Humanity is hitting the upper limit of life expectancy, according to a new study.

Advances in medical technology and genetic research B次元官网网址� not to mention larger numbers of people making it to age 100 B次元官网网址� are not not translating into marked jumps in lifespan overall, according to researchers who found shrinking longevity increases in countries with the longest-living populations.

B次元官网网址淲e have to recognize thereB次元官网网址檚 a limitB次元官网网址� and perhaps reassess assumptions about when people should retire and how much money theyB次元官网网址檒l need to live out their lives, said S. Jay Olshansky, a University of Illinois-Chicago researcher who was lead author of published Monday by the journal Nature Aging.

Mark Hayward, a University of Texas researcher not involved in the study, called it B次元官网网址渁 valuable addition to the mortality literature.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e are reaching a plateauB次元官网网址� in life expectancy, he agreed. ItB次元官网网址檚 always possible some breakthrough could push survival to greater heights, B次元官网网址渂ut we donB次元官网网址檛 have that now,B次元官网网址� Hayward said.

What is life expectancy?

Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live, assuming death rates at that time hold constant. It is one of the worldB次元官网网址檚 most important health measures, but it is also imperfect: It is a snapshot estimate that cannot account for deadly pandemics, miracle cures or other unforeseen developments that might kill or save millions of people.

In the new research, Olshansky and his research partners tracked life expectancy estimates for the years 1990 to 2019, drawn from a administered by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. The researchers focused on eight of the places in the world where people live the longest B次元官网网址� Australia, France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Switzerland.

The U.S. doesnB次元官网网址檛 even rank in the top 40. But is also was included B次元官网网址渂ecause we live hereB次元官网网址� and because of past, bold estimates that might surge dramatically in this century, Olshansky said.

Who lives the longest?

Women continue to live longer than men and life expectancy improvements are still occurring B次元官网网址� but at a slowing pace, the researchers found. In 1990, the average amount of improvement was about 2 1/2 years per decade. In the 2010s, it was 1 1/2 years B次元官网网址� and almost zero in the U.S.

The U.S. is more problematic because it is harder hit by a range of issues that kill people even before they hit old age, including drug overdoses, shootings, obesity and inequities that make it hard for some people to get sufficient medical care.

But in one calculation, the researchers estimated what would happen in all nine places if all deaths before age 50 were eliminated. The increase at best was still only 1 1/2 years, Olshansky said.

Eileen Crimmins, a University of Southern California gerontology expert, said in an email that she agrees with the studyB次元官网网址檚 findings. She added: B次元官网网址淔or me personally, the most important issue is the dismal and declining relative position of the United States.B次元官网网址�

Why life expectancy may not be able to rise forever

The study suggests that thereB次元官网网址檚 a limit to how long most people live, and weB次元官网网址檝e about hit it, Olshansky said.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e squeezing less and less life out of these life-extending technologies. And the reason is, aging gets in the way,B次元官网网址� he said.

It may seem common to hear of a person living to 100 B次元官网网址� former U.S. President Jimmy Carter last week. In 2019, a little over 2% of Americans made it to 100, compared with about 5% in Japan and 9% in Hong Kong, Olshansky said.

ItB次元官网网址檚 likely that the ranks of centenarians will grow in the decades ahead, experts say, but thatB次元官网网址檚 because of population growth. The percentage of people hitting 100 will remain limited, likely with fewer than 15% of women and 5% of men making it that long in most countries, Olshansky said.

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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical InstituteB次元官网网址檚 Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Mike Stobbe, The Associated Press