Has humanity reached its maximum lifespan limit?

The study was published in the journal Nature Aging on October 7. People need to realize that life expectancy is limited and reassess assumptions about when to retire and how much money they will need to live their entire lives, said lead author S. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Researcher Mark Hayward at the University of Texas shares the view that humanity is reaching a threshold in longevity. He says that humans are currently incapable of making breakthroughs to increase life expectancy.

Emma Morano celebrated her 117th birthday in 2016 in Verbania, Italy. Photo: AP

What is the average life expectancy?

Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a given person can expect to live from birth. However, determining how long a person can live based on life expectancy is often inaccurate, as there are many life-altering factors such as deadly pandemics, miraculous cures, or other unexpected developments that can kill or save millions of lives.

In the new study, Olshansky and his colleagues looked at life expectancy estimates from 1990 to 2019, taken from a database maintained by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. The researchers focused on the United States and eight places in the world where people live the longest: Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain, and Switzerland.

Who lives the longest?

Researchers found that women still live longer than men, and that women's life expectancy is still improving, albeit at a slower rate. In 1990, the average improvement was about 2.5 years per decade. By the 2010s, it was 1.5 years.

Life expectancy in the United States is more problematic because it is heavily influenced by a host of problems that can kill people even before they reach old age, including drug overdoses, gun shootings, obesity and inequality that makes it difficult for some to get adequate health care.

Eileen Crimmins, a geriatrics expert at the University of Southern California, said she agreed with the study's findings. "For me personally, the most important issue is the relative bleakness and decline of the United States," she added.

Why can't life expectancy be increased?

Olshansky said the study shows that there is a limit to how long most people can live, and that we are approaching that limit. "Lifespan-extending technologies are being exhausted, and the reason is that aging is getting in the way," he said.

Experts say it’s likely that the number of people who live to 100 will increase in the coming decades, but that’s due to population growth. Olshansky says the percentage of people who reach 100 will remain low, with perhaps less than 15% of women and 5% of men living to that age in most countries. In 2019, just over 2% of Americans lived to 100, compared with about 5% in Japan and 9% in Hong Kong.

Ngoc Anh (according to AP)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/nhan-loai-da-dat-den-gioi-han-tuoi-tho-toi-da-post315820.html