‘You cannot hack death’: Seeking an answer to the age-old question of whether we could live to 150
Could we live to the age of 150? And would we even want to?
If anyone knows, it’s Neuropsychiatrist Professor Perminder Sachdev, this week awarded the Ryman Prize by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, in recognition of work that’s deemed to have substantially enhanced the lives of older people.
Based in Sydney and trained in Auckland, he has overseen one of the world’s largest studies of centenarians (450 in a study in Sydney) and knows where the borders of longevity can be located.
Globally, the number of centenarians will increase sevento eight-fold over the next three decades, he says. A girl born in the 2000s has about a 17% higher chance of reaching 100, than one born in 1921. For boys the figure is around 12%.
So how long can we expect to live in future? Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment holds the record at 122. She died in 1997. She is the only person verified to have lived beyond 120.
Aileen Kars, the oldest known Kiwi, has 110 in her sights. She was born on September 12, 1913. The average New Zealand lifespan is 80.5 years for men, and for women 84.1 years.
So 150? Can it be done? Sachdev thinks not, miracles aside.
‘‘Can we hope to live to 150? With the current technology, no we can not,’’ he said on a UNSW Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing video last year.
‘‘We are reaching this limit of 120, and to cross that we are going to need big breakthroughs. A lot of the noise you hear about living to 200 is coming from Silicon Valley; they think they can solve any problem with technology. You cannot hack death, that is what biology is telling us.
‘‘We can reasonably hope to live to 100 with regular exercise, good nutrition, and a healthy lifestyle.
‘‘We can hope to live well into
‘‘We are reaching this limit of 120, and to cross that we are going to need big breakthroughs.’’ Professor Perminder Sachdev Neuropsychiatrist
our 90s as independent wellfunctioning individuals. That’s really the miracle of modern science, and a modern standard of living.’’
One issue is that while many are extending our lives, the years added tend to coincide with poorer health, which Sachdev calls ‘‘not a very good outcome’’.
As well, while more are reaching 100, the maximum age reached remains similar, rather than increasing. ‘‘It’s not just about increasing lifespan, it’s about increasing health-span,’’ he says.
Simply put – and complexities abound – over time the number of healthy cells we grow start to get outnumbered by those less healthy. Disease hastens the process, helping overcome the healthy cells. But that is not the only problem. ‘‘Frailty will kill you, it doesn’t have to be disease,’’ Sachdev says.
So how do we go about leading a long healthy life. Good news, it’s not just about genetics. Lifestyle counts. Madame Jeanne Calment smoked intermittently and had a daily red wine.
Personality traits linked to living longer are conscientiousness and optimism, lower levels of anxiety and neuroticism, resilience and the ability to bounce back from stress, Sachdev says.
Noeline Ritson, who is to turn 105 on Boxing Day, is living proof of that.
A World War II nurse, she lives in a serviced apartment in Wellington’s Malvina Major Retirement Village and wishes to not reach 150, saying she would not like seeing her relatives go before her.
‘‘When I wake up each day I think, gosh I’m still here. As soon as I get up and get going with my routine, my days are great,’’ she tells the Sunday Star-Times.
‘‘I have a very good family, who are very kind to me. I don’t feel old. I often think, 104, gosh how did that happen?
‘‘There’s no secret to living long, I just like life. I didn’t think about living long, it just happened. You take life day by day.’’
Sachdev’s point about handling stress well would seem to apply in Ritson’s case. She was widowed when she was 50 ‘‘which was the toughest time’’.
‘‘I knew I had to get over it and just get on with life.’’
In August 1943 she helped when a Liberator aircraft blew up in an explosion, which killed three of the five crew members and 11 of the 25 passengers.
The Ryman Prize is administered by the Ryman Foundation. An annual prize, it consists of a $250,000 grant, which is awarded to the best invention, idea, research concept or initiative that has enhanced quality of life for older people.
It is awarded in New Zealand but open to anyone, anywhere in the world with a bright idea.