Lack of association between HLA and age in an aging population

Abstract
In a sample of 228 Framingham [Massachusetts, USA] study participants aged 58-86 yr who were typed for HLA, neither frequencies of individual antigens nor heterozygosity at the A or B loci appeared to be related to age. Previously found associations could be chance occurrences, or HLA-related effects on longevity in the general population might be small. Such effects may have occurred at younger ages than those included in this study, or HLA may be related to the aging process in a way that is detectable only at very advanced ages.