Researchers at the University of São Paulo are investigating why some Brazilians live past 110, highlighting the country's genetic diversity as a key to understanding extreme aging. Their study reveals unique genetic variants and resilient immune systems in supercentenarians who often thrive without modern healthcare. This work challenges traditional views of aging as decline, portraying it instead as biological resilience.
A Viewpoint article published on January 6 in Genomic Psychiatry by Dr. Mayana Zatz and colleagues at the Human Genome and Stem Cell Research Center details Brazil's potential in longevity research. The authors draw from a national study of over 160 centenarians, including 20 supercentenarians from diverse backgrounds.
Brazil's population, shaped by Portuguese colonization since 1500, the arrival of about 4 million enslaved Africans, and later European and Japanese immigration, boasts the world's richest genetic diversity. Genomic studies of more than 1,000 Brazilians over 60 identified around 2 million unknown variants, including over 2,000 mobile element insertions and more than 140 HLA alleles absent from global databases. A broader analysis found over 8 million undescribed variants, with more than 36,000 potentially harmful.
Notable cohort members include Sister Inah, who lived to 116 until her death on April 30, 2025, and two of the world's oldest men—one who died at 112 last November, the other now 113. Many remain mentally sharp and independent despite limited healthcare access. One family stands out: a 110-year-old woman whose nieces are 100, 104, and 106 years old, with the eldest still swimming competitively at 100.
"This gap is especially limiting in longevity research, where admixed supercentenarians may harbor unique protective variants invisible in more genetically homogeneous populations," said first author Mateus Vidigal de Castro.
Supercentenarians show preserved immune function, with efficient protein recycling and expanded cytotoxic CD4+ T cells. Three in the cohort survived COVID-19 in 2020, mounting strong antibody responses. Globally, three of the ten longest-lived validated male supercentenarians are Brazilian, including the current oldest man, born October 5, 1912.
The team plans cellular models and multi-omics analyses, urging international groups to include diverse populations. "International longevity and genomics consortia should expand recruitment to include ancestrally diverse and admixed populations, such as Brazil's," Dr. Zatz emphasized.
These findings suggest resilience, not just lifespan, as central to extreme longevity, offering insights for global health equity.
