This statistic shows the number of people aged 100 and over (centenarians) in the United States from 2016 to 2060. In 2016, there were 82,000 centenarians in the United States. This figure is expected to increase to 589,000 in the year 2060.

This statistic shows the number of people aged 100 and over (centenarians) in the United States from 2016 to 2060, by gender. In 2016, there were 16,000 male centenarians in the United States, and 66,000 female centenarians. This figure is expected to increase to 168,000 and 422,000 respectively in the year 2060.

The number of people aged 100 years or more (centenarians) worldwide is expected to increase significantly over the coming decades. While there were only 162,000 centenarians in 2000, this number is predicted to increase to over 17.9 million by 2100. As people on the planet live longer, global life expectancy increases.

In general, women live longer than men. As a result, the number of women aged 100 years or more worldwide is higher than that of men, and the gap is expected to continue to increase over the coming decades. It is estimated that there will be around 12.3 million female centenarians in 2100, compared to around 5.6 million males.

BackgroundThe strong familiality of living to extreme ages suggests that human longevity is genetically regulated. The majority of genes found thus far to be associated with longevity primarily function in lipoprotein metabolism and insulin/IGF-1 signaling. There are likely many more genetic modifiers of human longevity that remain to be discovered.Methodology/Principal FindingsHere, we first show that 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the RNA editing genes ADARB1 and ADARB2 are associated with extreme old age in a U.S. based study of centenarians, the New England Centenarian Study. We describe replications of these findings in three independently conducted centenarian studies with different genetic backgrounds (Italian, Ashkenazi Jewish and Japanese) that collectively support an association of ADARB1 and ADARB2 with longevity. Some SNPs in ADARB2 replicate consistently in the four populations and suggest a strong effect that is independent of the different genetic backgrounds and environments. To evaluate the functional association of these genes with lifespan, we demonstrate that inactivation of their orthologues adr-1 and adr-2 in C. elegans reduces median survival by 50%. We further demonstrate that inactivation of the argonaute gene, rde-1, a critical regulator of RNA interference, completely restores lifespan to normal levels in the context of adr-1 and adr-2 loss of function.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results suggest that RNA editors may be an important regulator of aging in humans and that, when evaluated in C. elegans, this pathway may interact with the RNA interference machinery to regulate lifespan.

Position (bp) on chromosome 19 (Chr19) of variant, reference (Ref) and Variant (Var) allele, Amino Acid (AA) position, AA1 (ref), AA2 (var), Supercentenarian carriers (shown for reference), Centenarians carriers, Nonagenarians carriers, Minor allele frequency (MAF) in 1000G EUR.Protein-altering variants in TSHZ3 in Georgia Centenarian cohort.