• Education
    • Higher Education
    • Scholarships & Grants
    • Online Learning
    • School Reforms
    • Research & Innovation
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Fashion & Beauty
    • Home & Living
    • Relationships & Family
  • Technology & Startups
    • Software & Apps
    • Startup Success Stories
    • Startups & Innovations
    • Tech Regulations
    • Venture Capital
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cybersecurity
    • Emerging Technologies
    • Gadgets & Devices
    • Industry Analysis
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
Today Headline
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • World News
    • Us & Canada
    • Europe
    • Asia
    • Africa
    • Middle East
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Political Parties
    • Government Policies
    • International Relations
    • Legislative News
  • Business & Finance
    • Market Trends
    • Stock Market
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Corporate News
    • Economic Policies
  • Science & Environment
    • Space Exploration
    • Climate Change
    • Wildlife & Conservation
    • Environmental Policies
    • Medical Research
  • Health
    • Public Health
    • Mental Health
    • Medical Breakthroughs
    • Fitness & Nutrition
    • Pandemic Updates
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Basketball
    • Tennis
    • Olympics
    • Motorsport
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV & Streaming
    • Celebrity News
    • Awards & Festivals
  • Crime & Justice
    • Court Cases
    • Cybercrime
    • Policing
    • Criminal Investigations
    • Legal Reforms
No Result
View All Result
Today Headline
No Result
View All Result
Home Science & Environment

People Who Live to 100 Have a Unique Relationship With Disease : ScienceAlert todayheadline

August 11, 2025
in Science & Environment
Reading Time: 5 mins read
A A
0
doctor listening to man's heart
2
SHARES
5
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Humans may be living longer on average these days, but, even so, only a fraction of us will live to see our 100th birthday. Yet the reasons why only a select few will become centenarians still remains a mystery to scientists.

But the latest work published by myself and my colleagues has just uncovered one factor that may be key to the long lives that centenarians experience.

My research team has found that people that live to 100 seem to possess the superhuman ability to avoid disease.

Related: Want to Live Past 100? Experts Recommend These Four Habits.

Centenarians are of such great interest to scientists because they may hold the key to understanding how we can live longer – and live longer in better health.

Some questions researchers have long pondered is whether one of the keys to a centenarian’s resilience mainly lies in their ability to postpone major diseases, or whether they’re simply better at surviving them. Or, could it be that they avoid certain diseases altogether?

Understanding the answer to these questions would bring us at least one step closer to figuring out what specific factors contribute to longevity. So my colleagues and I set out to see if we could find the answers. In two recent studies, we analysed and compared long and shorter-lived people born in the same year.

The results from the two studies showed that centenarians not only suffer from fewer diseases overall throughout their lives, they also develop them more slowly. They’re also less likely to experience deadly conditions, such as major cardiovascular disease, compared to their shorter-lived peers.

The first study included 170,787 people born in Stockholm County, Sweden between 1912 and 1922. Using historical health data, residents were followed for 40 years – either from age 60 until their death, or up to age 100.

We calculated each participant’s risks of stroke, heart attack, hip fracture and various cancers, and compared those who survived to the age of 100 with their shorter-lived counterparts.

We found that centenarians not only had lower rates of disease in late-midlife, but they continued to have lower rates of disease throughout their life overall.

For example, at the age of 85, only 4% of those who lived to be centenarians had experienced a stroke. In comparison, around 10% of those who almost became centenarians – living to ages 90–99 – had experienced a stroke by age 85.

Moreover, despite living longer, their lifetime risk for most diseases never reached those of their shorter-lived peers.

At the age of 100, 12.5% of centenarians had experienced a heart attack, compared to just over 24% among people who lived between the ages of 80 and 89. This suggests that centenarians delay – and in many cases even avoid – major age-related diseases, rather than simply surviving them more effectively.

One limitation of this study is that it only focused on analysing more serious diagnoses of major diseases. But what if the real key to longevity isn’t that centenarians avoid disease entirely – rather, it’s that they’re able to avoid developing serious diseases?

To explore this, we conducted a second study that included 40 different medical conditions. These conditions ranged from mild to severe – such as hypertension, heart failure, diabetes and heart attacks.

We looked at 274,108 participants who were born between 1920 and 1922 and who lived in Sweden. We followed participants for around 30 years – either from the age of 70 until their death or until they turned 100. A total of 4,330 people became centenarians – just 1.5% of the participants we looked at for the study.

Centenarians were less likely to be diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. (Gabriella Csapo/corelens/Canva)

Even after including a wider range of diseases and allowing participants to have more than one health condition in the analysis, our team came to the same conclusions as we did in the first study: centenarians developed fewer diseases – and their rate of disease accumulation was slower across their lifetime.

We also found that centenarians were more likely to have conditions limited to a single organ system. This is a sign of this group’s health and resilience, since diseases that affect one organ system are much easier to treat and manage in the long term.

For instance, while cardiovascular conditions were the most common diagnoses across all age groups, centenarians were less likely overall to be diagnosed compared to their short-lived companions.

At the age of 80, around 8% of centenarians were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. In comparison, more than 15% of people who died at the age of 85 had been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease by 80 years of age. The lower rates of cardiovascular disease appear to be central to the centenarians’ extended survival.

Centenarians also demonstrated greater resilience to neuropsychiatric conditions – such as depression and dementia – throughout life.

Centenarian with flowers
Resilience to neuropsychiatric conditions could be a secret to a longer life. (EyeJoy/Getty Signature Images/Canva)

Although most centenarians eventually developed multiple health conditions, they did so much later in life than non-centenarians – usually around the age of 89. This was thanks to having fewer diseases and a slower rate of disease accumulation.

Notably, non-centenarians typically experienced a sharp increase in the number of health conditions they suffered with in the final years of their lives. But centenarians did not experience this same sharp decline in health – even from their 90s onward.

The secret to a long life?

The finding that centenarians manage to delay, and in some cases avoid, disease despite living longer is both intriguing and encouraging. It shows it’s possible to age more slowly than is typical – and challenges the common belief that a longer life inevitably comes with more disease.

Our findings suggest that exceptional longevity isn’t just about postponing illness but reflects a distinct pattern of ageing. But whether this is mainly due to genetics, lifestyle, environment or a combination of these factors remains unknown. The next step in our research will be to explore what factors predict living to 100 – and how such predictors operate during a person’s life.

Understanding the mechanisms behind healthy ageing in centenarians may offer valuable insights for promoting longer, healthier lives for all.The Conversation

Karin Modig, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Karolinska Institutet

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Previous Post

Israel says it killed Al Jazeera journalist, claiming he was a Hamas leader

Next Post

tvs motor: Breakout and Volume Surge Make TVS Motor a Buy, Says Ruchit Jain – The Economic Times Video todayheadline

Related Posts

A sketch of Comet Swift-Tuttle

Here’s When to Look Up : ScienceAlert todayheadline

August 11, 2025
2
vaccine

Routine childhood and adolescent immunizations declining in Michigan

August 11, 2025
5
Next Post

tvs motor: Breakout and Volume Surge Make TVS Motor a Buy, Says Ruchit Jain - The Economic Times Video todayheadline

  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

Family calls for change after B.C. nurse dies by suicide after attacks on the job

April 2, 2025
Pioneering 3D printing project shares successes

Product reduces TPH levels to non-hazardous status

November 27, 2024

Police ID man who died after Corso Italia fight

December 23, 2024

Hospital Mergers Fail to Deliver Better Care or Lower Costs, Study Finds todayheadline

December 31, 2024
Harris tells supporters 'never give up' and urges peaceful transfer of power

Harris tells supporters ‘never give up’ and urges peaceful transfer of power

0
Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend's Mother

Des Moines Man Accused Of Shooting Ex-Girlfriend’s Mother

0

Trump ‘looks forward’ to White House meeting with Biden

0
Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

Catholic voters were critical to Donald Trump’s blowout victory: ‘Harris snubbed us’

0

‘Brought Pak…to its knees’: PM Modi praises Op Sindoor, says whole world saw India’s new face – The Economic Times Video todayheadline

August 11, 2025
A sketch of Comet Swift-Tuttle

Here’s When to Look Up : ScienceAlert todayheadline

August 11, 2025
vaccine

Routine childhood and adolescent immunizations declining in Michigan

August 11, 2025
Kash Patel, President Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, advances towards confirmation

Former officials blast FBI’s Patel over agent removals in scathing letter

August 11, 2025

Recent News

‘Brought Pak…to its knees’: PM Modi praises Op Sindoor, says whole world saw India’s new face – The Economic Times Video todayheadline

August 11, 2025
0
A sketch of Comet Swift-Tuttle

Here’s When to Look Up : ScienceAlert todayheadline

August 11, 2025
2
vaccine

Routine childhood and adolescent immunizations declining in Michigan

August 11, 2025
5
Kash Patel, President Trump's nominee to lead the FBI, advances towards confirmation

Former officials blast FBI’s Patel over agent removals in scathing letter

August 11, 2025
7

TodayHeadline is a dynamic news website dedicated to delivering up-to-date and comprehensive news coverage from around the globe.

Follow Us

Browse by Category

  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Basketball
  • Business & Finance
  • Climate Change
  • Crime & Justice
  • Cybersecurity
  • Economic Policies
  • Elections
  • Entertainment
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Environmental Policies
  • Europe
  • Football
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Health
  • Medical Research
  • Mental Health
  • Middle East
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Politics
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Science & Environment
  • Software & Apps
  • Space Exploration
  • Sports
  • Stock Market
  • Technology & Startups
  • Tennis
  • Travel
  • Uncategorized
  • Us & Canada
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • World News

Recent News

‘Brought Pak…to its knees’: PM Modi praises Op Sindoor, says whole world saw India’s new face – The Economic Times Video todayheadline

August 11, 2025
A sketch of Comet Swift-Tuttle

Here’s When to Look Up : ScienceAlert todayheadline

August 11, 2025
  • Education
  • Lifestyle
  • Technology & Startups
  • About us
  • Contact
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy

© 2024 Todayheadline.co

Welcome Back!

OR

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Business & Finance
  • Corporate News
  • Economic Policies
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Market Trends
  • Crime & Justice
  • Court Cases
  • Criminal Investigations
  • Cybercrime
  • Legal Reforms
  • Policing
  • Education
  • Higher Education
  • Online Learning
  • Entertainment
  • Awards & Festivals
  • Celebrity News
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Health
  • Fitness & Nutrition
  • Medical Breakthroughs
  • Mental Health
  • Pandemic Updates
  • Lifestyle
  • Fashion & Beauty
  • Food & Drink
  • Home & Living
  • Politics
  • Elections
  • Government Policies
  • International Relations
  • Legislative News
  • Political Parties
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Middle East
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cybersecurity
  • Emerging Technologies
  • Gadgets & Devices
  • Industry Analysis
  • Basketball
  • Football
  • Motorsport
  • Olympics
  • Climate Change
  • Environmental Policies
  • Medical Research
  • Science & Environment
  • Space Exploration
  • Wildlife & Conservation
  • Sports
  • Tennis
  • Technology & Startups
  • Software & Apps
  • Startup Success Stories
  • Startups & Innovations
  • Tech Regulations
  • Venture Capital
  • Uncategorized
  • World News
  • Us & Canada
  • Public Health
  • Relationships & Family
  • Travel
  • Research & Innovation
  • Scholarships & Grants
  • School Reforms
  • Stock Market
  • TV & Streaming
  • Advertise with Us
  • Privacy & Policy
  • About us
  • Contact

© 2024 Todayheadline.co