The life expectancy rate is rising but slowly

The oldest human on record, Jeanne Calment of France, lived to the age of 122. What are the odds that the rest of us get there, too? According to a new research published in the journal “Natural Aging,” the answer is not high unless there is some kind of transformative medical breakthrough.

The study looked at data on life expectancy at birth collected between 1990 and 2019 from some of the places where people typically live the longest: Australia, France, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. Data from the United States was also included, though the country’s life expectancy is lower. Dr. Amit Shah, MD, FACP, AGSF, Geriatrician at Mayo Clinic Arizona joined us to discuss.

The researchers found that while average life expectancies increased during that time in all of the locations, the rates at which they rose slowed down. The one exception was Hong Kong, where life expectancy did not decelerate.