Recent advances in human gene-longevity association studies

This paper reviews the recent literature on genes and longevity. The influe nce of genes on human life span has been confirmed in studies of life span correlation between related individuals based on family and twin data. Resu lts from major twin studies indicate that approximately 25% of the variatio n in life span is genetically determined. Taking advantage of recent develo pments in molecular biology. researchers are now searching for candidate ge nes that might have an influence on life span. The data on unrelated indivi duals emerging from an ever-increasing number of centenarian studies makes this possible. This paper summarizes the rich literature dealing with the v arious aspects of the influence of genes on individual survival. Common phe nomena affecting the development of disease and longevity are discussed. Th e major methodological difficulty one is confronted with when studying the epidemiology of longevity involves the complexity of the phenomenon, which arises from the polygenic nature of life span and historical mortality chan ge. We discuss this issue and suggest new methodological approaches. (C) 20 01 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.