Scientists have determined when the current record of longevity of a human being will be beaten: at the moment it is set at 122 years and does not change since 1997
Living a very long life is a very coveted goal even if there are few, at the moment, people who make it. The number of ultracentenarians worldwide, however, has been increasing exponentially for decades, and there are now nearly half a million men and women who have crossed the 100-year threshold. This phenomenon is set to grow more and more and will lead humanity, researchers have announced, to live to 125 or 130 years by the end of this century.
The oldest person in the world s history was Frenchwoman Jeanne Clement who lived to 122. She died in 1997, her record has remained unbeaten until now considering that as of today the oldest person in the world is 118 years old and is Japanese Kane Tanaka. Now, with a new study, scientists from the University of Washington have calculated when and how his extraordinary longevity will be surpassed.
Life expectancy, where are we today
The study of researchers from the University of Washington, as the authors pointed out, concerns single episodes and not life expectancy, which is a very different concept.
Life expectancy is an approximation of the average age of a person’s life, taking into account factors such as access to health care and the policies of the country in which they are born. To give an example of how it has evolved over the years, life expectancy in Italy was 69.8 years in 1961 while in 2019 it has risen to 83.6.
A person born in Italy in 1919, on the other hand, expected on average to live only up to 42 years, but thanks to medicine and scientific progress in 2019 they would live on average almost twice that number of years. An abrupt reversal of the trend then came with the coronavirus, although the decline is minimal and is equal to 1.2 years.
“We will live to 130 years”: the new study
At least one person, according to research carried out by the University of Washington, will live to 130 years by 2100. This age, therefore, is not destined to become a standard and will not be common for everyone but will be reached by at least one man or woman by the end of the century.
Published in the scientific journal “Demographic Research,” the study by U.S. researchers used some statistical models to examine the human lifespan and understand how far we can go in the near future.
The scientists, in order to arrive at this conclusion, then put on the scales all the risks and possibilities related to future scientific discoveries that could impact life beyond 110 years.
What changes with the new study on human lifespan
The implications of the new study on longevity are multiple and concern the political and economic spheres. Life span, in fact, impacts many decisions related to health care and citizens’ lifestyles, scientists explained.
Longer-than-normal lives also have implications regarding disease and related cell deterioration. On these and other issues, should humanity’s life expectancy increase, scientists will have to confront.
Armando Mercuri