Parental longevity and mortality amongst Japanese men and women: the JACC Study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine whether the risk of mortality varies according to parents' age at death.


METHODS
A large prospective study in Japanese men and women from 45 communities across Japan. A total of 51 485 men and women aged 40-79 years completed self-administered questionnaires at baseline and followed up for 9.6 years.


RESULTS
The risk of mortality from stroke, cardiovascular disease, and all causes was 20-30% lower in men and women with fathers who died at age > or = 80 years, compared with those with fathers whose age at death was <60 years. A similar reduction was found when the age at death of mothers was > or = 85 years compared with <65 years. Furthermore, the risk reduction was more evident amongst persons with both parents being long-lived parents compared with those with being short-lived parents, especially for death from cardiovascular disease.


CONCLUSIONS
Our findings indicate that parental longevity could be a predictor for reduced risk of mortality from stroke, cardiovascular disease, and all causes for both Japanese men and women.
Department of Public Health Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
A
A
Ikeda
H
H
Iso
H
H
Toyoshima
T
T
Kondo
T
T
Mizoue
A
A
Koizumi
Y
Y
Inaba
A
A
Tamakoshi
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009026:Mortality; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012307:Risk Factors; D020521:Stroke / Q000401:mortality