Oldest American turns 115: The science of longevity
Key Takeaways
Elizabeth Francis recently celebrated her 115th birthday, becoming the oldest person in the US.
Francis’ longevity may be due to her ability to cope with stress and her positive social connections, which together with several other lifestyle factors appear to be linked to prolonged life expectancy.
One recent study showed that following a healthy lifestyle, even in later life, can offset genetic risk for a shorter lifespan.
Elizabeth Francis became the oldest person in the US on July 25, 2024, when she turned 115. Francis, who joins only 67 other individuals throughout history known to have reached that age, said: “I just feel like living every day.”[]
Secrets to a long life
According to LongeviQuest, a global authority on the world’s oldest people, Francis was born in St. Mary Parish, LA, in 1909, and now lives with her daughter in Houston, TX.[] Francis primarily credits her longevity to her faith in God.
Details of her quality of life were not disclosed, but she is cared for by her granddaughter and visited daily by family and friends, along with members of her congregation. Together with these strong social connections, genetics may play a part in Francis’ longevity—her sister, for example, lived to the age of 106.
Another factor potentially contributing to Francis’ longevity is her ability to cope with stress. She has lived through both world wars, and survived the 1918 influenza outbreak and the COVID-19 pandemic. Most recently, she was affected by Hurricane Beryl, which struck just west of Houston on July 8, hitting her house.[]
LongeviQuest CEO Ben Meyers remarked on Francis’ longevity in a recent Guardian piece. “[Francis] has seen some things in her 115 years, but none of it has seemed to rattle her,” he said.[] Instead, she has been known to meet each chapter in her life with optimism, humor, strength and wisdom.
Lifestyle factors at play
Stress management and positive social connections were among eight lifestyle factors associated with a lower risk of early death and a prolonged life expectancy in a 2024 study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.[]
The other lifestyle factors included never smoking, no excessive alcohol consumption, no opioid use disorder, regular consistent physical activity, restorative sleep, and a predominantly plant-based eating pattern with little unprocessed foods.
The aforementioned study calculated age- and sex-specific mortality rates in 719,147 veterans aged 40 to 99 enrolled in the Veteran Affairs Million Veteran Program (2011–2019). The researchers estimated life expectancy among 276,132 of the veterans who had complete data on the eight lifestyle factors. A total of 34,247 deaths occurred during more than 1 million person-years of follow-up.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition authors commented on the significance of the lifestyle factors they identified. “We estimated that comprehensive adherence to all 8 low-risk lifestyle factors could prolong life expectancy at age 40 [years] by 24.0 [years] for male veterans and 20.5 [years] for female veterans, compared with those who adopted zero low-risk lifestyle factors.”
Offsetting genetic risk
Francis may have genes that aided her longevity, but what about individuals at high genetic risk for a shorter lifespan?
A study published in The Lancet: Healthy Longevity suggested that a healthy lifestyle could offset genetic risk for a shorter lifespan.[]
Participants (a total of 36,164 adults aged 65 and older) were recruited from the prospective Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (1998–2018). They were categorized into unhealthy, intermediate, and healthy lifestyle groups based on their current smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and diet. For a genetic association analysis, 9,633 participants were placed at low and high genetic risk, calculated according to the median genetic risk score based on 11 lifespan loci.
There were 27,462 deaths during a median follow-up of 3.12 years; these individuals were included in the lifestyle association analysis. In the genetic association analysis group, 5,618 individuals died during a median follow-up of 5.57 years.
The study results showed that the healthy lifestyle group had a lower all-cause mortality risk than the unhealthy lifestyle group.
The highest mortality risk occurred in the high-genetic-risk and the unhealthy lifestyle groups. Moreover, following a healthy lifestyle had an impact on longevity in the genetic risk groups: It was associated with a lifespan gain of 3.84 years in the low-genetic-risk group and with an even greater gain of 4.35 years in the high-genetic-risk group.
“A healthy lifestyle, even in late-life, was associated with lower mortality risk and longer life expectancy among Chinese older adults, highlighting the importance of a healthy lifestyle in extending the lifespan, especially for individuals with high genetic risk,” the authors concluded. “Lifestyle modification and promotion of a healthy lifestyle in late-life can contribute to reduction of the mortality burden, prevention of early mortality, and promotion of healthy aging.”
What this means for you
The oldest person in the US recently reached the age of 115, potentially aided by her ability to cope with stress and her positive social connections. These and other lifestyle factors, including sleeping and eating well, exercising regularly, and avoiding toxic substances, are connected to a prolonged life expectancy. Moreover, following a healthy lifestyle, even in later life, may offset genetic risk for a shorter lifespan and should be promoted in clinical practice.