The secret of longevity? Don’t see a doctor

There’s a small group of Brazilians who are living well beyond 100—but what’s their secret?

For one thing, they live in isolated areas and don’t see a doctor, and they’ve never been vaccinated, researchers from the University of Sao Paulo have discovered.

For another, there’s enormous genetic variability and they seem to have a resilience against a range of viruses and chronic diseases that afflict us in modern societies.

The researchers have been researching these long-livers for more than a decade, but they don’t seem to be any closer to understanding the extraordinary longevity of the study group, made up of more than 160 centenarians, including 20 validated supercentenarians drawn from diverse regions of Brazil with wide-ranging social, cultural, and environmental backgrounds.

Participants included Sister Inah, who was recognized as the world’s oldest living person until her death last April at the age of 116.  The cohort also included the two oldest men in the world. One passed away last November at age 112, while the other is currently 113 years old.

But they’re not only living to a grand old age.  They also have all their mental and physical functions, and most of them live far away from healthcare and doctors, and they survived the Covid-19 pandemic without being vaccinated.

Genetics could explain this extreme longevity.  A 110-year-old woman in the cohort has nieces aged 100, 104, and 106, making it one of the longest-lived families ever documented in Brazil. The oldest niece, now 106, was still competing as a swimming champion at age 100.

This pattern matches previous findings showing that siblings of centenarians are between five and 17 times more likely to reach extreme old age themselves.

Biologically, their immune cells maintain protein recycling systems that function at levels like much younger people. Cellular cleanup processes remain active and efficient, helping prevent the buildup of damaged proteins.

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