Longevity

Abstract

Life span is a multifactorial quantitative trait that is affected by genetic and environmental factors. It also contains a stochastic component resulting from the interaction between the individual’s chance of surviving and unpredictable events that occur throughout the life course. Advances in the treatment of fatal diseases and improvements in nutrition and living conditions led to a drastic reduction in death rate at young ages before 1950 and at old ages after 1950 in the developed world. As a result, mean life span has experienced a remarkable increase in developed countries.1 However, why some people live into their nineties or even become centenarians while others die earlier in life of infection, cancer, or inflammatory diseases such as atheroscelerosis, diabetes, or autoimmune disease remains largely unknown.