US EditionYour genes matter more for lifespan now than they did a century ago: Here's why
- Recently, researchers at the Weizmann Institute published in Science that genetics influence around 55 percent of lifespan variation, overturning earlier estimates of about 25%.
- Previous studies used 18th- and 19th-century population cohorts with high extrinsic deaths: accidents and infections, which obscured intrinsic deaths from aging and genetic factors.
- Using mortality models and simulations, the team analyzed Sweden and Denmark twin cohorts, then validated results across three twin studies, including twins raised apart and US siblings of centenarians.
- Ben Shenhar and colleagues urge genetic follow-up while warning against misreading the headline figure, noting about half of lifespan variation depends on environment, lifestyle and health care.
- Because heritability depends on population and context, it rises when environmental variation narrows, as seen with height after improved nutrition, and will shift as extrinsic deaths decline in developed-country populations.
13 Articles
13 Articles
What new twins study reveals about genes, environment and longevity
Digital Media Pro/Shutterstock.comWhy do some people live to 100 while their sibling dies decades earlier? Is it luck, lifestyle, or something written into their DNA? Relative to many other species, humans are particularly long lived, but there is an ongoing argument about how much of our long lifespan is shaped by our genes and how much to our environment. It’s the old “nature versus nurture” debate. Researchers have repeatedly used large popul…
Bad news for longevity freaks: According to a recent study, how old we can become is much more dependent on our genes than previously thought. Examples of hundred-year-olds from Brazil prove this.
Your genes matter more for lifespan now than they did a century ago: Here's why
How much do your genes determine how long you'll live? It's a question that fascinates us, and one that's been debated for decades. For years, the answer seemed settled—genes account for about 20–25% of the variation in human lifespan, with the rest down to lifestyle and environment.
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