Genes determine your lifespan - study

A new study of centenarians suggests that a set of 150 genes may largely determine a person's longevity or how long a person can live.

The study published in Thursday's online edition of the journal Science examined gene variants in more than 1000 centenarians and a similar number of controls in an effort to determine if those who live over 100 years share some genetic patterns.

Tom Perls, director of the New England Centenarian Study at Boston Medical Center and colleagues located 150 genetic markers that were frequently found in those who live a long and healthy life.

A statistical model based on these 150 genetic variants found in The New England Centenarian Study is able to predict a person's life time and the accuracy is up to 77 percent.

Winifred Rossi, of the National Institute on Aging's Division of Geriatrics and Clinical Gerontology, which funded the study, was quoted by sfgate.com as saying that the genetic influence is complex and a person's life span is also determined by environmental factors.

Genetics may be the foundation of longevity. But for those who do not carry the longevity genes may still benefit from following a healthy lifestyle.  Caloric restriction, vegetarian diet, restricted sexual life and good management of emotion and mood among other things may boost a person's lifespan, according to a health observer who did not want to be named.

Indeed, many environmental factors can play a crucial role in determining whether a person can be a centenarian or not.  A recent study conducted in China finds that some nutrients are found higher in centenarians.

The study published in Feb 2010 in Zhonghua Yu Fan YiXue Zaxhi showed that the concentrations of serum selenium, manganese, iron, copper and zinc were higher in centenarians.

The study led by Xu J.W. from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Beijing involved 446 elderly people including 208 centenarians.

The 150 newly identified genetic markers may be used soon in genetic testing kits, some expert predicted.

By David Liu