"Genetics has a much larger role in how long a person lives than previously thought, finds a new analysis that challenges decades of scientific consensus. About 55% of the human lifespan is heritable, meaning that more than half of observed variation in longevity across a population is attributable to genetics. That is a far greater proportion than the 10%-25% previously estimated, according to the research, which was published today in Science."
"To tease out these factors, the researchers re-examined data, going back to the 1800s, from twin studies in Denmark and Sweden, as well as studies on siblings of centenarians in the United States. Such studies can help to identify genetic components of traits, Shenhar says, because identical twins share 100% of their DNA, whereas fraternal twins and other sibling pairs share about half on average."
About 55% of human lifespan variation is heritable, indicating that genetics accounts for more than half of observed differences in longevity. Previous estimates of 10–25% underestimated genetic contribution because they did not separate extrinsic causes of death, such as infections or accidents, from intrinsic biological ageing processes. Re-analysis used historical twin data from Denmark and Sweden and sibling-of-centenarian studies in the United States, leveraging identical versus fraternal genetic sharing to estimate heritability. Stronger heritability should accelerate identification of genes influencing healthy ageing and support development of targeted ageing treatments.
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