The question of whether human lifespan is limited has been a topic of debate for millennia.
Estimates indicate that the maximum human lifespan has increased throughout recorded history. For instance, the Jews at the end of the Bronze Age considered 80 years to be the maximum lifespan for humans. A millennium later, the Romans viewed this figure as 100 years.
The maximum human lifespan has increased throughout recorded history. (Image: IE).
To date, Jeanne Calment, a French woman, passed away in 1997 at the age of 122, currently holding the record for the oldest person in the world. Despite advancements in medical science, no one has yet been able to break this record.
According to a new study, humans have not yet reached their maximum lifespan, and the existing record could potentially be broken in the coming decades, around the year 2060.
The research suggests: “if there is a maximum limit to human lifespan, we have not yet approached it.”
Japanese women may surpass this record
Scientists from the University of South Florida and the University of Georgia in the United States led the new study.
They utilized a mathematical model to predict mortality trends in the coming years. A dataset of mortality rates from both historical and current individuals aged 50 to 100 from 19 countries was analyzed for this purpose. The calculations were used to forecast the lifespan humans could achieve in the future.
“We found that cohorts born from around 1900 to 1950 are experiencing an unprecedented delay in mortality rates in history, but they are still too young to break longevity records. As these cohorts reach older ages in the coming decades, longevity records could increase significantly,” the authors of the study wrote.
Statistical analysis indicates that Japanese women could live up to 122 years in the coming decades.
Individuals born in the 1930s or 1940s are also projected to potentially break the longevity records in the coming decades, provided they maintain good health and receive medical care.
However, there are many ongoing debates surrounding this topic, and not all researchers are convinced by the results based on the aforementioned study.
