Why Do Some Italians Live To 100? Turns Out, Centenarians Have More Hunter-Gatherer DNA

Italians are known for their food, architecture, and longevity (among other things), with the Mediterranean diet often cited as a major contributor to an extensive lifespan. Yet new genetic research reveals that Italians who reach the age of 100 may in fact have their ancient hunter-gatherer DNA to thank.

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As in other southern European nations, the Italian population harbors genetic ancestry from multiple prehistoric groups, including Bronze Age herders from the Pontic-Caspian Steppes, Middle Eastern Neolithic farmers, and Mesolithic Western European Hunter-Gatherers (WHG). The latter of these replaced older European human populations following the Last Glacial Maximum, and is famously represented by a 14,000-year-old skeleton from Villabruna in Northern Italy.

To find out how these ancient genetic influences shape longevity, researchers analyzed the genomes of 333 Italian centenarians and 690 healthy controls from around the country. They then compared these with 103 ancient genomes encapsulating the last 20,000 years of European genetic ancestry.

Reporting their findings, the study authors write that their analyses “revealed a significant positive association between WHG ancestry and the centenarian status,” and that “centenarians [consistently] exhibited significantly higher WHG ancestry proportions compared to the baseline expectation.”

Tellingly, no other ancient genetic ancestries displayed any associated with long life, and those over the age of 100 were found to carry a significantly higher number of WHG-related mutations than less durable individuals.

Exactly what all this means, however, is open to interpretation, as lifespan is known to be shaped by a combination of genetic and lifestyle factors. Clearly, though, Western Hunter-Gatherer DNA appears to play a role in enabling some Italians to celebrate their 100th birthday.

The mechanisms by which this genetic ancestry bestows such a long innings will, of course, need to be examined in greater detail before any firm conclusions can be drawn. At this stage, it’s unclear if WHG DNA directly brings about a longer lifespan, or if other genetic changes since the Neolithic period have served to decrease our endurance.

For instance, the researchers point out that the Neolithic populations that replaced the WHG groups went on to develop a greater number of pro-inflammatory genes. Initially, these new genetic variants may have been beneficial and enabled ancient humans to fight off infections. 

However, as modern medicine has helped us to live longer than ever before, these genes may now contribute to chronic inflammation and age-related diseases that prevent many of us from completing a century of birthdays.

The study is published in the journal GeroScience.