“Our findings support the theory that, rather than slowing down death, more people are living much longer due to a reduction in mortality at younger ages.” said Jose Manuel Aburto.
Aburto suggests that biological, rather than environmental factors, ultimately control longevity.
begs the question how you determine mortality at any given point in time… but studies on twins show that genetics only have a moderate effect on longevity: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8786073/