The human lifespan

Abstract

This paper examines the distribution of deaths in life tables for the population of England and Wales as a means of exploring the way in which the length of life is steadily advancing. To assess the possibility for future extension, some extreme assumptions are made about the reduction in mortality rates for certain causes. A distinction is made between ‘anticipated' deaths and ‘senescent' deaths, the latter group falling within bounds either side of a terminal peak in the distribution of deaths by age. For males, the extreme assumptions yield a peak at age 86 with some 85 per cent of deaths within the senescent area. For females, the peak is at about age 92 with 90 per cent of deaths in the senescent area.