‘Superpower’ found in people living to 100 - scientists discover secret to longer life
The average life expectancy in the US is 79 years - with those living to 100 exceeding averages by over 20 years. Now, experts say they have a 'superhuman' ability.
A Swedish study suggests people 'that live to 100 seem to possess the superhuman ability to avoid disease,' said Karin Modig, Associate Professor in Epidemiology at the Karolinska Institute.
Dr Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Geroscience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, called it 'the compression of morbidity' as he spoke to the Daily Mail. In his studies, he says sickness is delayed until the final weeks or months of life.
"They lived, lived, lived and died," he said of his own studies. He believes that the biological processes that slow down ageing aren't confined to the immune system and your health, but operate throughout the body.
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During the Swedish research, Modig reveals that two studies were undertaken, in which they 'compared long and shorter-lived people born in the same year.'
The results found that those who lived to, or past, the age of 100 suffered fewer diseases, and also developed them slower.
"They’re also less likely to experience deadly conditions, such as major cardiovascular disease, compared to their shorter-lived peers," she wrote in The Conversation.
In the first study, researchers analyzed the health of over 170,000 Swedish residents born between 1920 and 1922, for 40 years. From age 60 until their death, or until they reached 100.
Their risk of conditions and diseases including stroke, heart attack, hip fracture and various cancers, were calculated and compared. Those who lived to or past 100 had lower rates of disease throughout their life overall, and in late- mid life.
Key findings were that at the age of 85, 4 percent of those who went on to 100 had experienced a stroke, compared to 10 percent of those who almost reached 100.
The same went for heart attacks, with 12.5 percent of those having reached 100 suffered one, compared to 24 percent of those who lived between 80-89.
Therefore, they conclude that those who live longer delay or even avoid big health implications such as these, rather than just surviving them more.
In a second study, more diseases were analyzed, and while some of these were major, others were mild, and the same results were reached.
"Centenarians developed fewer diseases – and their rate of disease accumulation was slower across their lifetime," Modig stated.
As well as this, the team found that they also 'demonstrated greater resilience to neuropsychiatric conditions'.
However, researchers cannot yet conclude whether longevity and being 'more resistant' to heart and brain-related diseases is down to 'genetics, lifestyle, environment or a combination of these factors'.
Barzilai, however, believes genetics play a powerful role. "If both parents were centenarians, your life expectancy jumps by 24 percent. Even one centenarian parent gives you a 13 percent boost."
'Proteins could be the key,' another study says
There have been thousands of studies in to those who live past 100, with those researching whether there's anything extra citizens can do to live a longer life, or whether it's just in the genes.
Another study, Karl-Heinz Krause, professor emeritus at UNIGE’s Faculty of Medicine analyzed blood samples of centenarians, octogenarians, and people between 30 to 60.
They looked at a lot of proteins, 724 to be exact, and found those over the age of 100 typically age differently than everyone else. In fact, they had 37 proteins which were similar to those in the younger age groups.
Kiesha Dosanjh