Family longevity linked to lower genetic coronary disease risk
In statistical models, lower genetic coronary disease risk accounted for up to 20% of the delay in cardiovascular disease among descendants of long-lived families.
Limit: The main association concerns estimated genetic risk scores, not coronary disease events
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational analysis drew on the Leiden Longevity Study, with data from more than 420 long-lived families across three generations, and the Leiden 85-plus study. Researchers combined many genetic variants into scores estimating inherited risk for leading causes of death in the Netherlands. Having more long-lived ancestors was associated with lower genetic risk for coronary artery disease, which affects arteries supplying the heart.
In statistical models, a lower coronary disease score accounted for up to 20% of the delay in heart and blood vessel disease among descendants of long-lived families. A separate genetic score focused on cholesterol processing predicted time to death from any cause in two independent populations aged 90 or older.
Why it matters
Members of long-lived families develop their first chronic disease more than 10 years later than the general population. The work examines whether inherited disease risk helps account for that healthy survival.
Caveats
This observational analysis cannot establish cause and effect. The mortality prediction was reported for two populations aged 90 or older, not across all ages.
- Human genetics
- Lipid and ceramide metabolism
- Cardiovascular disease
- Coronary artery disease
- Cholesterol metabolism polygenic risk score
- Humans
The paper
Low genetic risk for coronary artery disease underlies multigenerational longevity and healthy aging
Leiden University
GeroScience, May 1, 2026, Open access
