Stress resistance; Longevity; Aging Summary

Background: Cortisol levels are strongly associated with a person’s health. Familial longevity and age assessment of facial photographs (perceived age) are both associated with morbidity and mortality. The present study aimed to investigate morning cortisol levels in familial longevity and the association of these levels with perceived age. Methods: Perceived age and serum morning cortisol levels were measured for 138 offspring from long-lived families and 138 partners from the Leiden Longevity Study. Considered confounding factors were chronological age, gender, body mass index, current smoking habits, antidepressant drug use, antihypertensive drugs and diabetes medication. Results: In the fully adjusted model, which was restricted to participants who did not use antidepressant drugs, offspring had similar serum cortisol levels compared to their partners (0.54 and 0.55 mmol/L, respectively; p = 0.54). Using a similar model taking offspring and partners together, an increase of 0.1 mmol/L in morning cortisol levels was associated with an 0.42 (95 % CI 0.0—0.84, p = 0.048) year increase in perceived age. This association was significantly attenuated in the offspring group (0.01, 95 % CI 0.58 to 0.59, p = 0.98) compared to the partner group (0.81, 95 % CI 0.20—1.41, p = 0.009 year increase in perceived age per 0.1 mmol/L increase in cortiso