Can life expectancy be influenced?
Long life is not defined in DNA. Living a healthy lifestyle and avoiding risk factors can have a positive impact on longevity.
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The term “longevity” is synonymous with a long life. And living longer isn't just a coincidence. Medical progress has made a significant contribution to many people reaching their potential maximum age. But that's not the only factor.
Research shows not only the influence of genetics on the aging process and the likelihood of suffering age-related chronic diseases, but also that of lifestyle and environmental factors. Some of these influences can be influenced, i.e. daily diet, nutritional or exercise habits can help or harm, while other influences are more static.
Difference between longevity, lifespan, and life expectancy
There are a few nuances here. Longevity means an extended life span compared to most people while living a healthy lifestyle. Life expectancy is how long you still have to live given the year of birth and other demographic factors.
Thanks to decades of medical innovation, the average life expectancy — i.e. the number of years a person still has to live based on their year of birth and other demographic factors (such as age, gender, and geographical location) — has increased.
Increasing life expectancy paves the way for longevity research
In the 20th century, life expectancy rose by a remarkable 30 years. Around 1900, the life expectancy of adults was only about 47 years. 90 years later, it was 75 years, and in 2010, life expectancy reached almost 79 years. This drastic increase is due to the fact that advances in medicine and public health (improvement of living conditions and socio-economic status) have prevented early childhood deaths. Since then, the increase in general life expectancy has been relatively modest.
And as people are now living longer, deaths from age-related chronic diseases have increased. Increasing life expectancy and improving longevity now depend on extending life at a later age. And that is exactly what longevity research is focused on. So the question remains: How can you increase life expectancy? How does genetics influence life expectancy?
Our genes don't determine how long we'll live. In twins, only 20-30% of the different years of life are hereditary. Whole genome sequencing has only just made it possible to analyze the genetic variants associated with aging more precisely. A 2016 study found that the children of parents with a long life expectancy have more protective alleles — or different forms of the same gene variant — for heart health, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol and triglyceride levels, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and Alzheimer's.
Even though genes may play a role in longevity or lifespan, reaching the last few decades of the human lifespan is a combination of genetics and environment.
How does lifestyle affect life expectancy?
Certain lifestyle factors, such as the quality and quantity of sleep, diet — including when you eat or don't eat — exercise, alcohol, and smoking can all have an impact on life expectancy.
Sleep
Sleep plays an essential role in attention, perception, mood, stress management, and cell and muscle repair. It has been found that there are some common sleep characteristics among people with a long lifespan. A small study from 2014 compared the sleep habits of people aged 85 years and older with those of 60-year-olds. The analysis revealed that the older group had a strict sleep-wake rhythm and deep sleep. They also had higher levels of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) and lower triglyceride levels than their slightly younger peers.
Even though this study does not mean that a good night's sleep extends life by decades, it does show a connection between sleep, longevity and fat metabolism.
Nutrition
There is a wealth of evidence that there is a close link between food, diet and aging. Here are some foods that may promote or hinder the aging process:
Red meat: A study that examined the relationship between animal and plant protein sources and the risk of death found that both a higher ratio of animal to vegetable protein and an overall higher meat consumption were associated with an increased risk of death.
Coffee and green tea: Drinking coffee and tea is associated with longevity. Compared to quitting coffee, drinking three cups of coffee a day is associated with a 12 to 17% reduced risk of dying from all causes. And drinking four cups of green tea a day is associated with a five percent reduction in overall mortality.
Vegetables: Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale contain sulforaphane, a sulfur-containing compound that activates anti-inflammatory and detoxifying mechanisms. Sulforaphane can support aging at a cellular level and help the body cope with daily stressors.
Physical activity
The natural loss of muscle and fat-free body mass starts with age and can begin as early as the early forties. Resistance training stimulates muscle growth and is the best way to counteract this age-related muscle loss. A large-scale study found that middle to older people who should increase their physical activity had an advantage in their longevity and were better protected against all-cause mortality than inactive people.
Intermittent fasting
Routine intermittent fasting — including time-limited diet, alternating fasting, or 5:2 intermittent fasting — can result in longer life expectancy and has been shown to protect against age-related chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Social networks and relationships
Social relationships have an impact on health and longevity. Research shows that social isolation, particularly among older people, can increase the likelihood of death by 50% to 91%.
Alcohol consumption and smoking
A recent study from 2020 found that moderate alcohol consumption, i.e. no more than one drink per day, could increase life expectancy by almost one year, while higher alcohol consumption resulted in a loss of almost seven years. The loss was more than 10 years when drinkers also smoked, which was the case for the majority (65-80%) of drinkers.
An older study found that the life expectancy of smokers who quit smoking at age 35 can be extended by seven to almost nine years — and quitting smoking earlier could result in an even greater life extension.
How can you tell how fast you are aging?
It is no longer impossible to live to be 100 years or older. But people age at different rates. And your birthday isn't the best indicator of how old you actually are.
Lifestyle decisions such as diet, physical activity and social contacts play a role when it comes to delaying death or bringing it about prematurely. But even before that happens, these lifestyle decisions have either a positive or negative effect on the internal state of the body.
To find out how fast you age, these commonly used methods are available:
1. Biomarkers: There are certain biomarkers that can indicate oxidative stress and specific aging processes, such as glycation end products (AGEs), which are associated with aging processes.
2. Biological age: This method attempts to determine the biological age resulting from the combination of genetic factors and environmental factors. There are several tests based on various biological parameters, such as telomere length, methylation patterns, epigenetics tests, immune function tests, etc.
3. Physical tests: Some physical tests can be used to observe aging behavior. This includes, for example, determining muscle strength, balance and posture, measuring heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and other blood parameters.
4. Cognitive testing: Cognitive function can be a good indicator of the aging process. The use of cognitive tests can help measure the aging process and decline in cognitive function.
It is important to note, however, that no method alone can be used as an absolute measurement to determine how fast you age.
References
- Olshansky, S.J. & Carnes, B.A. (2019). Inconvenient Truths About Human Longevity The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 74(Supplement_1), S7—S12. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glz098
- Pilling, L.C., Atkins, J.L., Bowman, K., Jones, S.E., Tyrrell, J., Beaumont, R.N., Ruth, K.S., Tuke, M.A., Yaghootkar, H., Wood, A.R., Freathy, R.M., Murray, A., Weedon, M.N., Xue, L., Lunetta, K., Murabito, J.M. Ries, L.W., Robine, J.M., Brayne, C.,. Melzer, D. (2016). Human longevity is influenced by many genetic variants: evidence from 75,000 UK Biobank participants. Aging, 8(3), 547—560. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.100930
- Giuliani, C., Garagnani, P. & Franceschi, C. (2018). Genetics of Human Longevity Within an Eco-Evolutionary Nature-Nurture Framework. Circulation Research, 123(7), 745—772. https://doi.org/10.1161/circresaha.118.312562
- Worley SL. The Extraordinary Importance of Sleep: The Detrimental Effects of Inadequate Sleep on Health and Public Safety Drive an Explosion of Sleep Research. P.T. 2018 Dec; 43 (12) :758-763. PMID: 30559589; PMCID: PMC6281147.
- Mazzotti, D.R., Guindalini, C., Moraes, W.A.D.S., Andersen, M.L., Cendoroglo, M.S., Ramos, L.R. & Tufik, S. (2014). Human longevity is associated with regular sleep patterns, maintenance of slow wave sleep, and favorable lipid profiles. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00134
- Virtanen, H.E., Voutilainen, S., Koskinen, T.T., Mursu, J., Kokko, P., Ylilauri, M.P., Tuomainen, T.P., Salonen, J.T. & Virtanen, J.K. (2019). Dietary proteins and protein sources and risk of death: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 109(5), 1462-1471. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqz025
- Malerba, S., Turati, F., Galleon, C., Pelucchi, C., Verga, F., La Vecchia, C. & Tavani, A. (2013). A meta-analysis of prospective studies of coffee consumption and mortality for all causes, cancers and cardiovascular diseases. European Journal of Epidemiology, 28(7), 527—539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-013-9834-7
- Poole, R., Kennedy, O.J., Roderick, P., Fallowfield, J.A., Hayes, P.C. & Parkes, J. (2017). Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ, j5024. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j5024
- Kubo, E., Chhunchha, B., Singh, P., Sasaki, H. & Singh, D.P. (2017). Sulforaphane reactivates cellular antioxidant defense by inducing NRF2/Are/PRDX6 activity during aging and oxidative stress. Scientific Reports, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14520-8
- Mattson, M.P., Longo, V.D. & Harvie, M. (2017). Impact of intermittent fasting on health and disease processes. Ageing Research Reviews, 39, 46—58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2016.10.005
- Yang, Y.C., Boen, C., Gerken, K., Li, T., Schorpp, K. & Harris, K.M. (2016). Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(3), 578—583. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511085112
- van den Brandt, P.A. & Brandts, L. (2020). Alcohol consumption in later life and reaching longevity: the Netherlands Cohort Study. Age and Ageing, 49(3), 395—402. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afaa003
- Abdullah, S.M., Defina, L.F., Leonard, D., Barlow, C.E., Radford, N.B., Willis, B.L., Rohatgi, A., McGuire, D.K., de Lemos, J.A., Grundy, S.M., Berry, J.D. & Khera, A. (2018). Long-term Association of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol With Cardiovascular Mortality in Individuals at Low 10-Year Risk of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease. Circulation, 138(21), 2315—2325. https://doi.org/10.1161/circulationaha.118.034273
- Furman, D., Campisi, J., Verdin, E., Carrera-Bastos, P., Targ, S., Franceschi, C., Ferrucci, L., Gilroy, D.W., Fasano, A., Miller, G.W., Miller, A.H., Mantovani, A., Weyand, C.M., Barzilai, N., Goronzy, J.J., Rando, T.A., Effros, R.B., Lucia, A., Kleinspreer, N. & Slavich, G.M. (2019). Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span. Nature Medicine, 25(12), 1822—1832. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0675-0
Publiziert
25.4.2024
Kategorie
Longevity
The term “longevity” is synonymous with a long life. And living longer isn't just a coincidence. Medical progress has made a significant contribution to many people reaching their potential maximum age. But that's not the only factor.
Research shows not only the influence of genetics on the aging process and the likelihood of suffering age-related chronic diseases, but also that of lifestyle and environmental factors. Some of these influences can be influenced, i.e. daily diet, nutritional or exercise habits can help or harm, while other influences are more static.
Difference between longevity, lifespan, and life expectancy
There are a few nuances here. Longevity means an extended life span compared to most people while living a healthy lifestyle. Life expectancy is how long you still have to live given the year of birth and other demographic factors.
Thanks to decades of medical innovation, the average life expectancy — i.e. the number of years a person still has to live based on their year of birth and other demographic factors (such as age, gender, and geographical location) — has increased.
Increasing life expectancy paves the way for longevity research
In the 20th century, life expectancy rose by a remarkable 30 years. Around 1900, the life expectancy of adults was only about 47 years. 90 years later, it was 75 years, and in 2010, life expectancy reached almost 79 years. This drastic increase is due to the fact that advances in medicine and public health (improvement of living conditions and socio-economic status) have prevented early childhood deaths. Since then, the increase in general life expectancy has been relatively modest.
And as people are now living longer, deaths from age-related chronic diseases have increased. Increasing life expectancy and improving longevity now depend on extending life at a later age. And that is exactly what longevity research is focused on. So the question remains: How can you increase life expectancy? How does genetics influence life expectancy?
Our genes don't determine how long we'll live. In twins, only 20-30% of the different years of life are hereditary. Whole genome sequencing has only just made it possible to analyze the genetic variants associated with aging more precisely. A 2016 study found that the children of parents with a long life expectancy have more protective alleles — or different forms of the same gene variant — for heart health, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol and triglyceride levels, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, and Alzheimer's.
Even though genes may play a role in longevity or lifespan, reaching the last few decades of the human lifespan is a combination of genetics and environment.
How does lifestyle affect life expectancy?
Certain lifestyle factors, such as the quality and quantity of sleep, diet — including when you eat or don't eat — exercise, alcohol, and smoking can all have an impact on life expectancy.
Sleep
Sleep plays an essential role in attention, perception, mood, stress management, and cell and muscle repair. It has been found that there are some common sleep characteristics among people with a long lifespan. A small study from 2014 compared the sleep habits of people aged 85 years and older with those of 60-year-olds. The analysis revealed that the older group had a strict sleep-wake rhythm and deep sleep. They also had higher levels of HDL cholesterol (the good cholesterol) and lower triglyceride levels than their slightly younger peers.
Even though this study does not mean that a good night's sleep extends life by decades, it does show a connection between sleep, longevity and fat metabolism.
Nutrition
There is a wealth of evidence that there is a close link between food, diet and aging. Here are some foods that may promote or hinder the aging process:
Red meat: A study that examined the relationship between animal and plant protein sources and the risk of death found that both a higher ratio of animal to vegetable protein and an overall higher meat consumption were associated with an increased risk of death.
Coffee and green tea: Drinking coffee and tea is associated with longevity. Compared to quitting coffee, drinking three cups of coffee a day is associated with a 12 to 17% reduced risk of dying from all causes. And drinking four cups of green tea a day is associated with a five percent reduction in overall mortality.
Vegetables: Cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, and kale contain sulforaphane, a sulfur-containing compound that activates anti-inflammatory and detoxifying mechanisms. Sulforaphane can support aging at a cellular level and help the body cope with daily stressors.
Physical activity
The natural loss of muscle and fat-free body mass starts with age and can begin as early as the early forties. Resistance training stimulates muscle growth and is the best way to counteract this age-related muscle loss. A large-scale study found that middle to older people who should increase their physical activity had an advantage in their longevity and were better protected against all-cause mortality than inactive people.
Intermittent fasting
Routine intermittent fasting — including time-limited diet, alternating fasting, or 5:2 intermittent fasting — can result in longer life expectancy and has been shown to protect against age-related chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
Social networks and relationships
Social relationships have an impact on health and longevity. Research shows that social isolation, particularly among older people, can increase the likelihood of death by 50% to 91%.
Alcohol consumption and smoking
A recent study from 2020 found that moderate alcohol consumption, i.e. no more than one drink per day, could increase life expectancy by almost one year, while higher alcohol consumption resulted in a loss of almost seven years. The loss was more than 10 years when drinkers also smoked, which was the case for the majority (65-80%) of drinkers.
An older study found that the life expectancy of smokers who quit smoking at age 35 can be extended by seven to almost nine years — and quitting smoking earlier could result in an even greater life extension.
How can you tell how fast you are aging?
It is no longer impossible to live to be 100 years or older. But people age at different rates. And your birthday isn't the best indicator of how old you actually are.
Lifestyle decisions such as diet, physical activity and social contacts play a role when it comes to delaying death or bringing it about prematurely. But even before that happens, these lifestyle decisions have either a positive or negative effect on the internal state of the body.
To find out how fast you age, these commonly used methods are available:
1. Biomarkers: There are certain biomarkers that can indicate oxidative stress and specific aging processes, such as glycation end products (AGEs), which are associated with aging processes.
2. Biological age: This method attempts to determine the biological age resulting from the combination of genetic factors and environmental factors. There are several tests based on various biological parameters, such as telomere length, methylation patterns, epigenetics tests, immune function tests, etc.
3. Physical tests: Some physical tests can be used to observe aging behavior. This includes, for example, determining muscle strength, balance and posture, measuring heart rate, blood pressure, cholesterol levels and other blood parameters.
4. Cognitive testing: Cognitive function can be a good indicator of the aging process. The use of cognitive tests can help measure the aging process and decline in cognitive function.
It is important to note, however, that no method alone can be used as an absolute measurement to determine how fast you age.
Referenzen
- Olshansky, S.J. & Carnes, B.A. (2019). Inconvenient Truths About Human Longevity The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 74(Supplement_1), S7—S12. https://doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glz098
- Pilling, L.C., Atkins, J.L., Bowman, K., Jones, S.E., Tyrrell, J., Beaumont, R.N., Ruth, K.S., Tuke, M.A., Yaghootkar, H., Wood, A.R., Freathy, R.M., Murray, A., Weedon, M.N., Xue, L., Lunetta, K., Murabito, J.M. Ries, L.W., Robine, J.M., Brayne, C.,. Melzer, D. (2016). Human longevity is influenced by many genetic variants: evidence from 75,000 UK Biobank participants. Aging, 8(3), 547—560. https://doi.org/10.18632/aging.100930
- Giuliani, C., Garagnani, P. & Franceschi, C. (2018). Genetics of Human Longevity Within an Eco-Evolutionary Nature-Nurture Framework. Circulation Research, 123(7), 745—772. https://doi.org/10.1161/circresaha.118.312562
- Worley SL. The Extraordinary Importance of Sleep: The Detrimental Effects of Inadequate Sleep on Health and Public Safety Drive an Explosion of Sleep Research. P.T. 2018 Dec; 43 (12) :758-763. PMID: 30559589; PMCID: PMC6281147.
- Mazzotti, D.R., Guindalini, C., Moraes, W.A.D.S., Andersen, M.L., Cendoroglo, M.S., Ramos, L.R. & Tufik, S. (2014). Human longevity is associated with regular sleep patterns, maintenance of slow wave sleep, and favorable lipid profiles. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2014.00134
- Virtanen, H.E., Voutilainen, S., Koskinen, T.T., Mursu, J., Kokko, P., Ylilauri, M.P., Tuomainen, T.P., Salonen, J.T. & Virtanen, J.K. (2019). Dietary proteins and protein sources and risk of death: the Kuopio Ischaemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 109(5), 1462-1471. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqz025
- Malerba, S., Turati, F., Galleon, C., Pelucchi, C., Verga, F., La Vecchia, C. & Tavani, A. (2013). A meta-analysis of prospective studies of coffee consumption and mortality for all causes, cancers and cardiovascular diseases. European Journal of Epidemiology, 28(7), 527—539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-013-9834-7
- Poole, R., Kennedy, O.J., Roderick, P., Fallowfield, J.A., Hayes, P.C. & Parkes, J. (2017). Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ, j5024. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.j5024
- Kubo, E., Chhunchha, B., Singh, P., Sasaki, H. & Singh, D.P. (2017). Sulforaphane reactivates cellular antioxidant defense by inducing NRF2/Are/PRDX6 activity during aging and oxidative stress. Scientific Reports, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-14520-8
- Mattson, M.P., Longo, V.D. & Harvie, M. (2017). Impact of intermittent fasting on health and disease processes. Ageing Research Reviews, 39, 46—58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arr.2016.10.005
- Yang, Y.C., Boen, C., Gerken, K., Li, T., Schorpp, K. & Harris, K.M. (2016). Social relationships and physiological determinants of longevity across the human life span. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(3), 578—583. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1511085112
- van den Brandt, P.A. & Brandts, L. (2020). Alcohol consumption in later life and reaching longevity: the Netherlands Cohort Study. Age and Ageing, 49(3), 395—402. https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afaa003
- Abdullah, S.M., Defina, L.F., Leonard, D., Barlow, C.E., Radford, N.B., Willis, B.L., Rohatgi, A., McGuire, D.K., de Lemos, J.A., Grundy, S.M., Berry, J.D. & Khera, A. (2018). Long-term Association of Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol With Cardiovascular Mortality in Individuals at Low 10-Year Risk of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease. Circulation, 138(21), 2315—2325. https://doi.org/10.1161/circulationaha.118.034273
- Furman, D., Campisi, J., Verdin, E., Carrera-Bastos, P., Targ, S., Franceschi, C., Ferrucci, L., Gilroy, D.W., Fasano, A., Miller, G.W., Miller, A.H., Mantovani, A., Weyand, C.M., Barzilai, N., Goronzy, J.J., Rando, T.A., Effros, R.B., Lucia, A., Kleinspreer, N. & Slavich, G.M. (2019). Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the life span. Nature Medicine, 25(12), 1822—1832. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-019-0675-0
Publiziert
25.4.2024
Kategorie
Longevity
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