Maria Branyas had lower biological age and protective genes, study shows

Catalan woman Maria Branyas held the title of world's oldest person from January 2023, when she was 115 years old, until her death in August 2024, at the age of 117.

A new study on her genetics has revealed that she had "protective mechanisms" in her DNA, such as characteristics associated with neuro- and cardio-protection, low de facto inflammatory levels, a microbiome dominated by beneficial bifidobacteria, and a biological age lower than her real age.

The analysis, published in the journal 'Cell Reports Medicine', concludes that certain people can live for such a long time thanks to a "duality" of "signs of extreme old age and healthy longevity."

The report, prepared by a team led by Dr. Manel Esteller, head of the Cancer Epigenetics group at the Josep Carreras Leukemia Research Institute, was based on the analysis of samples taken with minimal invasion and with genomic, proteomic, epigenomic, metabolomic and microbiomic technologies used.

One of the conclusions of the study is that supercentenarians (people aged 110 or older) do not reach these ages due to a general delay in aging, but rather because they have factors of "healthy longevity."

In the case of Branyas, the study shows that she had "unequivocal signs of old age," such as very short telomeres (the tips of chromosomes), a pro-inflammatory immune system, and an aged population of B-lymphocytes, but also many genetic characteristics associated with neural and cardiovascular health.

Researchers point out that the fact that Branyas did not have serious pathologies means that the study can clearly distinguish between aging and disease.

They also point out that it is "premature to relate biological characteristics to particular habits," but they emphasize that a healthy diet, a stimulating and diverse network of contacts and the absence of toxic habits are "elements to take into account when explaining Branyas' unusual longevity."

Memories of First World War 

Born on March 4, 1907, to a Catalan family in San Francisco, California, Branyas moved to Catalonia as a young child and has memories dating far back to World War I as well as the Spanish Civil War.

When her mother decided to return to Catalonia with her family including 7-year-old Maria, the world was at war. It was 1914, and in an interview with Catalan News in 2019, Branyas still remembered their long journey by ship.

“We came here on a boat. Because of the war, Germany was still attacking the North, and you couldn’t go through the northern seas, but we could go further down, through the Azores and Cuba,” she said. “In 1914 I was already a bit aware [of what was happening],” Branyas adds in a slow, but firm tone.  

Indeed, she recalled both world wars: “They were very harmful in Europe, but they also brought some advances.”

She also had fresh memories of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939). “I have very bad memories of it, some people rose up and started to commit atrocities when no one was talking about it.”

Many years later, in May 2020, Branyas became the oldest known person to survive Covid-19 at the age of 113.

Listen to the podcast below to learn more about Maria's life, recorded to mark her 116th birthday last year and revisiting an interview with Maria from 2019.