cron-web.org

[A1CR]

The paper below suggests that human genes and sex matter
much for how long we live. Percentage numbers would have
assisted in
evaluating the significance of the finding, it seemed.

Passarino G, Montesanto A, Dato S, Giordano S, Domma F, Mari
V, Feraco E, De
Benedictis G.
Sex and Age Specificity of Susceptibility Genes Modulating
Survival at Old
Age.
Hum Hered. 2006 Nov 22;62(4):213-220 [Epub ahead of print]
PMID: 17124418

Objective: We aimed to investigate the influence of the
genetic variability
of candidate genes on survival at old age in good health.
Methods: First, on
the basis of a synthetic survival curve constructed using
historic mortality
data taken from the Italian population from 1890 onward, we
defined three
age classes ranging from 18 to 106 years. Second, we
assembled a multinomial
logistic regression model to evaluate the effect of
dichotomous variables
(genotypes) on the probability to be assigned to a specific
category (age
class). Third, we applied the regression model to a
cross-sectional dataset
(10 genes; 972 subjects selected for healthy status)
categorized according
to age and sex. Results: We found that genetic factors
influence survival at
advanced age in good health in a sex- and age-specific way.
Furthermore, we
found that genetic variability plays a stronger role in
males than in
females and that, in both genders, its impact is especially
important at
very old ages. Conclusions: The analyses presented here
underline the
age-specific effect of the gene network in modulating
survival at advanced
age in good health.