Life Expectancy News and Research

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Life expectancy is the expected (in the statistical sense) number of years of life remaining at a given age. It is denoted by e''x'', which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged ''x'', according to a particular mortality experience.

Autistic people face a fourteen-year deficit in life expectancy

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the United States face a 14-year deficit in life expectancy, according to a new study by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and University of Colorado Anschutz.

10 Sep 2026

Could one amino acid help explain why men tend to live shorter lives?

A UK Biobank cohort and Mendelian randomization study involving 272,475 participants linked higher circulating tyrosine with greater all-cause mortality and genetically predicted higher tyrosine with shorter lifespan. After accounting for phenylalanine, the relationship with shorter lifespan was clearest in men, while findings in women were less consistent, suggesting a potential sex-specific role for tyrosine in longevity.

7 Sep 2026

AI-designed drug candidate reverses biological age in clinical study

Insilico Medicine ("Insilico"), a clinical-stage company focused on generative AI-driven drug discovery and development, today announced the publication of a new study conducted in collaboration with an international team of scientists from Harvard Medical School, Stanford University, The Broad Institute, RWTH Aachen University, Peking University and Westlake University.

7 Sep 2026

As life expectancy rises, healthy aging is more important than ever

Global disease burden is shifting toward aging-related conditions as people live longer, with these diseases now representing the largest expected lifetime health burden for newborns across all income groups. Modeling suggests that reducing aging-related disease could produce unusually large and progressively greater gains in both longevity and healthy life expectancy because improvements in survival and health reinforce one another.

3 Sep 2026

Study tracks global patterns and socioeconomic inequalities in the burden of breast cancer

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death among women globally, accounting for nearly 2.3 million new cases and 670,000 deaths in 2022 alone.

26 Aug 2026

Why living to 100 may depend on far more than diet and exercise

A critical narrative review found that healthy diets, regular physical activity, strong social ties, and psychological well-being can support healthier aging and reduce premature mortality, but none has been shown to reliably determine who reaches 100. The authors argue that exceptional longevity arises from complex interactions among biological resilience, genetics, social and environmental conditions, lifelong exposures, and chance rather than any universal lifestyle formula.

25 Aug 2026

Type 2 diabetes incidence increases 10-fold among American youth

Type 2 diabetes has traditionally been a disease that has developed mostly in middle-aged and older adults.

24 Aug 2026

Good sleep in midlife may extend working life expectancy

Healthy sleep patterns in mid life are linked to longer working life expectancy, suggest the findings of a large study of working age men and women, published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

18 Aug 2026

A 30-year study found a surprising link between alcohol, survival and heart attack risk

In a 30-year study of 973 middle-aged Swedish male automotive workers, alcohol consumption was associated with lower all-cause mortality and longer estimated time to death, while beer consumption was linked to a higher likelihood of myocardial infarction. No significant association was found between alcohol consumption and stroke, and the authors cautioned that socioeconomic differences, self-reported intake, and other unmeasured factors may have influenced the findings.

14 Aug 2026

Meat, stress and risk-taking: what 38 experiments reveal about masculinity threat

Experimental evidence suggests that masculinity threat can push some men toward health-risk behaviors, with the clearest and most consistent effects seen in meat-related food choices. Across 38 experiments, effects on stress, fitness, risk-taking, and relationships were mixed or limited, while individual beliefs about masculinity shaped how men responded.

14 Aug 2026

One cognitive ability stood out in a study of Western diets and Alzheimer’s risk genes

A Western dietary pattern was associated with faster attention decline among older adults carrying the APOE ε4 allele, while no significant cognitive associations emerged for a Prudent dietary pattern. However, the Western diet association lost statistical significance after excluding participants with possible baseline cognitive impairment, making the finding exploratory.

11 Aug 2026

Digital care app improves quality of life for breast cancer patients

Regularly checking in with patients with metastatic breast cancer by way of an app to enquire about their well-being – and responding promptly – can alleviate their debilitating fatigue and make their daily lives easier.

6 Aug 2026

Exercise helps protect Hispanic adults from late life cognitive decline

Previous studies have examined the associations between adherence to LS7 and cognitive outcomes, with findings suggesting that higher LS7 scores are associated with better cognitive performance, reduced dementia risk and improved brain health.

4 Aug 2026

Community gathering places cut cognitive risk for non-exercising seniors

Community gathering places, where residents lead group activities, have been promoted across Japan as part of long-term care prevention efforts to extend healthy life expectancy.

31 Jul 2026

Survey shows Native Americans lack awareness of plant-based diets for diabetes prevention

Although Native Americans experience some of the nation's highest rates of type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases, a new national survey suggests many have not heard about one of the most effective dietary approaches for preventing and even reversing the disease.

27 Jul 2026

Longer lives now come with more years spent in poor health worldwide

Global life expectancy rose from 64.6 to 73.8 years between 1990 and 2023, but healthy life expectancy did not keep pace. The widening morbidity gap means most populations now spend a decade or more in poor health.

26 Jul 2026

Global study reveals widening gap between lifespan and healthspan

People around the world are living longer than ever before but spending more of those additional years in poor health, according to a new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study published in The Lancet Public Health.

21 Jul 2026

Experimental drug shows promise against NRAS-driven melanoma

A research team from Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah (the U) reports that a groundbreaking pathway-targeted therapy could be an effective treatment for certain melanoma patients and fill an unmet clinical need for patients with advanced disease.

16 Jul 2026

Study maps how macrophages age across different body tissues

Why does the immune system become less effective as we age? A new USC study published in BMC Biology offers fresh insights by examining a key immune cell type across tissues: macrophages.

14 Jul 2026

Researchers propose simple finger prick test to track metabolic health

Researchers writing in Frontiers in Science propose using simple tests to track metabolic health in non-communicable diseases, which cause three in four deaths worldwide.

14 Jul 2026