Inflammatory exposure and historical changes in human life-spans.
Most explanations of the increase in life expectancy at older ages over history emphasize the importance of medical and public health factors of a particular historical period. We propose that the reduction in lifetime exposure to infectious diseases and other sources of inflammation--a cohort mechanism--has also made an important contribution to the historical decline in old-age mortality. Analysis of birth cohorts across the life-span since 1751 in Sweden reveals strong associations between early-age mortality and subsequent mortality in the same cohorts. We propose that a "cohort morbidity phenotype" represents inflammatory processes that persist from early age into adult life.
Finch
Caleb E
CE
Andrus Gerontology Center and Departments of Biological Sciencesand of Sociology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA. cefinch@usc.edu
Crimmins
Eileen M
EM
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007239:Infections / Q000453:epidemiology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000453:epidemiology; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008136:Longevity; D009017:Morbidity; D009026:Mortality; D009747:Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D013997:Time Factors