Unlocking Longevity: Key Blood Differences Found in Exceptionally Long-Lived Individuals

Centenarians are becoming common. They are the fastest-growing demographic group, with their numbers doubling every ten years since the 1970s.

For centuries, people have wondered how long humans can live and what leads to a long, healthy life. Plato and Aristotle discussed this topic over 2,300 years ago.

Understanding the factors behind exceptional longevity is challenging. It requires examining the roles of genetics and lifestyle, as well as their interactions throughout life.

A recent study published in GeroScience identified common health markers, such as cholesterol and glucose levels, in people who live beyond 90 years.

Scientists have long studied nonagenarians and centenarians to learn how to live longer and maintain better health as we age.

Study Overview

This study is the largest to compare health markers among exceptionally long-lived individuals and their shorter-lived counterparts. We examined data from 44,000 Swedes aged 64 to 99 from the Amoris cohort.

These participants were tracked using Swedish register data for up to 35 years. Out of the group, 1,224, or 2.7%, reached the age of 100, with 85% being female.

The study also looked at kidney function, iron levels, and nutritional markers. The findings suggested that centenarians generally had lower levels of glucose, creatinine, and uric acid starting in their sixties.

Key Findings

Centenarians often had stable biomarker values, avoiding extreme highs or lows. For example, very few had glucose levels above 6.5 mmol/L or creatinine levels above 125 µmol/L earlier in life.

Both centenarians and non-centenarians occasionally fell outside normal clinical ranges, likely due to guidelines based on younger populations.

Most biomarkers, except for two, linked to the likelihood of reaching the age of 100, even after considering age, sex, and health conditions.

People with lower levels of total cholesterol and iron had a reduced chance of reaching 100 years. Higher levels of glucose, creatinine, uric acid, and liver function markers also decreased the likelihood of becoming a centenarian.

While the differences in biomarkers were small, they indicated a connection between health, nutrition, and longevity. However, the study did not determine which lifestyle factors or genes influenced these biomarker levels.

Nutrition and alcohol intake likely play a role as well. Monitoring kidney and liver function, along with glucose and uric acid levels, as one ages may be beneficial.

While chance also influences reaching extreme ages, early differences in biomarkers hint at the potential impact of genetics and lifestyle.

Karin Modig, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet