Nonagenarian Siblings and Their Offspring Display Lower Risk of Mortality and Morbidity than Sporadic Nonagenarians: The Leiden Longevity Study

OBJECTIVES: To compare the risk of mortality of nonagenarian siblings with that of sporadic nonagenarians (not selected on having a nonagenarian sibling) and to compare the prevalence of morbidity in their offspring with that of the offsprings' partners. DESIGN: Longitudinal (mortality risk) and cross-sectional (disease prevalence). SETTING: Nationwide sample. PARTICIPANTS: The Leiden Longevity Study consists of 991 nonagenarian siblings derived from 420 Caucasian families, 1,365 of their offspring, and 621 of the offsprings' partners. In the Leiden 85-plus Study, 599 subjects aged 85 were included, of whom 275 attained the age of 90 (sporadic nonagenarians). MEASUREMENTS: All nonagenarian siblings and sporadic nonagenarians were followed for mortality (with a mean +/- standard deviation follow-up time of 2.7 +/- 1.4 years and 3.0 +/- 1.5 years, respectively). Information on medical history and medication use was collected for offspring and their partners. RESULTS: Nonagenarian siblings had a 41% lower risk of mortality (P <.001) than sporadic nonagenarians. The offspring of nonagenarian siblings had a lower prevalence of myocardial infarction (2.4% vs 4.1%, P = .03), hypertension (23.0% vs 27.5%, P = .01), diabetes mellitus (4.4% vs 7.6%, P = .004), and use of cardiovascular medication (23.0% vs 28.9%, P = .003) than their partners. CONCLUSION: The lower mortality rate of nonagenarian siblings and lower prevalence of morbidity in their middle-aged offspring reinforce the notion that resilience against disease and death have similar underlying biology that is determined by genetic or familial factors. J Am Geriatr Soc 57:1634-1637, 2009.