Adults with at least one parent living to 100 years old are more likely to live longer than those whose fathers and mothers had shorter lifespans, a new study shows.
Children of centenarians also have significantly lower risks of cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, researchers found.
The findings add to a growing body of evidence that exceptional longevity and healthy aging run in families – with genetics proving more important than lifestyle.
“Centenarians – people who live to be 100 years or more – provide crucial insights into what it looks like to age well,” said lead researcher Dr. Sofiya Milman, professor of medicine and genetics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Boston University.
“We wanted to know whether they pass on their good health and longevity to their children and, if so, whether those benefits can be explained by healthy habits or whether something more fundamental, such as genetics, is at work.”
The study’s researchers – from Albert Einstein College and Tufts Medical Center in Boston – based their findings on three long-term global studies.
More than 2,300 people whose parents were centenarians had their health data available, compared with that of 2,700 adults whose parents died before age 86.
The research team found that the children of centenarians experienced health benefits even after lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption, exercise and diet were taken into account.
Comparison of a young and old woman’s face, which is split down the middle (stock photo)
Compared to children of people with shorter lifespans, the offspring of centenarians had a 42 percent lower risk of death, a 33 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 32 percent lower risk of hypertension.
“The overall consistency of these findings reinforces the idea that exceptional longevity runs in families,” said researcher Dr. Eric Reed.
‘This doesn’t mean that lifestyle doesn’t count.
‘But some people from families with exceptionally long lifespans appear to enjoy biological benefits that help them stay healthy despite the environmental and behavioral factors that affect us all.’
