The sequenced genomes of individuals aged ≥80 years, who were highly educated, self-referred volunteers and with no self-reported chronic diseases were compared to young controls. In these data, healthy ageing is a distinct phenotype from exceptional longevity and genetic factors that protect against disease might be enriched in this population.
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Acknowledgements
The authors' work is supported by the VELUX Foundation (grant number: Velux 31205). K.C. is part of The Long Life Family Study, which is funded by the USA National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health (NIA/NIH cooperative agreements U01AG023712, U01AG23744, U01AG023746, U01AG023749, U01AG023755).
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Christensen, K., McGue, M. Healthy ageing, the genome and the environment. Nat Rev Endocrinol 12, 378–380 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2016.79
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2016.79