According to a new study, the sharp increase in life expectancy observed over the past two centuries is slowing down. This is stated in a study on advances in medical technology and genetic research published in the journal Nature Aging, UNN writes with reference to Euronews.
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Researchers at the University of Illinois-Chicago have found a decline in life expectancy growth in countries with the longest-lived populations. The study states that an increase in the number of people living to 100 years of age does not lead to a noticeable increase in life expectancy in general.
We need to recognize that there is a limit and perhaps reconsider assumptions about when people should retire and how much money they will need to live their lives
Olshansky and his partners followed life expectancy estimates for 1990-2019 taken from the database of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Germany.
The researchers focused on the eight countries where people live the longest: Australia, France, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as Hong Kong and the United States, which are not even in the top 40.
They found that women continue to live longer than men. At the same time, life expectancy is still increasing, but at a slower pace. In 1990, average life expectancy increased by about 2.5 years per decade, but in the 2010s, this figure dropped to 1.5 years.
In one calculation, researchers estimated what would happen in these countries if all deaths under the age of 50 were excluded. According to Olshansky, at best, the increase would be only 1.5 years.
Mark Hayward, a scientist at the University of Texas, commented on the study's findings. He believes that humanity has reached a plateau in life expectancy. "While there is always a chance that some breakthrough could push survival to greater heights, we don't have that right now," he said.
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According to the study, in 2019, just over 2% of Americans will live to be 100 years old, while in Japan it will be about 5%, and in Hong Kong - 9%. It is likely that the number of centenarians will increase in the coming decades, experts say, but this is due to population growth. According to Olshansky, the percentage of people who have reached the age of 100 will remain limited: in most countries, this figure will be less than 15% of women and 5% of men.
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