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.
Ikeda
A
A
Department of Public Health Medicine, Graduate School of Comprehensive Human Science, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Iso
H
H
Toyoshima
H
H
Kondo
T
T
Mizoue
T
T
Koizumi
A
A
Inaba
Y
Y
Tamakoshi
A
A
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