Genetics of Aging, Health, Disability and Longevity: A Statistical Modeling Perspective

Anatoliy I. Yashin, Duke University
Svetlana V. Ukraintseva, Duke University
Konstantin G. Arbeev, Duke University
Hai Huang, Duke University
Edward Hanson, Duke University

In this paper we review methods and approaches, which can be used in the analysis of genetic data collected in bio-demographical studies of aging and longevity. In particular, we are interesting in methods of evaluation of genetic influence on aging and aging-related processes. We show that for such analyzes methods of quantitative genetics have to be merged with approaches used in survival analysis and biostatistics. We also show that addressing these questions will benefit from combining genetic data with demographic and epidemiological information, as well as with data collected in longitudinal studies of aging. We show that combining genetic data with morbidity, disability and longevity data requires development of new statistical methods. In particular, traditional methods of heterogeneity analysis, focused on the analysis of effects of individual differences in mortality, must be extended to describe heterogeneity in incidence and fatality rates. The results of application of new approaches are discussed.