Researchers analyzed 44,637 people from Stockholm County using data from a massive population-based resource of clinical lab results. These participants, all born between 1893 and 1920 (ages 64 to 99), had routine blood tests performed between 1985 and 1996. Then came the long wait: participants were tracked for up to 35 years, using national registers that recorded disease, death, and residency status.
Of these people, 1,224 reached the age of 100, with 84.6% being women – consistent with known gender differences in longevity.
Turns out, yes – at least to some degree.
Extreme values
The scientists looked at 12 routine blood markers. These included:
- Glucose and total cholesterol for metabolic health
- Creatinine for kidney function
- Liver enzymes such as gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and lactate dehydrogenase (LD)
- Iron markers and uric acid, often associated with inflammation
- Albumin, which signals nutritional status
Their conclusions were precise: extreme values – either too high or too low – reduced the odds of reaching 100.
Key findings
“We found that, on the whole, those who made it to their hundredth birthday tended to have lower levels of glucose, creatinine and uric acid from their 60s onwards,” researcher Karin Modig writes in a Live Science article. “For exContinue reading…
