Age research Does life expectancy end at a maximum age?

How long are we living today??

The people of today are getting older and older. But how old can we become maximum? Researchers now found out that we humans are far from reaching our final lifespan.

Scientists from Sapienza University of Rome and UC Berkeley found in their current research that humans still have not reached their final lifespan. In the future, people will probably get older. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Science".

People are getting older nowadays. What is the increase in lifespan and is there a natural limit? (Image: De Visu / fotolia.com)

What is the risk of dying in old age??

For the current study, the so-called direct mortality risk was investigated. The experts found that after the age of 80, the immediate risk of death begins to decline. The researchers found that in a study of 4,000 subjects from the USA and Italy. Once a person reaches the age of 105, the risk of dying remains at a high level, leading to a likelihood of at least 110 more years to live, the experts explain.

What causes the longer life expectancy?

If people were born before 1910, it was very unlikely that they would reach the age of 96 years. Nowadays, the chances of being over 96 are much greater. While our increasing longevity is often attributed to advances in medicine, the experts who conducted the study believe that this is merely evidence that humans evolve through natural selection and in the future humans become much older.

There does not seem to be a fixed limit to life expectancy yet

Recent research suggests that human life expectancy is still prolonged, and people who reach 105 years of age have a good chance of surviving for at least another five years. The data from the investigation shows us that there is no firm limit to the human lifespan yet, explains study author Professor Kenneth Wachter of UC Berkeley in a press release.

Experts examined 3,836 Italians for the study

Of course, the study is quite controversial. For years, demographers have disagreed as to whether the mortality rate actually rises steadily with increasing age, or at some point does weaken, as is the case, for example, with laboratory animals such as fruit flies and worms. The current research is praised as one of the most comprehensive studies on life expectancy and mortality risk. For their study, the researchers examined the data of 3,836 Italians (3,373 women and 463 men), who were born between the year 1896 and 1910 and reached the stately age of 105 years. Unlike most other countries, Italy (which has the second highest number of centenarians in the world after Japan) requires citizens to report on their well-being every year.

From 110 years the risk of dying reaches a plateau

The study showed that people between the ages of 105 and 109 had only a 50 percent chance of dying within one year. It could be expected a further lifespan of at least 1.5 years, say the doctors. The scientists were amazed to find that exactly the same statistic applied to 110-year-olds, suggesting that the risk of death does not increase any further. This is a clear indication that people are developing to have an even longer average lifespan, the authors explain.

Results were questioned by critics

Of course, the results have been questioned by some experts who believe that there is a limit to human life. For example, a study published in 2016 came to the conclusion that we have already reached our maximum lifecycle. (As)