At any given age, adults with at least one centenarian parent had 42% lower risk of death, 33% lower risk of cardiovascular disease and 32% lower risk of high blood pressure than comparison participants, a JAMA Network Open study found.
The analysis included 2,319 adults with at least one parent who lived to 100 and 2,703 comparison participants. The comparison group included people whose parents lived to 85 or younger and spouses of centenarians’ children. Researchers combined data from the LonGenity study, the New England Centenarian Study and UK Biobank; follow-up lasted 16 years in the first and third studies and 29 years in the second.
Lead author Eric Reed said the findings do not mean lifestyle is unimportant: healthy behaviors remain important for everyone. He said some people from families with exceptional longevity appear to have biological advantages that help them remain healthy.
