Latinos age slower than other ethnicities.

• Position: Life Span

Latinos age at a slower rate than other ethnic groups. The findings, published in Genome Biology, one day may help scientists understand how to slow the aging process for everyone.

"Latinos live longer than Caucasians, despite experiencing higher rates of diabetes and other diseases. Scientists refer to this as the 'Hispanic paradox,"' says lead author Steve Horvath, professor of human genetics at UCLA. "Our study helps explain this by demonstrating that Latinos age more slowly at the molecular level."

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga., indicates that Latinos in the U.S. live an average of three years longer than Caucasians, with a life expectancy of 82 versus 79. At any age, healthy Latino adults face a 30% lower risk of death than other racial groups.

The researchers used several biomarkers, including an "epigenetic clock" developed by Horvath, to track a shift in the genome that is linked to aging. Epigenetics is the study of changes to the DNA molecule that influence which genes are active but do not alter the DNA sequence.

Horvath and his colleagues analyzed 18 sets of data on DNA samples from nearly 6,000 people. The participants represented seven ethnicities: two African groups, African-Americans, Caucasians, East Asians, Latinos, and an indigenous people called the Tsimane, who genetically are related to Latinos, and live in Bolivia.

When the scientists examined the DNA from blood --which reveals the health of a person's immune system--they were struck by differences linked to ethnicity. In particular, the scientists noticed that, after accounting for differences in cell composition, the blood of Latinos and the Tsimane aged more slowly than other groups. According to Horvath, the research...