Why it matters: Much longevity research chases molecular interventions. This points to a usable, low-tech marker of healthy aging that doctors could assess in a clinic, and that consistently tracked with who lived longer across three decades.

Researchers following a community-dwelling cohort for three decades have found that a composite measure of "intrinsic capacity" predicted survival into very old age.

The Jerusalem Longitudinal Study tracked adults born in 1920–21, assessing them repeatedly at ages 70, 78, 85, 90, 95 and 100. Intrinsic capacity, scored 0 to 100, combined five domains: cognition, psychological state (depression), vitality, locomotion, and sensory function (vision and hearing).

As expected, average intrinsic capacity declined with age, falling from about 76 at age 70 to roughly 52 at 100, and was generally higher in men than women at each stage. The key finding: across nearly every age band, higher intrinsic capacity was consistently associated with better survival.

The concept, promoted by the World Health Organization as a marker of healthy aging, gains real-world support here from one of the longest continuous follow-ups of its kind, suggesting a practical way to gauge how well, not just how long, someone is aging.