1980/07/17 by James F. Fries · 3,363 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Environmental Science · Medicine · Psychology · #Aging and Gerontology Research #Climate Change and Health Impacts #Demography #Environmental health #Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms #Gerontology #Life expectancy #Life span #Life style #Longevity #Medicine #Pediatrics #Population #Quality of life (healthcare)
paper · doi:10.1056/nejm198007173030304
published in New England Journal of Medicine 303(3), 130-135 (Massachusetts Medical Society)
openalex publication_date 1980/07/17 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
The average length of life has risen from 47 to 73 years in this century, but the maximum life span has not increased. Therefore, survival curves have assumed an ever more rectangular form. Eighty per cent of the years of life lost to nontraumatic, premature death have been eliminated, and most premature deaths are now due to the chronic diseases of the later years. Present data allow calculation of the ideal average life span, approximately 85 years. Chronic illness may presumably be postponed by changes in life style, and it has been shown that the physiologic and psychologic markers of aging may be modified. Thus, the average age at first infirmity can be raised, thereby making the morbidity curve more rectangular. Extension of adult vigor far into a fixed life span compresses the period of senescence near the end of life. Health-research strategies to improve the quality of life require careful study of the variability of the phenomena of aging and how they may be modified.