Secret of longevity

Washington, Oct 8 (UNI) People who live in good health for 100 years and longer aren't just lucky. Researchers have found that those who live an exceptionally long and healthy life often have company in their very own families.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH) here, scientists are now aiming to understand the genes, lifestyle or other factors that make these people so unique.

NIH's National Institute on Aging (NIA) is funding a variety of studies to better understand the factors that lead to exceptional longevity.

It said recent studies have revealed that, people who lived to 100 years or more (centenarians) were healthier at younger ages than their peers.

The findings suggest that unique "protective" factors against disease and disability may have been at work throughout their lives, not just at very old ages.If the factors that lead to exceptional survival begin working much earlier in life, and if they could be found, they might point the way toward interventions to lengthen healthy lives. So what exactly is it that protects these people and contributes to their extraordinary survival? It said genetics may play a role.Studies of very old people and their families in specific populations-such as those in Iceland and Okinawa, and in Ashkenazi Jewish, Mormon and Amish communities-have shown that exceptionally long life runs in families.

Other studies show that centenarians' siblings have a mortality risk at any age throughout their adult life who are half that of the general population.Centenarians' children tend to be healthier than their peers too.They have lower mortality rates from cancer and heart disease, and fewer age-related diseases such as hypertension,diabetes and stroke.

It said more specific findings support the idea that genes contribute to exceptional survival.

While genes likely play a role in exceptional survival, non-genetic factors that tend to run in families, such as lifestyles, can also contribute.For example, a family's eating and exercise habits, smoking habits and other factors have an effect on how long family members live.

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