Not dying young is what has improved our lifespan.
A study that compared the lifespan of humans and non-human primate species has revealed that biological constraints may prevent us from slowing down our ageing process.
The study was designed to test the hypothesis of an ‘invariant ageing rate’, which states that species have a fixed rate of growth from adulthood. Scientists from 14 countries, led by Jose Manuel Aburto of Oxford’s Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science (Oxford), analyzed birth and death records spanning continents and centuries. The study, led by Fernando Colchero of the University of Southern Denmark, and Susan Alberts of Duke University in North Carolina, was a massive undertaking that required monitoring wild primates for several decades.
Jose Manuel Aburto said, Our findings support a theory that people are living longer because of a decrease in mortality among younger age groups. Comparing data on human and non-human primate births and deaths, we found that the general pattern of mortality is similar in both. This indicates that environmental factors are not the ultimate determinant of longevity.
Source:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-06-longer-lifespan-result-dying-young.html
