Could the growing number of centenarians be evidence that human longevity has no upper limit?
In recent years, some scientists have proposed that at the most advanced ages, the risk of death may stop increasing.
Confirming this hypothesis would challenge the idea that human lifespan is constrained by a biological ceiling.
The dramatic increase in life expectancy during the 20th century was driven mainly by declines in infant mortality and infectious diseases.
At the same time, maximum lifespan has changed little. The record set by Jeanne Calment, who died at age 122 in 1997, should not obscure the fact that centenarians have existed since ancient times.
Only in recent decades has the increase in lifespan in developed countries been driven primarily by declining mortality at advanced ages. The now substantial number of centenarians provides researchers with enough data to investigate whether longevity is truly increasing.
By analyzing populations over the age of 105, researchers (1) observed that although the risk of death rises exponentially with age, this increase appears to slow gradually after age 80 and may eventually level off beyond age 105.
This phenomenon is known as a mortality plateau, a hypothesis that could push back the notion of fixed limits to longevity.
Caution is warranted, even though the authors of this study note that similar observations exist in other animal models.
Scientific consensus has not yet been reached (2), but one biological pathway deserves attention: glycation.
Advanced glycation end products (AGEs), major contributors to biological aging, generally increase and accumulate throughout life. Yet studies have found that exceptionally long-lived individuals exhibit lower-than-expected levels of glycation and a greater ability to counteract its harmful effects (3).
In other words, people who live beyond 100 appear to escape, at least in part, the accelerating aging process linked to glycation that is seen in most of the population.
In other words, people who live beyond 100 appear to escape, at least in part, the accelerating aging process linked to glycation that is seen in most of the population.
One thing is certain: the day humans regularly surpass the age of 122, it will represent more than a new longevity record. It will demonstrate that what we once considered a biological limit was, in fact, a limit of our knowledge.
To be continued…
© AGE Breaker 06 2026
Glycation is one of the major drivers of aging. Resulting from the binding of sugars to the body’s proteins, glycation generates toxic compounds that contribute to cellular aging. Glycation is involved in metabolic disorders, musculoskeletal and skin aging, cognitive decline and numerous age-related diseases.
AGE Breaker, glycation and longevity science.
(1) : BARBI, Elisabetta, LAGONA, Francesco, MARSILI, Marco, et al. The plateau of human mortality: Demography of longevity pioneers. Science, 2018, vol. 360, no 6396, p. 1459-1461.
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat3119
(2) : DANG, Linh Hoang Khanh, CAMARDA, Carlo Giovanni, OUELLETTE, Nadine, et al. The question of the human mortality plateau. Demographic Research, 2023, vol. 48, p. 321-338.
DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2023.48.11
https://www.demographic-research.org/articles/volume/48/11
(3) : Scavello, F., Tedesco, C. C., Castiglione, S., Maciag, A., Sangalli, E., Veglia, F., … & Raucci, A. (2021). Modulation of soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products isoforms and advanced glycation end products in long-living individuals. Biomarkers in Medicine, 15(11), 785-796.
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