Sierra Felipe, Hadley Evan, Suzman Richard, Hodes Richard
National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892, USA.
Annu Rev Med. 2009;60:457-69. doi: 10.1146/annurev.med.60.061607.220533.
Life expectancy has increased dramatically in the United States and in much of the world in recent years and decades. The factors underlying this increase are incompletely understood and are undoubtedly complex. A question that drives current research is whether life expectancy can be further extended using current knowledge of modifiable risk factors. A still more challenging research focus is on the possibility that life expectancy might be further increased through knowledge gained from studies of the basic biology of aging and its genetic and environmental modifiers.
近年来及数十年来，美国和世界上许多地方的预期寿命都有了显著提高。导致这种增长的因素尚未完全明了，而且无疑是复杂的。推动当前研究的一个问题是，利用目前对可改变风险因素的认识，预期寿命是否能够进一步延长。一个更具挑战性的研究重点是，通过对衰老的基础生物学及其遗传和环境调节因素的研究获得的知识，预期寿命是否有可能进一步提高。
