Longevity UnmaskedLongevity Unmasked

Part-by-part source guide

Part 1: The Truth About Aging

  • Healthspan and lifespan gap of about 12 years in the United States: Garmany and Terzic, JAMA Network Open, 2024.
  • The twelve hallmarks of aging: López-Otín and colleagues, Cell, 2023.
  • Healthy people over 80 and the limited role of genes: the Scripps “Wellderly” study, Erikson and colleagues, Cell, 2016.
  • Compounds that extend life in mice: National Institute on Aging Interventions Testing Program; Harrison and colleagues, Nature, 2009, and later reports.
  • Strength gains in people in their nineties: Fiatarone and colleagues, JAMA, 1990.
  • Hearing treatment and cognitive decline: the ACHIEVE trial, Lin and colleagues, Lancet, 2023.

Part 2: Lessons from the Longevity Giants

  • Peter Attia with Bill Gifford, Outlive, Harmony, 2023.
  • Tony Robbins, Peter Diamandis, and Robert Hariri, Life Force, Simon & Schuster, 2022.
  • Peter Diamandis, Longevity Guidebook, 2025; reviewed by Scherger, Family Medicine, 2026.
  • Optimism and exceptional longevity: Lee and colleagues, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2019.

Part 3: The Heart of the Matter

  • Blood pressure targets: the SPRINT trial, New England Journal of Medicine, 2015.
  • Cholesterol targets, ApoB, Lp(a), calcium scoring, and the PREVENT calculator: ACC/AHA Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia, 2026.
  • Pelacarsen and Lp(a): the Lp(a)HORIZON trial, top-line results announced by Novartis, September 4, 2026.
  • Evolocumab in people without a prior heart attack or stroke: the VESALIUS-CV trial, New England Journal of Medicine, 2025.
  • Statin muscle symptoms on placebo: the SAMSON trial, Wood and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2020.
  • Aspirin in healthy older adults: the ASPREE trial, New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
  • Thirty-year prediction from LDL, Lp(a), and hs-CRP in women: Ridker and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2024.
  • Low-dose colchicine: the LoDoCo2 trial, Nidorf and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2020.
  • Plaque regression with intensive LDL lowering: the GLAGOV trial, Nicholls and colleagues, JAMA, 2016.

Part 4: Know Your Numbers

  • Epigenetic clocks: Horvath, Genome Biology, 2013; Levine and colleagues (PhenoAge), Aging, 2018; Lu and colleagues (GrimAge), Aging, 2019; Belsky and colleagues (DunedinPACE), eLife, 2022.
  • Fitness and mortality in 122,000 patients: Mandsager and colleagues, JAMA Network Open, 2018.
  • Grip strength and mortality: the PURE study, Leong and colleagues, Lancet, 2015.
  • One-leg balance and survival: Araujo and colleagues, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2022.
  • Whole-body MRI screening: American College of Radiology statement, 2023.

Part 5: The Advanced Testing Menu, Graded

  • CT angiography in chest pain: the SCOT-HEART trial, New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
  • Carotid stenosis, ECG, and aneurysm screening: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendations, 2018 to 2021.
  • B vitamins for homocysteine: Martí-Carvajal and colleagues, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2017.
  • General health checks and mortality: Krogsbøll and colleagues, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019.
  • Adrenal fatigue: Cadegiani and Kater, BMC Endocrine Disorders, 2016.
  • IgG food testing: American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology position.
  • Genomic screening yield: Geisinger MyCode, JAMA Network Open, 2025.
  • Reliability of epigenetic clocks: Higgins-Chen and colleagues, Nature Aging, 2022.
  • Preemptive pharmacogenomic testing: the PREPARE study, Swen and colleagues, Lancet, 2023.

Part 6: Muscle and Movement

  • Muscle-strengthening activity and mortality: Momma and colleagues, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2022.
  • Daily steps and mortality: Paluch and colleagues, Lancet Public Health, 2022.
  • Brief vigorous bursts of activity: Stamatakis and colleagues, Nature Medicine, 2022.
  • Tai chi and falls: Li and colleagues, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2018.

Part 7: Sleep, Stress, and Mood

  • Sleep regularity and mortality: Windred and colleagues, Sleep, 2024.
  • Caregiver stress and telomeres: Epel and colleagues, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2004.
  • Religious service attendance and mortality: Li and colleagues, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2016.

Part 8: Sleep Apnea, the Silent Thief

  • CPAP and cardiovascular events: the SAVE trial, McEvoy and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2016.
  • Tirzepatide for sleep apnea: the SURMOUNT-OSA trial, Malhotra and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2024.
  • Weight change and sleep apnea: Peppard and colleagues, JAMA, 2000.

Part 9: Food, Fasting, and Alcohol

  • Mediterranean diet: the PREDIMED trial, Estruch and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
  • Ultra-processed food and calorie intake: Hall and colleagues, Cell Metabolism, 2019.
  • Time-restricted eating: Liu and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2022.
  • Calorie restriction: the CALERIE trial; Waziry and colleagues, Nature Aging, 2023.
  • Fasting-mimicking diet: Brandhorst and colleagues, Nature Communications, 2024.
  • Alcohol and mortality: Zhao and colleagues, JAMA Network Open, 2023.
  • Protein and muscle: Morton and colleagues, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2018.

Part 10: The Blue Zones Formula

  • Dan Buettner, The Blue Zones, National Geographic, 2008 and later editions.
  • Adventist longevity: Fraser and Shavlik, Archives of Internal Medicine, 2001.

Part 11: Metabolism, Insulin Resistance, and the GLP-1 Era

  • Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group, New England Journal of Medicine, 2002.
  • Diabetes remission with weight loss: the DiRECT trial, Lean and colleagues, Lancet, 2018.
  • Semaglutide and cardiovascular outcomes: the SELECT trial, Lincoff and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2023.
  • Tirzepatide for obesity: the SURMOUNT-1 trial, Jastreboff and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2022.
  • Weight regain after stopping semaglutide: Wilding and colleagues, Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2022.
  • Orforglipron: the ATTAIN-1 trial; FDA approval, April 2026.
  • Retatrutide: the TRIUMPH trials, reported May and July 2026.
  • Oral semaglutide in early Alzheimer’s disease: the EVOKE and EVOKE+ trials, announced November 2025.
  • Metformin and exercise adaptation: Konopka and colleagues, Aging Cell, 2019.

Part 12: Protecting Your Brain

  • Dementia prevention: Livingston and colleagues, Lancet Commission, Lancet, 2024.
  • Lifestyle intervention and cognition: the U.S. POINTER trial, JAMA, 2025; the FINGER trial, Lancet, 2015.
  • Blood pressure and cognitive impairment: SPRINT MIND, JAMA, 2019.
  • Cataract surgery and dementia: Lee and colleagues, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2021.
  • Lecanemab: van Dyck and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2023.
  • Lithium and Alzheimer’s disease in mice: Aron and colleagues, Nature, 2025.
  • Shingles vaccination and dementia: Eyting and colleagues, Nature, 2025.
  • Short sleep and dementia: Sabia and colleagues, Nature Communications, 2021.

Part 13: Bones and Joints

  • Heavy lifting and impact for bone: the LIFTMOR trial, Watson and colleagues, Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, 2018.
  • Platelet-rich plasma for knee arthritis: the RESTORE trial, Bennell and colleagues, JAMA, 2021.
  • Exercise during weight loss and bone: Jensen and colleagues, JAMA Network Open, 2024.

Part 14: Menopause, Hot Flashes, and a Woman’s Second Half

  • Women’s Health Initiative, JAMA, 2002; long-term follow-up, Manson and colleagues, JAMA, 2017.
  • Duration of hot flashes: Avis and colleagues, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015.
  • Menopause hormone therapy labeling: FDA announcement, November 2025.
  • The Menopause Society hormone therapy position statement, 2022.

Part 15: Testosterone and a Man’s Second Half

  • Testosterone and cardiovascular safety: the TRAVERSE trial, Lincoff and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2023.
  • The Testosterone Trials: Snyder and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2016.
  • Sleep restriction and testosterone: Leproult and Van Cauter, JAMA, 2011.

Part 16: Cancer: Prevention and Early Detection

  • Preventable cancer: Islami and colleagues, CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 2024.
  • Exercise after colon cancer: the CHALLENGE trial, Courneya and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2025.
  • Galleri: the NHS-Galleri trial, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting, 2026; the PATHFINDER 2 study; FDA advisory committee, September 2026.
  • Overdiagnosis of thyroid cancer: Ahn and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2014.

Part 17: Supplements, Ranked by Evidence

  • Vitamin D and omega-3: the VITAL trial, Manson and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2019.
  • Multivitamins: the COSMOS trial; epigenetic analysis, Nature Medicine, 2026.
  • Omega-3 and biological aging: the DO-HEALTH trial, Bischoff-Ferrari and colleagues, Nature Aging, 2025.
  • Icosapent ethyl: the REDUCE-IT trial, Bhatt and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2019.
  • Urolithin A: Singh and colleagues, Cell Reports Medicine, 2022; Liu and colleagues, JAMA Network Open, 2022.
  • GlyNAC: Kumar and colleagues, Journals of Gerontology Series A, 2023.
  • NMN and insulin sensitivity: Yoshino and colleagues, Science, 2021.

Part 18: The Longevity Drugs

  • Rapamycin in mice: Harrison and colleagues, Nature, 2009.
  • Rapamycin in healthy adults: the PEARL trial, Aging, 2025.
  • mTOR inhibition and vaccine response: Mannick and colleagues, Science Translational Medicine, 2014.
  • Senolytics and bone: Farr and colleagues, Nature Medicine, 2024.

Part 19: Repurposing Today’s Medicines for Longevity

  • Polypill: the PolyIran study, Roshandel and colleagues, Lancet, 2019.
  • PCSK9 gene variants and heart disease: Cohen and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2006.
  • Evolocumab: the FOURIER trial, Sabatine and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2017.
  • Erectile dysfunction drugs and cardiovascular events: Kloner and colleagues, Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2023; Andersson and colleagues, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 2021.
  • Erectile dysfunction drugs and Alzheimer’s disease: Adesuyan and colleagues, Neurology, 2024.
  • Acarbose: the ACE trial, Holman and colleagues, Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology, 2017.
  • Zoledronate after hip fracture: Lyles and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2007.
  • SGLT2 inhibitors: the EMPA-REG OUTCOME and DAPA-HF trials, New England Journal of Medicine, 2015 and 2019.

Part 20: The Toy Chest: Every Drip, Device, and Gadget, Graded

  • Sauna and mortality: Laukkanen and colleagues, JAMA Internal Medicine, 2015.
  • Cold-water immersion: Cain and colleagues, PLOS One, 2025.
  • Whole-body cryotherapy: Costello and colleagues, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2015.
  • Hyperbaric oxygen and telomeres: Hachmo and colleagues, Aging, 2020.
  • Chelation: the TACT2 trial, Lamas and colleagues, JAMA, 2024.
  • Peptide compounding: FDA Pharmacy Compounding Advisory Committee, July 2026.
  • Ozone: US Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, section 801.415.

Part 21: The Med Spa Menu: Skin, Shape, and Sex

  • Counterfeit botulinum toxin: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigation, 2024.
  • Radiofrequency microneedling: FDA safety communication, October 2025.
  • Filler vascular occlusion: Alam and colleagues, JAMA Dermatology, 2021.
  • Vaginal laser versus sham: Li and colleagues, JAMA, 2021.

Part 22: Mind, Body, and the Experimental Shelf

  • Ketamine and electroconvulsive therapy: the ELEKT-D trial, Anand and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2023.
  • Breathwork: Balban and colleagues, Cell Reports Medicine, 2023.
  • Acupuncture for chronic pain: Vickers and colleagues, Journal of Pain, 2018.
  • Genotype and diet: the DIETFITS trial, Gardner and colleagues, JAMA, 2018.
  • Weighted vests and bone: the INVEST in Bone Health trial, JAMA Network Open, 2025.

Part 23: The Frontier: Regenerative Medicine

  • Reprogramming and vision in mice: Lu and colleagues, Nature, 2020.
  • Plasma exchange and biological age: Buck Institute and Circulate Health trial, Aging Cell, 2025.
  • Young plasma: FDA statement, February 2019.

Part 24: Gut, Inflammation, and Immunity

  • Fermented foods and inflammation: Wastyk and colleagues, Cell, 2021.
  • Shingles vaccination and dementia: Eyting and colleagues, Nature, 2025.
  • Influenza and heart attack: Kwong and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2018.
  • Inflammation as a cause of heart disease: the CANTOS trial, Ridker and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2017.

Part 25: Inside the Longevity Industry

  • Price ranges are a composite compiled from several companies’ published menus, 2026; no single company’s prices are reproduced.
  • Longevity clinics: Demaria, editorial, Aging, 2025.
  • Whole-body MRI yield: meta-analysis, European Radiology, 2025.
  • Hospital longevity programs: published program materials and news reporting, 2026.

Part 26: Clinics, Costs, and Scams

  • Income and life expectancy: Chetty and colleagues, JAMA, 2016.
  • Ezekiel Emanuel, Eat Your Ice Cream, 2025.

Part 27: Everything Else You Wanted to Ask

  • Daily sunscreen and skin aging: Hughes and colleagues, Annals of Internal Medicine, 2013.
  • Salt substitutes: the SSaSS trial, Neal and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2021.
  • Microplastics in arterial plaque: Marfella and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2024.
  • Cannabis and cardiovascular events: Jeffers and colleagues, Journal of the American Heart Association, 2024.
  • Dog ownership and mortality: Kramer and colleagues, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, 2019.

Part 28: What Is Coming

  • Enlicitide (Lipfendra): the CORALreef trials; FDA approval, July 2026.
  • Angiotensinogen silencing for blood pressure: the ZENITH outcomes trial of zilebesiran, begun 2025.
  • Gene editing of PCSK9: the Heart-2 study of VERVE-102, 2026.
  • Personalized mRNA cancer vaccine: the KEYNOTE-942 study, five-year results, 2026.
  • XPRIZE Healthspan, finalist announcement, August 2026.

Part 29: Purpose, People, and Your Plan

  • Purpose and mortality: Cohen and colleagues, Psychosomatic Medicine, 2016.
  • Social relationships and mortality: Holt-Lunstad and colleagues, PLOS Medicine, 2010.
  • The Harvard Study of Adult Development: Waldinger and Schulz, The Good Life, 2023.
  • Atul Gawande, Being Mortal, 2014.