Is plasticity of human lifespans advancing? New evidence from Denmark and Sweden

How long can we live? What is the plasticity of human lifespan? Questions asked by researchers and laymen alike. New research by Anthony Medford and co-authors published in renowned demographic journal brings mixed evidence from their study of centenarians of Denmark and Sweden. Although in Denmark the study of the oldest-old from cohorts born between 1870 and 1904 show further increase in survival, there is no evidence of similar trends from culturally close Sweden. The authors hypothesize that different models for the provision of elder care; different levels of resource allocation to this care and differences in health between the centenarian populations of the two countries contribute to the divergent trends. These findings are important because they demonstrate that it may be possible to lengthen lifespans as observed amongst the Danish centenarians. Further studies are needed to disentangle the underlying factors and crack the mystery of longevity.

Read the new paper here by our very own  Anthony Medford and  Jim Vaupel