Primate longevity and the "invariant aging rate" hypothesis

Colchero, F., Aburto, JM, Archie, EA etal. Primate longevity and the "invariant aging rate" hypothesis. nat commun 12, 3666 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23894-3

Commentary

This study tested the "invariant rate of aging" hypothesis. Although some people generally believe that it is possible to slow down the rate of aging, there is no conclusion that this can actually be achieved. Is it a biological constraint that limits plasticity? The hypothesis tested in this study is that the rate of aging is relatively fixed within a species.

The study, which tested a collection of 39 human and non-human primate datasets across seven genera, first summarized the highly regular relationship between life expectancy and lifespan equality seen in humans in non-human primates. Second, we showed that the variation in aging rates within the genus is orders of magnitude smaller than the variation in pre-adult and age-independent mortality rates. Finally, we showed that variation in aging rate, but not in other mortality parameters, leads to pronounced species-atypical changes in mortality patterns. These results provide an explanation for the invariance of the aging hypothesis.

In summary, it is stated that although human life expectancy has been increasing, aging has not changed. However, one factor that has contributed to the increase in life expectancy is the overall decrease in mortality rates, and whether these factors will affect aging in the future is not clearly concluded at this point.

Will the increase in life expectancy slow down the aging process? It seems that many factors should be considered in order to explain the relationship between the two.