SCIENCE
Humans may be reaching the zenith of life expectancy
October 8, 2024 - After years of medical advances the rate at which human life expectancy is rising is slowing down, concludes a new study looking at data in countries where people live the longest.
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A new study looking at data on life expectancy over the last three decades, concludes that while average life expectancies have increased, the rates at which they are rising have slowed.
The data implies that humans could be approaching the zenith of what’s possible for average life span, after years of medical and technological advances.
The study looks at data on life expectancy at birth (1990-2019) from locations where people typically live the longest – Australia, France, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
Researchers found that although average life expectancies increased during the period of study, their rate of increase slowed down. Hong Kong was the exception where life expectancy did not decelerate, largely due to economic prosperity and tobacco control.
Lead author Stuart Olshansky, of the University of Illinois Chicago, says, “Most people alive today at older ages are living on time that was manufactured by medicine”.