Siblings of centenarians have an increased chance of breaking the century mark, according to a study published on Monday, reinforcing the idea of a longevity gene.
The brother of a centenarian is 17 times more like to reach 100 than the average American, according to information collected from 444 families where at least one family member reached 100, and released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The sister of a centenarian is eight times more likely to reach 100, and 50% more likely to outlive the average American.
Likewise the brother of a centenarian – having reached
adulthood – also has 50% more of a chance of surpassing the American average age, according to authors Thomas Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study in Boston, and John Wilmouth of the University of California at Berkeley.
Perls and his colleagues last year announced the partial discovery of a region on chromosome 4 that is ”highly suggestive” of genetic predisposition to exceptional longevity.
In other words old age maybe an inherited trait.
Other studies have suggested that exceptionally long-lived people can pass protection against the diseases on to their children.
”This striking finding provides further evidence that
centenarians and their relatives are a special group in that they appear to be more resistant to disease or they survive disease better throughout the life span,” said Evan Hadley, associate director for geriatrics and clinical gerontology at the National Institute on Ageing, which financed the study.
”This survival advantage is likely due to genetics and
environmental factors, but the roles of each of these factors are still unclear,” said Hadley, who is also calling for a further study to clarify these issues.
– Sapa-AFP