Research on the prediction of longevity from both individual and family perspectives

Abstract

Increasing human longevity is of global interest. The present study explored the prediction of longevity from both individual perspective and family perspective based on demographic and psychosocial factors. A total of 186 longevous family members and 237 ordinary elderly family members participated in a cross-sectional study, and a sample of 62 longevous elderly and 57 ordinary elderly were selected for comparative research. The results showed that it was three times more female than male in longevous elderly group. Up to 71.2% of longevous elderly had no experience in education, which was significantly lower than that of ordinary elderly. Due to such extreme age, more widowed (81.4%) elderly than those in married (18.6%). Less than one-seventh of the longevous elderly maintained the habit of smoking, and about one-third of them liked drinking, both were significantly lower than that of ordinary elderly. In terms of psychosocial factors, longevous elderly showed lower neuroticism and social support, while higher extraversion, compared with the ordinary elderly. However, there were no significant differences between the two family groups in demographic and psychosocial variables, except longevous families showing lower scores in neuroticism. Regression analysis found that neuroticism, social support and smoking habit had significant impact on individuals’ life span, then, neuroticism and psychoticism were the key factor to predict families’ longevity. We conclude that good emotional management, benign interpersonal support, and moderation of habits are important factors for individual longevity, and the intergenerational influence of personality is closely related to family longevity.