Clinical phenotype of families with longevity.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether offspring of centenarians acquired protection from age-related diseases.


METHODS
Case-control study.


METHODS
The study was part of the Longevity Genes Project at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.


METHODS
Centenarians (n=145), offspring of centenarians (n=180), and spouses of the offspring of centenarians (n=75) as a control group. Two additional groups served as controls: age-matched Ashkenazi Jews, and an age-matched control group from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.


METHODS
Self-reported family history of longevity; prevalence of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, heart attacks, and strokes; and objective measurements of body mass index and fat mass.


RESULTS
Parents of centenarians (born in approximately 1870) had a markedly greater ( approximately sevenfold) "risk" for longevity (reaching ages 90-99), supporting the notion that genetics contributed to longevity in these families. The offspring of long-lived parents had significantly lower prevalence of hypertension (by 23%), diabetes mellitus (by 50%), heart attacks (by 60%), and strokes (no events reported) than several age-matched control groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Offspring of centenarians may inherit significantly better health. The authors suggest that a cohort of these subjects and their spouses is ideal to study the phenotype and genotype of longevity and its interaction with the environment.
Atzmon
Gil
G
Institute for Aging Research, Diabetes Research and Training Center, Department of Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
Schechter
Clyde
C
Greiner
William
W
Davidson
Deborah
D
Rennert
Gad
G
Barzilai
Nir
N
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000235:genetics; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005192:Family Health; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D007585:Jews / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012306:Risk; D012737:Sex Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data