Longevity and Cognition

Angie SzumlinskiHealth, Studies

A project supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute on Aging (grant U19AG063893) called “Long Life Family Study” has gathered some interesting data that was published in Medicalxpress.com this month. Their website also has a lot of interesting information, a definite read for those of us caring for elders!

In response to a request for applications from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the Long Life Family Study was initiated to create and enroll a cohort of families enriched for exceptional longevity (EL) in order to discover factors that contribute to healthy aging and survival. The first visit was between 2006-2009 and established the familial cohort. During this visit, blood or saliva was collected in order to obtain DNA for genotyping. Annual follow-up has been completed on participants sine their enrollment. Between 2014-2017, a second in-person visit was performed to obtain deeper, longitudinal phenotyping of the existing cohort.

The third in-person visit, originally set to begin in August 2020, has been redesigned to be a split visit with a video component and remote blood draw followed by an in-person visit once the health and safety of COVID-19 can be better controlled. The knowledge gained from studying these families will be in why and how these seniors are protected and thus living exceptionally healthy long lives. Stay well and stay tuned!