Senescence Stability

The results support stability of the Gompertz slope across cohorts within populations once period shocks are modeled. The findings favor temporal stability within populations rather than strict universal invariance across all populations. Vaupel's hypothesis proposes that the rate of mortality-risk increase may be biologically stable across individuals and time. Longevity gains may be better explained by lower mortality levels and postponed senescence onset than by sustained slowing of intrinsic late-life aging.