What are the factors that influence human development and lifespan?

Introduction

Human development and lifespan are influenced by a complex interplay of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Understanding these influences can provide insights into the biology of aging and inform strategies to promote longevity.

Key Insights

Genetic Factors:
- Genetic factors account for approximately 20-40% of the variation in human lifespan, with specific genes such as HLA-DQA1/DRB1, LPA, APOE, CHRNA3/5, CDKN2A/B, SH2B3, and FOXO3A being associated with longevity .
- The influence of genetics on lifespan becomes more significant at advanced ages, particularly after age 60 .
- Evolutionarily conserved genes essential for viability, such as those involved in insulin signaling pathways, play a crucial role in lifespan regulation.
Epigenetic and Molecular Mechanisms:
- Epigenetic changes, including DNA methylation and histone modifications, significantly impact aging and longevity by affecting cellular function and stress resistance.
- Efficient DNA repair mechanisms are essential for maintaining genomic integrity and preventing age-related cellular damage.
Environmental and Lifestyle Factors:
- Lifestyle factors such as smoking cessation, educational attainment, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels positively correlate with increased lifespan, while obesity, coronary artery disease (CAD), and smoking negatively impact longevity .
- Nutrition plays a critical role, with caloric restriction, lower protein intake, and diets rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and coffee being associated with longer lifespan and reduced all-cause mortality .
Early Life Influences:
- Early life exposures, including maternal factors like age, smoking, socioeconomic status, and nutritional status, significantly influence the aging trajectory and lifespan of offspring.
- Those born with lower birth weights who become overweight or obese in childhood are at a greater disadvantage in terms of lifespan.
Brain and Central Nervous System:
- The brain plays a pivotal role in lifespan regulation through signaling pathways that control energy metabolism, stress resistance, and cellular regeneration. Dietary restriction and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) signaling are particularly important in this context.

Conclusion

Human development and lifespan are influenced by a combination of genetic, epigenetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. Genetic predispositions become more significant with age, while lifestyle choices such as diet, education, and smoking cessation can profoundly impact longevity. Early life conditions also play a crucial role in determining the aging trajectory. Understanding these factors can help in developing strategies to enhance human health and lifespan.

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What are the factors that influence human development and lifespan?

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Genome-wide meta-analysis associates HLA-DQA1/DRB1 and LPA and lifestyle factors with human longevity

HLA-DQA1/DRB1 and LPA genes, educational attainment, and HDL cholesterol levels positively influence human longevity, while smoking, obesity, and high BMI negatively impact it.

Genetic influence on human lifespan and longevity

Genetic influence on human lifespan increases after age 60, with male monozygotic twins having a greater chance of reaching old age than female dizygotic twins.

Genes and Longevity of Lifespan

This review highlights the importance of genes and cellular pathways in extending lifespan, with calorie restriction therapy playing a key role in extending lifespan.

The genetics of human longevity: an intricacy of genes, environment, culture and microbiome

Life-long genetic and environmental factors, including the microbiome, play a complex role in human longevity, with environmental factors, lifestyle changes, and social and cultural influences also contributing.

How does the brain control lifespan?

The brain plays a key role in regulating lifespan by monitoring and controlling peripheral energy metabolism and stress responses, potentially regulating lifespan in the context of food availability.

Genetic and epigenetic regulation of human aging and longevity.

Genetic and epigenetic factors play a crucial role in human aging and longevity, with 57 gene loci implicated in lifespan and epigenomic changes affecting cellular function and stress resistance.

Prospects for the genetics of human longevity

Human longevity is influenced by genetic factors, with energy metabolism playing a central role and oxidative damage potentially limiting cell ageing.

Nutrition and longevity – From mechanisms to uncertainties

Caloric restriction, methionine restriction, lower protein intake, and spermidine supplementation are key factors in extending lifespan in model organisms and rodents, while high intake of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, and coffee reduces all-cause mortality risk.

Lifespan Regulation by Evolutionarily Conserved Genes Essential for Viability

64 essential genes essential for Caenorhabditis elegans development extend lifespan when inactivated postdevelopmentally, suggesting that insulin-signaling pathways play a role in aging regulation at any stage of life.

Early determinants of the ageing trajectory.

Early life exposures, such as maternal factors, can significantly impact an individual's ageing trajectory and the development of age-related diseases.

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