Longevity: Link Between Intelligence and How Long You Live is Genetic

It turns out that intelligent people live longer. Scientists have discovered that a person's genes determines not only how smart they are, but also that these genetics are linked to how long they live.

In this case, the researchers looked at pairs of twins. Studies that compare genetically identical twins with fraternal twins, who only share half of their twin's DNA, can help distinguish the effects of genes from the effects of shared environment factors such as housing, schooling and childhood nutrition.

"We know that children who score higher in IQ-type tests are prone to living longer," said Rosalind Arden, one of the researchers, in a news release. "Also, people at the top of an employment hierarchy, such as senior civil servants, tend to be long-lived. But in both cases, we have not understood why. Our research shows that the link between intelligence and longer life is mostly genetic. So, to the extent that being smarter plays a role in doing a top job, the association between top jobs and longer lifespans is more a result of genes than having a big desk."

The researchers looked at three different twin studies from Sweden, the United States and Denmark where both intelligence and age of death was recorded, and where at least one twin in each pair had died.

So what did they find? The researchers found that within twin pairs the brighter twin tended to live longer than the less bright twin. This was much more pronounced in fraternal twins than in identical twins.

"It could be that people whose genes make them brighter also have genes for a healthy body," said Rosaline. "Or intelligence and lifespan may both be sensitive to overall mutations, with people with fewer genetic mutations being more intelligent and living longer. We need to continue to test these ideas to understand what processes are in play."

The findings are published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

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