Scientists say that extreme longevity can hit a new step in the next decades

People live longer on average and the number of people who are under “extreme longevity” has also increased. Although most people do not live to reach the age of 100, the data show that people who manage to live beyond this age have increased in recent decades. A new analysis of the University of Washington estimates that this trend will continue, potentially including the new records at the end of the century. 

The study focuses specifically on supercentialers, the term used for people living at age 110 or beyond. Such extreme ages are rare, although researchers note that the number of people with 100 years of age or older hit nearly half a million around the world.

Currently, the oldest person in the world, Kane Tanaka, is 118; The oldest ever known person, Jeanne Cament, died at the age of 122. At the end of this century, the researchers of this new study believe that some people can eclipse these ages and reach up to 130 years, a figure that would be both incredibly rare and a new milestone for longevity.

The estimate is based on statistical modeling, which found that there was a “high likelihood” that someone will break the age of global registration of 122 and that it will probably involve a new record of 25 to 132 years. The probability of a new record age in the coming decades is “nearly 100%”.

The likelihood that someone reached the age of 124 was judged by 99%, while the chances of a person reaching the age of 127 were 68%. Reaching the age of 130 will be much rarer, with the probability of only 13%. Beyond this age, the study revealed that it would be “extremely unlikely” that someone reaches the age of 135.