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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Morbidity profiles of centenarians
— survivors, delayers and escapers | | Author(s) | Jessica Evert, Elizabeth Lawler, Hazel Bogan |
| Journal title | Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, vol 58A, no 3, March 2003 |
| Pages | pp 232-237 |
| Source | www.geron.org |
| Keywords | Centenarians ; Ill health ; Diseases ; Longevity ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The compression of morbidity hypothesis predicts that, in order to achieve extreme old age, centenarians markedly delay or even escape diseases that would otherwise be lethal at younger ages. The timing of such diseases in centenarians was explored as part of the New England Centenarian Study (NECS). Health history questionnaires were completed by 424 centenarians (age range 97-119) or their proxies, regarding lifetime (to date) diagnoses of 10 major lethal illnesses and one ocular disease (cataracts) befalling this population. Examining the ages of onset of the 10 age-associated diseases (excluding cognitive impairment), three morbidity profiles were identified. Survivors - 24% of males, 43% of females - had had a diagnosis of an age-related illness prior to age 80. Delayers - 44% of males and 42% of females - delayed the onset of age-associated illness until at least age 80. Escapers - 32% of males and 15% of females - attained their 100th year of life without the diagnoses of common age-associated illness. However, only 87% of males and 83% of females delayed or escaped the most lethal diseases: heart disease, non-skin cancer, and stroke. Thus, there may be multiple routes to achieving exceptional longevity.(RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-040406203 A |
| Classmark | BBT: CH: CJ: BGA: 7T |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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