A Tufts Medical Center statistician is following a 102-year-old man and his daughter as part of research into why some people reach 100 in good health.[1] The researcher, Paola Sebastiani, said the children of centenarians may be the key to understanding what protects them.[1]
Related: Blood Test Spots Signs of Advanced CTE in Early Study.
What the researchers track
Participants are followed every year. The team collects blood samples, monitors biomarkers and records changes in cognition, physical function and lifestyle.[1] “Reaching very old ages alone is not enough,” Sebastiani told WCVB, saying the goal is to understand how people stay healthy as they age.[1]
The 102-year-old, identified by WCVB only as Roger, says music is his passion and still plays the drums. His daughter, Martha, is also a study participant.[1]
What the work has found
Sebastiani’s research has found a genetic advantage for adults with at least one parent who lived to 100. In that group, age-related conditions such as cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure are often delayed by years compared with their peers.[1] Common traits among centenarians in her work include curiosity, social connection and strong family networks.[1]
After following centenarians’ children for 20 years, Sebastiani said in April that the group has had significantly lower risks of stroke, dementia, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.[2] A Tufts study published this spring in Innovation in Aging, with Boston University and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, found that these children tend to have slightly healthier eating habits.[2]
A Boston-based study
The data come from the New England Centenarian Study, which physician Thomas Perls began in 1995. It is based at Boston University’s Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, and Tufts describes it as the largest study of its kind in the world.[2] Sebastiani’s biostatistics group at Tufts Medical Center leads the study’s data analysis.[2]
Genetics accounts for about half of the variation in age at death when accidents and other non-biological causes are excluded, according to a recent paper in Science cited by Tufts. Researchers hope patterns in centenarians’ families can help everyone spend fewer years in poor health.[2]
More coverage is on our Health and Science pages.
Sources
- WCVB: Boston study explores secrets of healthy aging in centenarians
- Tufts Now: Their Parents Lived to 100. Do Their Diets Have Clues to Longevity?
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