In a new study from Oxford and elsewhere, researchers found people probably cannot slow the rate at which they get older because of biological constraints.
The study set out to test the ‘invariant rate of aging’ hypothesis, which says that a species has a relatively fixed rate of aging from adulthood.
The findings support the theory that, rather than slowing down death, more people are living much longer due to a reduction in mortality at younger ages.
The team compared birth and death data from humans and non-human primates and found this general pattern of mortality was the same in all of them. This suggests that biological, rather than environmental factors, ultimately control longevity.
The results confirmed that individuals live longer as health and living conditions improve, which leads to increased longevity across an entire population.
Nevertheless, a steep rise in death rates, as years advance into old age, is clear to see in all species.
In the study, the research team analyzed information from 30 primate species, 17 in the wild and 13 in zoos, including gorillas, baboons, chimpanzees and guenons.
And it examined birth and death records from nine diverse human populations in 17th to 20th century Europe, the Caribbean and Ukraine, and two hunter-gatherer groups between 1900 and 2000.
All the datasets revealed the same general pattern of mortality: A high risk of death in infancy that rapidly declines in the immature and teenage years, remains low until early adulthood, and then continually rises in advancing age.
The findings confirm that, in historical populations, life expectancy was low because many people died young. But as medical, social, and environmental improvements continued, life expectancy increased.
More and more people get to live much longer now. However, the trajectory toward death in old age has not changed.
This study suggests evolutionary biology trumps everything, and so far, medical advances have been unable to beat these biological constraints.
If you care about aging, please read studies about how to prevent premature skin aging effectively and findings of this common drug can help prevent muscle aging.
For more information about aging and your health, please see recent studies about this diet may help prevent brain aging and results showing that this treatment could reverse aging in older people.
The study is published in Nature Communications. One author of the study is Fernando Colchero.
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