Does the human lifespan have a limit? New statistical research looking to answer this age-old question has concluded that if there is a maximum limit to the human lifespan, we’re currently not close to reaching it.
Estimations of the maximum human lifespan have been growing throughout recorded history. The Hebrews of the late Bronze Age were said to consider 80 years to be the maximum lifespan, then 1,000 years later the Romans estimated it to be 100 years.
The modern industrialized era has upped the ante even further through advances in medical understanding and improved social care. The current record for the oldest person ever is Jeanne Calment who died in 1997 at the ripe old age of 122 years.
But she might not be the record holder for too long. According to this latest study, we are yet to see the oldest human ever.
To reach these findings, researchers from the University of South Florida and the University of Georgia took a deep dive into historical and current data on people aged 50 to 100 in 19 industrialized countries around the world. Their aim was to see whether the ongoing increase in lifespan over the past century is reaching a plateau, indicating that we may be approaching a maximum limit to the length of life.
Their statistical analysis showed that some people that were born before 1950 may be able to break life longevity records in the coming decades, provided that their health is guaranteed by political and economic stability.
Looking at current trends, it’s most likely that someone born in the 1930s or 1940s will beat the world record in the coming decades. The study authors add: “Japanese females – who are already close to reaching longevity records – are simply at the forefront of this phenomenon.”
The researchers don’t argue that the extreme end of human lifespans will endlessly rise – at some point, we may reach a maximum age, they believe. How old that is, however, is unclear for now.
“We find that cohorts born between around 1900 and 1950 are experiencing historically unprecedented mortality postponement, but are still too young to break longevity records. As these cohorts attain advanced ages in coming decades, longevity records may therefore increase significantly,” the study authors write.
“Our results confirm prior work suggesting that if there is a maximum limit to the human lifespan, we are not yet approaching it,” they added.
Back in 2021, another study argued that the human body has a maximum lifespan of 150 years old. This research tackled the question from a biomedical position, unlike this latest study which solely looked at statistical trends.
The debate is unlikely to be settled any time soon. While some scientists argue there is a maximum lifespan limit, others contend that no evidence that such a rigid barrier exists. In this school of thought, biomedical breakthroughs and technological advances have the potential to let us live indefinitely.
The study is published in PLOS ONE.
Source Link: The Human Lifespan May Have A Limit – But We're Nowhere Near It Yet
