People today live much longer than their ancestors did with the help of modern medicine.
But there’s a difference between dragging out a sick life via medicine vs. genetic mutations over the past few generations leading to a naturally long and healthy lifespan.
Some people reach their 80s and 90s with relatively few health problems, while others develop chronic diseases decades earlier.
Genetic mutations that affect an entire population need a lot longer than just several generations to develop.
Thus, the reason for living longer, as mentioned, is due to amazing medical advances.
This begs the question: Do medical achievements mean better health for longer, or rather, extension of a sickly existence?
Researchers have found that while lifespan has increased dramatically, healthspan — the years spent free of major disease and significant cognitive decline — has not expanded at the same rate.
Scientists have also noticed that exceptional longevity often runs in families.
Relatives of long-lived individuals frequently experience heart disease, diabetes and other chronic illnesses much later than average.
Looking Beyond Individuals
Most longevity research has focused on people who live unusually long lives.
A study presented at the annual meeting (2026) of the European Society of Human Genetics in Gothenburg took a different approach.
Instead of examining individuals, researchers looked at entire families with a history of exceptional longevity. They looked at more than just genes.
Income, education, lifestyle habits, healthcare access and environmental exposures all influence how people age.
Because of these factors, some members from average families may live very long lives, while some members of long-lived families may not.
Evidence of Inherited Health Advantages
The findings come from the ongoing Leiden Longevity Study.
According to researcher Pasquale Putter of Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, earlier work showed that middle age adults with long-lived parents developed cardiometabolic diseases about 13 years later than did their spouses whose parents had shorter lifespans.
The results suggested that the benefits associated with healthy aging were being passed from one generation to the next.
Researchers analyzed DNA from 212 long-lived sibling groups participating in the study.
Their investigation narrowed thousands of possible genes down to about 350 strong candidates.
Further analysis identified 12 rare genetic variants that alter proteins and may help support longer, healthier lives.
The CGAS Gene Stands Out
One particularly interesting variant was found in the CGAS gene, which has already been linked to aging related processes.
The variant appeared in two separate long-lived families.
- CGAS plays a role in the body’s immune response by triggering inflammation when misplaced DNA is detected inside cells.
- This can occur during infections or after cellular damage.
Researchers believe people carrying the variant may effectively operate with only one active copy of the gene.
That reduced activity could lower harmful inflammation while still allowing the body to fight infections and repair damage.
Inflammation and Aging Gracefully
Chronic inflammation is widely considered a major contributor to aging and its related illnesses.
The researchers suspect that a more balanced CGAS response may help reduce long-term tissue damage without weakening essential immune defenses.
They were particularly surprised by the strength of the effects seen in laboratory experiments involving the mutation.
Testing the Theory in Killifish
The CGAS pathway can be beneficial or harmful depending on how it functions.
Too little activity may increase vulnerability to infections and cancer, while too much can drive chronic inflammation.
To learn more, scientists plan to study the mutation in killifish at the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Ageing in Germany.
Because killifish naturally live only three to nine months, researchers can quickly observe whether the genetic change affects lifespan and overall health.
