Many of the people studied have lived very stressful lives. It was also found that a full one-third of all the centenarians were free of all major cognitive disorders, even Alzheimer's disease. Most centenarians live the majority of their lives in uncommonly good health, and we think they may be able to tell the rest of us something about how to do that. The Results Dr. Perls has concluded that genetics plays a greater role in longevity than we have thought. The good news is that more of us than previously thought may possess such factors.
Older mothers live longer.
Dr. Perls concludes that if you are a woman who naturally had a child in her forties, you are four times more likely to live to 100. If you have a sibling that is a centenarian your chances of survival increase greatly. Let's look at some of the non-genetic factors involved in longevity. Other Factors Genetics is not the only thing governing our longevity. Many researchers have found that those of us who live long have a strong tendency to shed stress.