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Biological evidence for limits to the duration of life

Carnes, Bruce A., Olshansky, S. Jay, Grahn, Douglas·2003·Biogerontology
DOI 10.1023/a:1022425317536
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Abstract

Projections of duration of life for humans based on mathematical models have led some researchers to claim that there is no lower limit to death rates or upper limit to life expectancy, and that a life expectancy of 100 will be achieved in the 21st century. To assess the biological plausibility of these claims, we examined temporal aspects of biological phenomena in three mammalian species. Our examination revealed that: (1) physiological declines associated with reproduction consistently occur at ages that are less than one-third of the median age at death, (2) physiological parameters associated with aging in humans lose eighty percent of their functional capacity by age 80, and (3) young versus old individuals can be distinguished by the pathologies detected at death. The biological evidence suggests that organisms operate under warranty periods that limit the duration of life of individuals and the life expectancy of populations. We use these findings to discuss the issue of limits to the duration of life and the validity of mathematical models used to forecast human longevity.

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  • Bodies have biological warranty periods, and the expiration date of those warranty periods is linked to the time required to reach sexual maturity, reproduce, nurture young, and (for some species) provide grandparenting.

    “Our third line of inquiry on limits was predicated on the evolutionary conclusion that bodies have biological warranty periods and that the expiration date of those warranty periods is linked to the time required to reach sexual maturity, reproduce, nurture young, and (for some species) provide grandparenting (43).”

    From Inconvenient Truths About Human Longevity (2019) · cites this paper as [43]

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Metadata

Authors
Carnes, B. A., Olshansky, S. J., & Grahn, D.
Venue
Biogerontology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2003-01
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
31-45
ISSN
  • 1389-5729
  • 1573-6768
DOI
10.1023/a:1022425317536
Cited by
124
References
3
Language
en
Licence

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