Intelligent people 'could live 15 years longer

Intelligent people 'could live 15 years longer'
Thursday June 12 2008 14:32 IST PTI

LONDON: It seems there may be some truth in the old cliché about being old and wise, for a new study has revealed that brainy people are likely to live 15 years longer.

Researchers at Calabria University in Italy have found that longevity is because the brains of intelligent people age more slowly -- thanks to the very gene ssadh which makes them clever actually.

According to them, those with the less “smart” variant of the gene, are unlikely to live beyond 85 but those blessed with a “good” version of the same gene could expect to live up to 100 years. The Italian team came to the conclusion after analysing a research involving 500 elderly men and women.

They asked 115 people within the sample, who fell into the 65 to 85 age group, to take cognitive tests. Those with the less intelligent variant of the gene performed significantly worse confirming the earlier pattern.

The researchers also noticed that few of those with the “bad” version lived beyond 85 while those with the “good” form were likely to live to 100.