American researchers found that the longest a human being can live is about 115 years.
the average life expectancy has risen greatly. This has resulted partly from developments in modern medicine, including the use of vaccines, antibiotic drugs and improved treatments for cancer and heart disease. In addition, there have been many improvements in public health and nutrition.
Researchers in the new study said their findings suggest that the greatest average human lifespan was reached during the 1990s. But the number of people living past 110 years is very small, and considered not reachable by most of the population.
The study found that survival rates have improved since 1900, with some older adults living to age 100 and above. But then many of those individuals died a short time later, regardless of when they were born.
The head of the study, Jan Vijg, is head of the genetics department at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He said the findings show a decrease in the ability to reduce death rates among older adults. He said this suggests a possible limit to human lifespan.
Brandon Milholland was a lead scientist on the study. As he noted, “It is possible that someone might live slightly longer, but the odds of anybody in the world surviving to 125 in any given year is less than one in 10,000.”
Jan Vijg noted that continued medical developments to improve the quality of life - especially in the developed world - could push average life expectancy beyond 80. But he said researchers still do not expect the average human lifespan to ever break 100.