Health
Life expectancy in humans not likely to increase much more, study suggests
Human life expectancy has potentially been pushed to the max, new research suggests.
The recent increase in people’s longevity appears to be slowing down despite new developments in medicine, according to a study published in the journal Nature Aging.
During the 20th century, human life expectancy at birth rose by about 30 years in high-income nations, the study noted, driven by advancements in public health.
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Researchers from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) analyzed the national vital statistics of the longest-living populations in Australia, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland, as well as Hong Kong and the United States, from 1990 to 2019.
The expectation that human life expectancy will surpass 100 years old is most likely untrue, the study revealed. (iStock)
Since 1990, the average life span has only risen 6-½ years in the countries in the study, which casts doubt on expectations that human life expectancy would exceed 100 years in people born today.
The researchers concluded that overall life expectancy improvements have slowed down, and that radical human life extension is “implausible in this century” unless the biological aging process can be “markedly slowed.”
‘Diminishing gains’
Study co-author S. Jay Olshansky, PhD, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UIC, shared his reaction in a conversation with Fox News Digital.
“The power of medicine to extend human life is extraordinary.”
“We’re demonstrating what actually happened in all of these populations in the last three decades,” he wrote in an email. “The decline in improvement was particularly pronounced in the United States.”
“As long as aging is unchanged, life extension through disease reduction must yield diminishing gains — that’s the overall conclusion in this paper.”
“The period of rapid increases in life expectancy is over,” the researchers concluded. (iStock)
The researcher also suggested that most people past age 60 are living on “manufactured time,” meaning they’re surviving on new medical technology.
“We should all be grateful that these life-extending technologies work, because without them, we would be living much shorter lives,” he said.
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Olshansky explained that humans were not made to live as long as they do now, as the natural life expectancy for humans is 30 to 60 years.
“This means the vast majority of the population that now lives past age 60 is living on survival time that was manufactured by medicine,” he said. “The power of medicine to extend human life is extraordinary.”
One of the study authors (not pictured) suggested that humans are surviving on time manufactured by modern medicine. (iStock)
Medical interventions for disease reduction could be considered “temporary” bandages, according to Olshansky.
“Living longer means we’re exposing ourselves to the currently immutable force of biological aging – which has already become the dominant risk factor for death in high-income countries,” he said.
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More than 30 years ago, researchers predicted that medicine would advance at “breakneck speed,” but that life expectancy wouldn’t follow, Olshansky noted.
“The prediction has come true and … the period of rapid increases in life expectancy is over,” he said.
Aging is tied to inflammation, one doctor noted, which can be treated with available medications. (iStock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, senior medical analyst for Fox News and clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, who was not involved in the study, shared his opinion of the findings.
“I disagree with this because aging is tied to inflammation,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Current treatments (metformin, Lipitor, Ozempic, etc.) and diet strategies, as well as newer treatments in the works, may decrease oxidative stress, inflammation and insulin resistance, all of which contribute to cellular longevity,” the doctor added.
‘Control what we can control’
The time has come for people to focus on healthspan extension, not lifespan extension, according to Olshansky.
“This paper represents the strongest empirical evidence supporting the need to slow aging, because the [bandages] we’re now creating may produce an expansion of our carespan – especially if they make us live longer and deeper into the aging red zone, where frailty and disability dominate.”
“We now have the rationale for why healthspan extension should be our primary goal going forward,” a researcher (not pictured) told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Olshansky advised the public to “control what we can control” and to avoid activities that shorten lifespan, such as unhealthy eating, smoking and substance abuse.
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The scientist also encouraged people to take advantage of access to medicine by visiting their doctor and taking prescribed medications.
“Take advantage of the social determinants of health — education and access to medical care — because these interventions work to increase the chances of living longer and healthier,” he said.
“And then focus on extending the most precious commodity on earth — healthy life.”
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Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27.
In a post on Substack titled “The Day I’ll Never Remember,” she detailed a sudden episode that left her unable to recall the current month, year and president.
“I thought it was 2024. And I believed Joe Biden was president,” she wrote.
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The event occurred while Couric was attending the Aspen Ideas Festival in Colorado, during which she participated in two public panels — one on AI and one on journalism — both of which she cannot remember at all.
“I have no idea what we talked about, or of what occurred when the panels ended,” she said.
Journalist Katie Couric is sharing a scary medical episode that she experienced on June 27. (Getty Images)
John Molner — Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels — also shared his account.
After the event, someone told Molner that Katie wasn’t feeling well. When he reached her, an EMT and a doctor were tending to her. “I could tell something was off,” he wrote. “It could have been altitude sickness, but Katie was definitely not all there.”
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At the hospital, when Couric struggled to recall the year, the president and her grandchildren’s names, doctors began checking for a stroke.
An MRI revealed no signs of stroke, which was a relief, but “Katie’s ‘fog’ became a lot more apparent,” Molner wrote.
John Molner, Couric’s husband, who was in attendance at the festival and the two panels, also shared his account. (Getty Images)
“She repeatedly asked me the same questions: ‘What was I doing before we got to the hospital?’ ‘Why am I at the hospital?’”
Couric was ultimately diagnosed with transient global amnesia, a sudden, temporary episode of memory loss that prevents a person from forming new memories and may also erase some recent memories, according to Mayo Clinic.
“The cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself.”
It is not caused by a stroke, seizure or head injury, and it usually resolves completely within 24 hours.
“[It’s] just a very weird neural episode that’s pretty uncommon and, at least in most cases, is a ‘one and done’ experience,” Molner said.
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Couric said she finally began feeling “like herself” again around 9 p.m. and went to sleep at 2 a.m.
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.”
As TGA leaves a “permanent gap in memory” for the duration of the episode and for hours beforehand, Couric said that from around noon on that day until at least 7 p.m. will remain a “big, black hole.” (Getty Images)
Data shows that approximately three to eight people per 100,000 will have an episode of transient global amnesia, with people 50 years of age and older at higher risk.
The specific cause of TGA is not known, but some experts believe it stems from a “temporary dysfunction in the brain’s hippocampus — the area responsible for creating new memories,” Couric shared.
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“Doctors believe this is driven by brief interruptions in blood or oxygen flow, or microscopic spasm in the blood vessels.”
Episodes could potentially be triggered by intense physical exertion, emotional distress, extreme temperature changes or migraines, experts say.
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Approximately 15% of patients will have a recurrence 10 years later.
“Why did this happen to me? Was the altitude an issue? Was I dehydrated? Tired? Stressed? The literature doesn’t seem to indicate that these are contributing factors, but the cause seems to be as mysterious as the brain itself,” Couric wrote.
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise. (iStock)
“All I know is that those hours will be forever lost. Someone described it as my brain failing to hit the ‘record button.’”
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“While this was a freaky occurrence, it could have been much more serious. So ultimately, I’m relieved — even though several hours of a Saturday in June will always be missing for me.”
Anyone who experiences sudden memory loss, confusion, difficulty speaking, weakness, numbness, vision changes, severe headache or other stroke-like symptoms should seek immediate medical attention or call 911, doctors advise.
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Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers.
That’s according to a recent study led by Stony Brook Medicine in New York, which evaluated the cognitive function of 4,000 adults 80 and over who participated in multiple aging and longevity studies over several years.
Among this group, 6% to 10% were classified as super movers, which means they walk at a much faster pace than others of the same age and gender — at speeds comparable to people three decades younger.
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The super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed.
The findings were published in the journal Neurology on June 16.
Older adults identified as “super movers” are about half as likely to develop cognitive impairment than their peers. (iStock)
“The study reinforces that mobility and brain health are closely connected,” lead study author Dr. Joe Verghese, MD, neurologist at Stony Brook Medicine, told Fox News Digital. “This suggests that preserving mobility may be an important marker of healthy brain aging and resilience.”
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The most intriguing finding, according to Verghese, was that super movers maintained cognitive function despite having similar dementia-related brain changes as their peers.
In postmortem brain analysis, there was no difference in dementia-related pathologies between the super movers and the slower walkers, the study stated.
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“This suggests they may possess resilience mechanisms that help preserve brain function even in the presence of age-related changes,” he said. “Understanding these resilience factors could lead to new strategies for promoting healthy brain aging.”
As the study was observational, there were some limitations, and it does not prove that walking faster prevents dementia, the researchers noted.
Super movers were found to have about half the risk of cognitive decline compared to seniors with typical gait speed. (iStock)
“Other factors, such as cardiovascular health, physical fitness or genetics, may also contribute to both faster walking and better cognitive outcomes,” Verghese said.
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This study adds to growing evidence that what’s good for the heart and muscles also benefits the brain, he noted, adding that “staying physically active remains one of the most effective, evidence-based ways to support healthy aging.”
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment.”
“The broader message is that physical activity is important at any age,” Verghese said. “Walking is an easy step-up point because you don’t need any special equipment. You can do it inside or outdoors, and you can do it on a regular basis. You can walk with a dog, you can walk with a friend.”
Any activity is beneficial if it’s done regularly and with the right intensity, he added.
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Rather than just trying to walk faster, the neurologist recommends that seniors focus on maintaining mobility through regular physical activity, strength training, balance exercises and good cardiovascular health.
“Walking speed is best viewed as a marker of overall health, not a treatment,” Verghese noted.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking.
Major public health guidelines from the CDC and U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week, such as brisk walking. (iStock)
This can be achieved by walking 30 minutes a day, five days a week, or about 20 to 25 minutes most days. Another option is to engage in shorter sessions that add up over the day.
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“You have to do it within your health limitations and medical conditions,” Verghese advised. “So if there are any medical concerns, I would get your physician to clear you before starting exercise.” The good thing about walking, he added, is that you can start at a slow pace and then gradually build up to a brisker pace.
“And then adding on strength and balance training, whatever age you are, I think is also important.”
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