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Scientists have named 5 signs of a potential long-liver

'18.06.2021'

Source: RIA News

Researchers have found that genes responsible for iron metabolism in the body are associated with lifespan. In addition, regions of the genome were identified that add several years to a person. RIA News understands how potential centenarians stand out.

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Iron proof

High levels of iron in the blood shorten life, according to British and German researchers. And if the content of this trace element in the body remains within the normal range, age-related changes, on the contrary, slow down.

Iron is known to affect the ability to fight infections. In many age-related diseases, such as Parkinson's disease or liver damage, too high or too low amounts of this trace element are recorded. Therefore, scientists have suggested that iron metabolism is an important factor in propensity to longevity and health in old age.

This is confirmed by the analysis of a huge array of genetic data obtained from open international databases. It turned out that the DNA regions associated with these indicators also affect iron metabolism.

Their findings explain why excessive consumption of iron-rich red meat correlates with the risk of age-related diseases, particularly cardiovascular disease, the authors said. The researchers do not exclude that the drug, which regulates the level of iron in the body, could not only add several years of life, but also ensure a healthy and active old age.

Parental gift

In 2015, American and Italian specialists, having studied the data of eight hundred people over a hundred years old and five thousand over 90, identified four longevity genes: CDKN2B, associated with the regulation of cell life cycles; SH2B3, ABO, which determine the blood group; and one of the HLA genes, which is responsible for the immune system to recognize the cells of its own body.

Four years later, an international team of researchers has already described 12 regions of the genome, various variants of which correlated with life expectancy. These were mainly areas that form a predisposition to serious diseases, in particular cardiovascular and type XNUMX diabetes, as well as diseases that arise from smoking. At the same time, genes associated with malignant tumors that are not related to tobacco addiction do not have a significant effect on life expectancy.

In addition, the effect of certain genetic variations changes with age. Some pose a danger to young people, others only after 60-70 years.

Sexual question

According to several scientific works at once, life expectancy strongly depends on gender: females of almost all mammalian species live on average longer than males.

In an experiment by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, who artificially raised mice with the classic set of chromosomes XX and XY, as well as "transgender" XY females and XX males, rodents with a male chromosome set XY died earlier. Normal females and “wrong” XX males lived much longer.
Moreover, among the long-lived rodents, individuals prevailed in which female sex glands were attached to the female chromosomes. According to the authors of the work, this indicates that the ovaries contain hormones and other signaling molecules that prolong life and slow down aging.

German and Danish scientists who analyzed the demographic situation in the most severe times - during the slave trade on the island of Trinidad, during the measles epidemic in Iceland and famine in Sweden, Ireland and Ukraine - agree with this. It turned out that almost everywhere women lived on average longer than men.

As the researchers note, the stronger sex is more vulnerable due to testosterone, which can disrupt the immune system. The female sex hormone estrogen, on the other hand, has an anti-inflammatory effect.

Who is always good

According to the work of American doctors, a person's worldview also affects life expectancy. Having studied the data of one and a half thousand men and about 70 thousand women, experts found that the most optimistic (this was determined by special testing), as a rule, live 11-15 percent longer.

This can be explained by the fact that cheerful people are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. In addition, they are more likely to follow a healthy lifestyle.

Another factor, the authors of the work suggest, is the confidence of optimists in their abilities. They react less emotionally to difficult situations and recover more quickly from stress.

On the subject: How to overcome a 100-year milestone: recommendations of true centenarians

You know the more, you live longer

The level of education, or rather the genetic predisposition to it, is also important, according to an international team of scientists. According to various sources, the heritability of this trait is estimated from 20 (in molecular genetic studies) to 60 percent (when comparing the success of twins).

Based on information about two hundred thousand Europeans, they found that the higher the so-called polygenic score - a set of genetic variants by which biologists determine the craving for knowledge, the longer a person lives.

However, the authors of the work note that the revealed correlation is only statistical, and not causal.

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