Exceptional survival in human populations: National Institute on Aging perspectives and programs
Section snippets
Exceptional survival phenotypes
Just as the study of severe rare forms of common diseases has shed light on risk factors contributing to their more common forms, studying exceptionally favorable aging outcomes, such as exceptional longevity and exceptionally long survival without disease (health span) or disability (active life expectancy), can provide insights into protective factors that enhance longevity, health span, or active life expectancy in larger populations. In view of the fact that these different types of
Factors over the life course contributing to exceptional survival
An important element in research on exceptional survival outcomes is the identification of the characteristics of exceptional survivors that allowed them to age and survive so successfully. However, studies confined to the characteristics of the exceptionally old when they reach very advanced age can provide only limited insights into this issue. Further understanding of the factors contributing to exceptional survival can be gained from comparing characteristics of the exceptional survivors
Study designs for identifying factors contributing to exceptional survival
In view of evidence that longevity and other survival outcomes are influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, and by their interactions, the NIA supports studies examining a range of these factors. Two strategies for human studies are worth noting:
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Data from large population-based epidemiologic studies provide the power to detect effects of common alleles and environmental, even if they have relative modest effects individually or in combination.
In addition to individual research
Resources and resource needs for exceptional survival research
As noted earlier, longitudinal studies provide opportunities for analyses of existing data related to exceptional survival, as well as ancillary studies and follow-up studies. Existing longitudinal studies, particularly those with familial data or for which familial data could be obtained, are especially valuable for this purpose, as are family studies, twin registries, and genealogic registries with opportunities to collect longitudinal data. Demographic data sets, such as the Berkeley
Conclusion
Despite the considerable amount of productive planning and research to date on genetic and other factors contributing to exceptional survival, research in this field is still at an early stage. The work to date has the potential to contribute to the design of subsequent human studies that may identify the relationships of numerous specific genetic and other factors to a variety of exceptional survival outcomes.
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Forkhead-box-O1 locus and metabolic markers in the elderly: An association study
2012, Revista Espanola de Geriatria y GerontologiaBeta2-adrenergic receptor gene polymorphisms as systemic determinants of healthy aging in an evolutionary context
2010, Mechanisms of Ageing and DevelopmentCitation Excerpt :The pleiotropy of the effects of these genetic variants makes them promising candidates for studies of genetic predisposition to healthy aging (Melzer et al., 2007), which is often defined as life with preserved health and physical, social and mental wellness, independence, and quality of life (Peel et al., 2004). Although a common goal is to determine genetic pathway(s) which could directly modulate senescence (Johnson, 2005), a more realistic strategy is to understand mechanisms involved in the process of development of aging-associated disorders to improve the health of an increasing elderly population in contemporary societies (Hadley and Rossi, 2005; Melzer et al., 2007; Olshansky et al., 2007; Sierra et al., 2008). Currently, a large number of genetic studies focus on aging per se in model organisms and humans (Vijg and Suh, 2005).
Epidemiology of Aging
2008, Radiologic Clinics of North AmericaCitation Excerpt :In fact, many centenarians report that they were completely independent in self-care activities of daily living and free of disabling conditions up to their late nineties. In addition, a sizable proportion of centenarian “escapers” are totally independent and free of major medical conditions.17–24 The increasingly greater life expectancy of the population has been driven in part by reduced mortality at older ages (Table 2).8
Centenarians
2007, Encyclopedia of GerontologyCentenarians
2007, Encyclopedia of GerontologyThe future of aging therapies
2005, CellCitation Excerpt :Information about the program, including the process for proposing and selecting interventions, is available at http://www.nia.nih.gov/ResearchInformation/ScientificResources/InterventionsTestingProgram.htm. More recently, the Longevity Consortium, involving large-scale human population studies working in collaboration with researchers in the biology of aging, has been established to identify polymorphisms affecting longevity, including variants in homologs of genes that have effects on longevity in laboratory animals (Hadley and Rossi, 2005). Additional information on the consortium is available at http://www.longevityconsortium.org/.