Research

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Offspring of semi-supercentenarians (aged ~72) exhibit a lower epigenetic age (approx. 5.1 years younger) compared to age-matched controls, indicating a slower intrinsic biological aging rate.

This research highlights that biological aging is not strictly bound by calendar time. For individuals with a family history of extreme longevity (parents living past 105), there is evidence of a slower intrinsic biological aging rate. While you cannot change your genetics, this suggests that monitoring biological age markers (like epigenetic clocks) may provide a more accurate health assessment than chronological age alone, particularly for those with long-lived family histories.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
We demonstrate that the offspring of semi-supercentenarians have a lower epigenetic age than age-matched controls (age difference=5.1 years, p=0.00043)... According to a multivariate model analysis in non-centenarians (Table 1), CO are 5.1 years younger (p=0.00051) than age matched controls even after adjusting for sex and estimated blood cell counts.
Steve Horvath et al. · Aging · 2015

Why this rating

Large, well-matched cohort (n=192) with rigorous statistical adjustment for blood cell counts and sex, though limited to a specific Italian population.

Source

Decreased epigenetic age of PBMCs from Italian semi-supercentenarians and their offspring

Steve Horvath et al. · Aging · 2015

DOI 10.18632/aging.100861

cohort · n=184Cited 334×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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