There is ample evidence that you are likely to have a longer than average life span if you have grandparents & parents who had long life spans. I have an 87 year old male friend who looks 45-50 & is very healthy. His younger sister died a few years ago, making me wonder if longevity genetics are sex linked.
From what I have gleaned over many years (15 yrs less than Dinosaur!) there are certainly 'sex-linked characteristics'. Some of these characteristics actually 'skip' generations that re-emerge in alternate generations - for example, I have read (somewhere) that if you are male, and your father lived to a ripe-old-age, YOU may not, however, YOUR SISTER might. There are myriad other sex-linked characteristics having to do with health, e.g., heart issues, cancer, etc. I have heart and circulatory issues that my mother and father did not have - but my grandmother did have the same issues. Fortunately modern medical advances have gotten me over a few "humps" that have enabled me to outlive my grandmother significantly; so I might surmise that my issues may be genetically linked to my grandmother and those same issues 'skipped' my mother's genetic make-up.
