Family Patterns in Longevity and Longevity Patterns of the Family

Document Type

Article

Authors

Alan C. Swedlund, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
Richard S. Meindl, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio
Judith Nydon, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts
Margaret I. Gradie, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts

Abstract

In this paper we investigate two distinct but related questions: The longevity of individuals and the longevity of families. Following a brief review of the literature on genetic contributions to life-span we provide a simple, empirical test of the presence or absence of a “family” component to longevity utilizing sib and parent/ offspring correlations. While a modest family component is indicated by the results, inference on the genetic contribution to this component is difficult. We then turn to the issue of family longevity and suggest that the persistence of families in Deerfield, Massachusetts was influenced much more by their wealth status than by any distinctive pattern in fertility or mortality. Correlates of individual longevity contribute little, if anything, to the persistence of families. Historical studies using reconstituted families must make allowance for the fact that derived geneologies probably tend to represent an elite sub-class and not the general population of the community.

Recommended Citation

Swedlund, Alan C.; Meindl, Richard S.; Nydon, Judith; and Gradie, Margaret I. (1983) "Family Patterns in Longevity and Longevity Patterns of the Family," Human Biology: Vol. 55: Iss. 1, Article 11.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol55/iss1/11