults with at least one parent who lived to age 100 or older are more likely to experience longer lifespans themselves, a new study has found. The research also indicates that children of centenarians have substantially lower risks of cardiovascular disease and hypertension.
The findings contribute to a growing body of evidence suggesting that exceptional longevity and healthy aging may have a familial component, with inherited traits playing a significant role.
"Centenarians – people who live to age 100 or older – offer crucial insights into what it looks like to age well," said Dr. Sofiya Milman, a professor of medicine and genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Boston University, and lead researcher on the study. "We wanted to know whether they pass their good health and longevity down to their children and, if so, whether those advantages can be explained by healthy habits or whether something more fundamental, such as genetics, is at work."
The study, conducted by researchers from Albert Einstein College and Tufts Medical Center in Boston, analyzed data from three long-running global studies. The health data of over 2,300 individuals whose parents were centenarians was compared with that of approximately 2,700 adults whose parents died before age 86.
Results indicated that the offspring of centenarians experienced health advantages even when lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise, and diet were taken into account.
Compared to individuals whose parents had shorter lifespans, centenarians' offspring demonstrated a 42% lower risk of death, a 33% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and a 32% lower risk of hypertension.
"The overall consistency of these findings reinforces the idea that exceptional longevity runs in families," stated Dr. Eric Reed, a researcher involved in the study. "This is not to say that lifestyle doesn't count. But some people from families with exceptional longevity appear to enjoy biological advantages that help them remain healthy despite the environmental and behavioural factors that affect us all."