Study Finds Offspring
of Centenarians Healthier

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Whether it's the genes or the lifestyle, living to an old age appears to confer benefits to one's children.

Researchers said on Monday that the children of people who live to be 100 have strikingly lower problems with heart disease and other health troubles than those whose parents die in their 70s.

"Exceptional longevity runs in families but at this point it's difficult to predict how much of this effect is genetic and how much is related to environment and lifestyle," said Dellara Terry of the Boston University Medical Center.

"Our research suggests that children of centenarians have some cardiovascular health advantages over the rest of us but Americans can still improve their health and age more successfully by not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight and exercising regularly," she said in a report released at the annual scientific meeting of the American Heart Association.

The study was based on a look at 176 offspring of centenarians. They had a 26% incidence of high blood pressure and a 13% incidence of heart disease compared to 52% and 27% respectively for those in the group whose parents did not live as long.

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