Continuing the search for a fundamental law of mortality
- Argonne National Lab., IL (United States)
- Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)
For 170 years, scientists have attempted to explain why consistent temporal patterns of death are observed among individuals within populations. Historical efforts to identify a {open_quotes}law of mortality{close_quotes} from these patterns ended in 1935 when it was declared that such a law did not exist. These empirical tests for a law of mortality were constructed using mortality curves based on all causes of death. We predicted that patterns of mortality consistent with the historical concept of a law would be revealed if mortality curves for species were constructed using only senescent causes of death. Using data on senescent mortality for laboratory animals and humans, we demonstrate that patterns of mortality overlap when compared on a biologically comparable time scale. These results are consistent with the existence of a law of mortality following sexual maturity as asserted by Benjamin Gompertz and Raymond Pearl. The societal, medical, and research implications of such a law are discussed.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab. (ANL), Argonne, IL (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Energy Research, Washington, DC (United States); National Insts. of Health, Bethesda, MD (United States); Social Security Administration, Baltimore, MD (United States)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 516046
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/CMB/PP-87451; ON: DE97008273; CNN: NIH Grant AG-00577-01; SSA Grant 10-P-98347-5-01; TRN: 97:004869
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: PBD: [1997]
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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