Old age isn’t the reason people die: New research reveals what really claims the lives of even healthy centenarians

New research shows that even people over 100 usually die from specific diseases, not “old age,” challenging how scientists study ageing.

It is usually believed that aged people die of “old age” or “natural causes.” But new studies show this is not true. Even healthy centenarians usually die from specific diseases, especially heart problems.

Scientists Maryam Keshavarz and Dan Ehninger from the German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases reviewed 2,410 autopsies to understand the reasons behind the deaths. Their findings, published in Genomic Psychiatry, highlight that these people died of specific diseases and not the generalised ageing process.

Heart disease dominates death in older people

In 2,410 autopsies studied, heart attacks caused 39 per cent of the deaths, while 38 per cent died due to heart and lung failure and 17.9 per cent because of strokes.

In people over 85 who died outside hospitals, heart-related problems caused 77 per cent of the deaths. Among Centenarians, 68 per cent died from cardiovascular causes, 25 per cent from respiratory failure, while no one died from “old age,” according to Study Finds.

The study also looked at other animals and found that each species has its own “weak spot.” While humans and primates mostly die of heart disease, mice die mainly from cancer, rats from tumours, fruit flies from gut failure, and roundworms from throat infections or muscle atrophy.

This shows why ageing research using mice may not always apply to humans.

Rethinking anti-ageing research

Keshavarz and Ehninger also questioned some key ideas in ageing research. Many studies on anti-ageing interventions, like drugs, fasting, or genetic changes, improve health in both young and old animals. This means these treatments often change overall body function rather than actually slowing ageing.

For example, rapamycin can extend the life of mice, but they still die from cancer later on. Interventions are more like postponing disease than reversing ageing.

Limits of biological age tests

Even popular biological age tests, such as DNA methylation clocks, can predict age but don’t prove that an intervention slows ageing. They measure patterns linked to age, not the underlying process that makes organisms more vulnerable over time.

The way forward in ageing research

The researchers recommend better study designs: testing treatments in both young and old subjects, measuring multiple organs, and focusing on disease-specific effects. They warn that, despite decades of research, scientists still don’t fully understand what drives ageing.