Biology subjects

Janssens, A. A. P. O.

Publications and source records attributed to Janssens, A. A. P. O..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2019

Longevity Relatives Count score defines heritable longevity carriers and suggest case improvement in genetic studies

AbstractLongevity loci represent key mechanisms of a life-long decreased mortality and decreased/compressed morbidity. However, identifying such loci is challenging. One of the most plausible reasons is the uncertainty in defining long-lived cases with the heritable longevity trait amongst long-living phenocopies. To avoid phenocopies, family selection scores have been constructed but these have not yet been adopted as state of the art in longevity research. Here we aim to identify individuals with the heritable longevity trait by using current insights and a novel family score based on these insights. We use a unique dataset connecting living study participants to their deceased ancestors covering 37,825 persons from 1,326 five-generational families, living between 1788 and 2019. Our main finding suggests that longevity is transmitted for at least 2 subsequent generations only when at least 20% of all relatives are long-lived. This proves the importance of family data to avoid phenocopies in genetic studies.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

Longevity defined as top 10% survivors is transmitted as a quantitative genetic trait: results from large three-generation datasets

Survival to extreme ages clusters within families. However, identifying genetic loci conferring longevity and low morbidity in such longevous families is challenging. There is debate concerning the survival percentile that best isolates the genetic component in longevity. Here, we use three-generational mortality data from two large datasets, UPDB (US) and LINKS (Netherlands). We studied 21,046 unselected families containing index persons, their parents, siblings, spouses, and children, comprising 321,687 individuals. Our analyses provide strong evidence that longevity is transmitted as a quantitative genetic trait among survivors up to the top 10% of their birth cohort. We subsequently showed a survival advantage, mounting to 31%, for individuals with top 10% surviving first and second-degree relatives in both databases and across generations, even in the presence of non-longevous parents. To guide future genetic studies, we suggest to base case selection on top 10% survivors of their birth cohort with equally long-lived family members.

genetics↗