Researchers at the University of Edinburgh in the UK  claimed that analysing the DNA may help predict whether a person will live longer or die sooner than average. Researchers analysed the combined effect of genetic variations that affect lifespan to produce a scoring system.

As per the The findings, published in the journal eLife,  fresh insights into diseases and the biological mechanisms involved in ageing. Peter Joshi from the University of Edinburgh's Usher Institut said that  If we take 100 people at birth, or later, and use our lifespan score to divide them into ten groups, the top group will live five years longer than the bottom on average. The researchers looked at genetic data from more than half a million people alongside records of their parents' lifespan. Some 12 areas of the human genome were pinpointed as having a great impact on lifespan, including five sites that have not been reported before, according to the study. The DNA sites with the greatest impact on overall lifespan were those that have previously been linked to fatal illnesses, including heart disease and smoking-related conditions, researchers said.

Paul Timmers, a PhD student at the Usher Institute said that they have  found genes that affect the brain and the heart are responsible for most of the variation in lifespan.