The Interplay of Genes and Environment on Health and Longevity

This essay investigates the intricate relationship between genetic and environmental factors in determining human health and longevity. It explores the influence of genes, such as CETP, FOXO3, and APOE, and their association with cell maintenance and metabolism, contributing to a longer lifespan. The essay also examines the impact of environmental factors, including lifestyle, dietary habits, access to healthcare, and cultural practices, using examples from regions like Okinawa, Sardinia, and Ikaria, where people exhibit higher than average life expectancies. The study highlights the significance of both genetics and environment in the aging process, emphasizing the interplay between these factors in influencing an individual's health and longevity. The essay references studies on centenarians and nonagenarians, twin studies, and the impact of environmental factors on gene expression and overall health, concluding that aging is a multifactorial process dependent on both genetic and environmental influences.

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How genes and environment affect health and longevity
The length of human life also known as longevity is influenced by both environmental
and genetic factors. There are various environmental conditions that have been associated with
increase in life expectancy in developed countries. The factors include; food security, access to
clean water, improved living conditions, access to quality health care and lack of exposure to
infectious diseases. There are several studies conducted to determine the environmental and
genetic influence on health and longevity such as twin studies. The aim of this paper is to explore
how genes and environment influence health and longevity.
Studies conducted on centenarians and nonagenarians in order to determine the reasons
behind their long lives have revealed little similarities in social aspects such as education or
career. However, there are similarities in lifestyle and dietary habits such as ability to cope with
stress, majority are not obese and they do not smoke. These lifestyle habits also help majority of
them to avoid chronic diseases or acquire them later than their peers. While examining the
genetic relationship, it is also identified that, closer family members such as siblings and children
born to centenarians and nonagenarians also have relatively long lifespans and a lower likelihood
of contracting age related diseases such as cancer and diabetes as compared to their peers. This
suggests that there are genetic influences to longevity (Brooks-Wilson 1332).

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Genetic studies on aging are concerned with biological and chemical mechanisms that
characterize the aging process. In addition, the research on longevity and aging also focuses on
the age related diseases and disabilities. According to Passarino, Rango and Montesanto (3),
genetics accounts for 25 to 30% of health and longevity in human beings. In a bid to determine
the relationship between genetics and aging, there have been identification of genes associated
with maintenance of cells and metabolism to be the genes that affect longevity and aging in
human beings. Consequently, there are also studies on calorie restriction and different variables
of genes that are associated with sensing and signalling nutrients which have revealed that
ipocaloric diets and efficient nutrient metabolism can lengthen life through cell maintenance.
The common genetic variations associated with longevity and health are found in the CETP,
FOXO3 and APOE genes. However, the three genes are not found in all people with long life
spans which spans the debate of environmental influences to health and longevity (Giuliani et al
198).
In whole genome sequencing studies, centenarians have been found to have similar gene
variants to those of people with average life spans. This has also further contributed to the debate
of the environment’s role in health and aging whereby it is believed that in the first 5 to 7
decades of life, health is mainly determined by environmental influences. Nevertheless, several
genes such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are associated with longevity in humans.
Studies to support the role of the environment have been conducted in various parts of the world
that have the highest average life expectancy such as Okinawa in Japan, Sardinia in Italy and
Ikaria in Greece. The population in the three different locations have similar identifiable
characteristics that affirm the role of environment in health and aging. The similarities are that
the three regions are isolated from the larger population, they have low income and the regions

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are under industrialized. In addition, most people in the regions conform to traditional cultures
Ferrucci, Kuh and Olshansky 297).
According to Dato et al (151), certain societal and cultural beliefs also contribute to
longevity and healthy aging. Members of a religious movement in the USA known as Seventh
day Adventists have an average lifespan of 88 years which is 8 years longer than the life of
average US citizens. The longevity is usually associated with behaviours adopted by the religious
movement that promote health such as regular exercise, vegetarian, non-smokers and non-
alcoholics. Other environmental factors associated with healthy living and aging include climatic
change, pollution and adverse effects of pollution. The expression of genes in human life is also
influenced by the environmental influences which affects the fitness of individuals for survival.
In conclusion, it is quite evident that aging is a multifactorial process that is dependent on
both genetic and environmental factors. Genetic factors associated with health and longevity are
identifiable in the shared characteristics of centenarians and nonagenarians. On the other hand,
environmental factors are found in studies of areas and societies that have higher than average
life expectancy such as Okinawa in Japan.

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Work Cited
Brooks-Wilson, Angela R. "Genetics of healthy aging and longevity." Human genetics 132.12
(2013): 1323-1338.
Dato, Serena, et al. "The genetics of human longevity: an intricacy of genes, environment,
culture and microbiome." Mechanisms of ageing and development 165 (2017): 147-155.
Ferrucci, L., D. Kuh, and S. Olshansky. "KEYNOTE: GENES, ENVIRONMENT, AND
BEHAVIORS THAT PREDICT HEALTHY LONGEVITY." Innovation in
Aging 1.suppl_1 (2017): 296-297.
Giuliani, Cristina, et al. "Centenarians as extreme phenotypes: an ecological perspective to get
insight into the relationship between the genetics of longevity and age-associated
diseases." Mechanisms of ageing and development 165 (2017): 195-201.
Passarino, Giuseppe, Francesco De Rango, and Alberto Montesanto. "Human longevity:
Genetics or Lifestyle? It takes two to tango." Immunity & Ageing 13.1 (2016): 12.