Resumen

LLANES BETANCOURT, Caridad. The most probable factors of longevity: Reflections on the topic . Rev Cubana Enfermer [online]. 2008, vol.24, n.1. ISSN 0864-0319.

Aging is a universal process that seems to affect all living beings, and that is conceived as a succession of morphological, physiological and psychological modifications of irreversible character that appear before the external manifestations give the individual an elderly aspect. This article is aimed at showing the most general characteristics of the work developed by man in his search of the elements that allow him to live a sufficiently long and healthy life. Search strategies were used based on studies conducted in the most longevous communities of the world, some of them corroborated by longitudinal lab studies in animals that, in a general way, made possible to propose 7 factors that exert a decisive influence, to the light of current knowledge, on the percent of maximum longevity attained by the individual. In every factor, there are elements that should be experimentally defined and solved. This situation impedes to clearly determine their hierarchy and, therefore, to make a more sensible analysis it is better to approach these factors separately.

Palabras clave : Longevity; aging; factors.