IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v10y2019i1d10.1038_s41467-018-07925-0.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Longevity defined as top 10% survivors and beyond is transmitted as a quantitative genetic trait

Author

Listed:
  • Niels Berg

    (Leiden University Medical Center
    University of Utah
    Radboud University)

  • Mar Rodríguez-Girondo

    (Leiden University Medical Center)

  • Ingrid K. Dijk

    (Radboud University)

  • Rick J. Mourits

    (Radboud University)

  • Kees Mandemakers

    (International Institute of Social History)

  • Angelique A. P. O. Janssens

    (Radboud University)

  • Marian Beekman

    (Leiden University Medical Center)

  • Ken R. Smith

    (University of Utah)

  • P. Eline Slagboom

    (Leiden University Medical Center
    Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing)

Abstract

Survival to extreme ages clusters within families. However, identifying genetic loci conferring longevity and low morbidity in such longevous families is challenging. There is debate concerning the survival percentile that best isolates the genetic component in longevity. Here, we use three-generational mortality data from two large datasets, UPDB (US) and LINKS (Netherlands). We study 20,360 unselected families containing index persons, their parents, siblings, spouses, and children, comprising 314,819 individuals. Our analyses provide strong evidence that longevity is transmitted as a quantitative genetic trait among survivors up to the top 10% of their birth cohort. We subsequently show a survival advantage, mounting to 31%, for individuals with top 10% surviving first and second-degree relatives in both databases and across generations, even in the presence of non-longevous parents. To guide future genetic studies, we suggest to base case selection on top 10% survivors of their birth cohort with equally long-lived family members.

Suggested Citation

  • Niels Berg & Mar Rodríguez-Girondo & Ingrid K. Dijk & Rick J. Mourits & Kees Mandemakers & Angelique A. P. O. Janssens & Marian Beekman & Ken R. Smith & P. Eline Slagboom, 2019. "Longevity defined as top 10% survivors and beyond is transmitted as a quantitative genetic trait," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-07925-0
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07925-0
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07925-0
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-018-07925-0?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Lazuka, Volha & Sandholt Jensen, Peter, 2021. "Multigenerational Effects of Smallpox Vaccination," Lund Papers in Economic History 232, Lund University, Department of Economic History.
    2. Niels Berg & Mar Rodríguez-Girondo & Ingrid K. Dijk & P. Eline Slagboom & Marian Beekman, 2023. "Increasing number of long-lived ancestors marks a decade of healthspan extension and healthier metabolomics profiles," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Francisco J. Marco-Gracia & Javier Puche, 2020. "Did taller people live longer? Influence of height on life span in rural Spain, 1835-2019," Working Papers 0201, European Historical Economics Society (EHES).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:10:y:2019:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-07925-0. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.