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Research Article

The emergence of longevous populations

Fernando Colchero, Roland Rau, View ORCID ProfileOwen R. Jones, Julia A. Barthold, Dalia A. Conde, Adam Lenart, Laszlo Nemeth, Alexander Scheuerlein, Jonas Schoeley, Catalina Torres, Virginia Zarulli, Jeanne Altmann, Diane K. Brockman, Anne M. Bronikowski, Linda M. Fedigan, Anne E. Pusey, Tara S. Stoinski, Karen B. Strier, Annette Baudisch, Susan C. Alberts, and James W. Vaupel
PNAS first published November 21, 2016; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1612191113
Fernando Colchero
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
bDepartment of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
cMax Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock 18057, Germany;
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Roland Rau
cMax Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock 18057, Germany;
dInstitute of Sociology and Demography, University of Rostock, Rostock 18057, Germany;
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Owen R. Jones
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
eDepartment of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
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  • ORCID record for Owen R. Jones
Julia A. Barthold
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
fDepartment of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5000, Denmark;
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Dalia A. Conde
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
eDepartment of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
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Adam Lenart
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
fDepartment of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5000, Denmark;
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Laszlo Nemeth
cMax Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock 18057, Germany;
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Alexander Scheuerlein
cMax Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock 18057, Germany;
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Jonas Schoeley
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
cMax Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock 18057, Germany;
fDepartment of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5000, Denmark;
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Catalina Torres
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
fDepartment of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5000, Denmark;
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Virginia Zarulli
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
fDepartment of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5000, Denmark;
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Jeanne Altmann
gDepartment of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544;
hInstitute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, 00502 Nairobi, Kenya;
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Diane K. Brockman
iDepartment of Anthropology, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, NC 28223;
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Anne M. Bronikowski
jDepartment of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011;
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Linda M. Fedigan
kDepartment of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada T2N 1N4;
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Anne E. Pusey
lDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708;
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Tara S. Stoinski
mThe Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and Zoo Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30315;
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Karen B. Strier
nDepartment of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706;
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Annette Baudisch
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
eDepartment of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
fDepartment of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5000, Denmark;
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Susan C. Alberts
hInstitute of Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya, 00502 Nairobi, Kenya;
lDepartment of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708;
oDepartment of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708;
pDuke Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
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  • For correspondence: jvaupel@health.sdu.dk alberts@duke.edu
James W. Vaupel
aMax-Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5230, Denmark;
cMax Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock 18057, Germany;
fDepartment of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Odense 5000, Denmark;
pDuke Population Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
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  • For correspondence: jvaupel@health.sdu.dk alberts@duke.edu
  1. Contributed by James W. Vaupel, October 17, 2016 (sent for review July 26, 2016; reviewed by Michael Murphy and Deborah Roach)

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Significance

Public interest in social and economic equality is burgeoning. We examine a related phenomenon, lifespan equality, using data from charismatic primate populations and diverse human populations. Our study reveals three key findings. First, lifespan equality rises in lockstep with life expectancy, across primate species separated by millions of years of evolution and over hundreds of years of human social progress. Second, industrial humans differ more from nonindustrial humans in these measures than nonindustrial humans do from other primates. Third, in spite of the astonishing progress humans have made in lengthening the lifespan, a male disadvantage in lifespan measures has remained substantial—a result that will resonate with enduring public interest in male–female differences in many facets of life.

Abstract

The human lifespan has traversed a long evolutionary and historical path, from short-lived primate ancestors to contemporary Japan, Sweden, and other longevity frontrunners. Analyzing this trajectory is crucial for understanding biological and sociocultural processes that determine the span of life. Here we reveal a fundamental regularity. Two straight lines describe the joint rise of life expectancy and lifespan equality: one for primates and the second one over the full range of human experience from average lifespans as low as 2 y during mortality crises to more than 87 y for Japanese women today. Across the primate order and across human populations, the lives of females tend to be longer and less variable than the lives of males, suggesting deep evolutionary roots to the male disadvantage. Our findings cast fresh light on primate evolution and human history, opening directions for research on inequality, sociality, and aging.

  • biodemography
  • equality
  • lifespan
  • pace and shape
  • senescence

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: jvaupel{at}health.sdu.dk or alberts{at}duke.edu.
  • Author contributions: S.C.A. and J.W.V. designed research; F.C., R.R., A.B., S.C.A., and J.W.V. performed research; F.C., J.A.B., and A.B. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; F.C., R.R., O.R.J., J.A.B., A.L., L.N., A.S., J.S., C.T., and V.Z. analyzed data; J.A., D.K.B., A.M.B., L.M.F., A.E.P., T.S.S., K.B.S., and S.C.A. provided long-term data; and F.C., D.A.C., A.B., S.C.A., and J.W.V. wrote the paper.

  • Reviewers: M.M., London School of Economics; and D.R., University of Virginia.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • Data deposition: The data used in this paper are available from the following websites: nonhuman primate data, http://datadryad.org/resource/doi:10.5061/dryad.v28t5; human life tables, www.mortality.org/; nonhuman life tables, www.demogr.mpg.de/en/laboratories/evolutionary_biodemography_1171/projects/datlife_the_demography_of_aging_across_the_tree_of_life_database_744.htm.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1612191113/-/DCSupplemental.

Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.

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Emergence of longevous populations
Fernando Colchero, Roland Rau, Owen R. Jones, Julia A. Barthold, Dalia A. Conde, Adam Lenart, Laszlo Nemeth, Alexander Scheuerlein, Jonas Schoeley, Catalina Torres, Virginia Zarulli, Jeanne Altmann, Diane K. Brockman, Anne M. Bronikowski, Linda M. Fedigan, Anne E. Pusey, Tara S. Stoinski, Karen B. Strier, Annette Baudisch, Susan C. Alberts, James W. Vaupel
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nov 2016, 201612191; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1612191113

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Emergence of longevous populations
Fernando Colchero, Roland Rau, Owen R. Jones, Julia A. Barthold, Dalia A. Conde, Adam Lenart, Laszlo Nemeth, Alexander Scheuerlein, Jonas Schoeley, Catalina Torres, Virginia Zarulli, Jeanne Altmann, Diane K. Brockman, Anne M. Bronikowski, Linda M. Fedigan, Anne E. Pusey, Tara S. Stoinski, Karen B. Strier, Annette Baudisch, Susan C. Alberts, James W. Vaupel
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Nov 2016, 201612191; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1612191113
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