Deck 7: Human Longevity

Question 1

True or false: Mortality rates among siblings of centenarians do not differ from those of the general population,indicating that there is no genetic component to longevity.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

Short-answer question: Briefly explain why the phrase "origins of human longevity" is used rather than "evolution of human longevity."

Answer 2

This is done to distinguish the longevity of Homo sapiens from that of other species in the archaic Homo genus,such as Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neanderthalensis.Although the genes resulting from evolutionary selection for longevity were carried forward into H.sapiens,our superior intelligence most likely established a longevity trajectory that is significantly different.Our longevity should be viewed more as originating than evolving.

Question 3

effect of genetic plasticity on mortality rates provides biodemographers with an evolutionary basis for predicting the origin of human:
(a)life span.
(b)senescence.
(c)longevity.
(d)aging.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

True or false: When evaluating the origins of human longevity,biodemography considers only intrinsic factors affecting mortality.

Question 5

Biodemography research shows that Gompertz mortality rates tend to be the same for all age groups.

Question 6

True or false: Age of death as determined from tombstone inscriptions may not represent the mortality rate of an entire birth cohort.

Question 7

Short-answer question: Define life span and longevity.

Question 8

Fill in the blank: For most of human history,the average human life span was less than ______ years of age.

Question 9

Short-answer question: Briefly explain how the superior intelligence of early H.sapiens may have decreased the mortality rates of mothers and infants and,in turn,affected longevity.
The Rise of Extended Human Life Span in the Twentieth Century

Question 10

span is determined largely by one's:
(a)history of disease.
(b)rate of aging.
(c)longevity.
(d)birth cohort.

Question 11

The science of biodemography provides a theoretical framework suggesting that ______ is the underlying reason for the unique trajectory in mortality rates and life span we are now experiencing.
(a)body size
(b)intelligence
(c)brain weight
(d)heredity

Question 12

origin of longevity in Homo sapiens may have arisen because our advanced intelligence allows us to adapt the environment to our genes and thus change ______ characteristics.
(a)morbidity
(b)social
(c)longevity
(d)mortality

Question 13

Biodemography is primarily a mathematical and theoretical science integrating the principles of ______ analysis with experimental observations from scientific fields such as archeology,physical anthropology,genetics,and evolution.
(a)mortality
(b)longevity
(c)senescence
(d)morbidity

Question 14

The intelligence that resulted in better nutrition and better protection from the elements would have allowed early Homo sapiens to invest more resources in its offspring and lower the infant mortality rate.

Question 15

In a single 30-year period,from 1920 to 1950,the average human life span increased by:
(a)10-20%.
(b)20-30%.
(c)30-40%.
(d)greater than 50%.

Question 16

True or false: Parental life span is a poor predictor of offspring's life span

Question 17

The correlation between brain size and longevity is strongest:
(a)within a species.
(b)between species.
(c)between primates and non-primates.
(d)only within primates.

Question 18

reason that longevity may have evolved slightly differently in humans than in other species is that:
(a)our immune system is more advanced than that of most species.
(b)we have the ability to manipulate the environment.
(c)early hominids had significantly lower infant mortality that other,nonhuman primates.
(d)our bodies are larger than expected for our low metabolic rate.

Question 19

Investigations dating back to 1903 that compare age of death in a parent with age of death in their offspring have consistently shown ______ correlations.
(a)no
(b)very strong
(c)very weak
(d)strong

Question 20

The term "facultative" as used in biodemography means that the mortality rate or the trajectories of the mortality rate have significant plasticity.

Question 21

The single most important factor contributing to the increase in human life expectancy at birth that started at the beginning of the twentieth century was:
(a)better nutrition.
(b)control of infectious diseases.
(c)better medical care for those over 60 years of age.
(d)a shift from rural to urban populations.

Question 22

True or false: Gender differences in life expectancy at birth cannot be supported by the evolutionary theory of longevity.

Question 23

The containment of infectious diseases during the 1920s and 1930s shifted the major cause of death to:
(a)accidents.
(b)diabetes.
(c)diseases with a strong genetic component.
(d)brain pathologies.

Question 24

True or false: Age of death as determined from skeletal remains tends to overestimate maximum life span and underestimate mean life span.

Question 25

True or false: An increase in the infant mortality rate would decrease life expectancy at birth.

Question 26

Short-answer question: By comparing population statistics between 1935 and the present,list the three factors that have placed the U.S.Social Security system at risk of becoming insolvent.

Question 27

Mean human life span started to increase steadily around 1840 as a direct result of the earlier invention of:
(a)the microscope.
(b)the steam engine.
(c)pastoral farming methods.
(d)the telephone.

Question 28

The leading causes of death in 1900 included all of the following except:
(a)pneumonia.
(b)heart disease.
(c)influenza.
(d)tuberculosis.

Question 29

True or false: The current evidence suggests that the gender gap in life expectancy is a common finding in many species.

Question 30

Since about 1970,the increase in life expectancy at birth generally reflects:
(a)the control of infectious diseases.
(b)a decrease in the infant mortality rate.
(c)an increase in maternal survival at birth.
(d)the increased survival of those over the age of 65 years.