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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Validity of reported age and centenarian prevalence in New England | | Author(s) | Thomas T Perls, Kathreen Bochen, Melissa Freeman |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 28, no 2, March 1999 |
| Pages | pp 193-197 |
| Keywords | Longevity ; Age groups [elderly] ; Centenarians ; Reliability ; Social surveys ; United States of America. |
| Annotation | The age reported by or on behalf of centenarians may be suspect unless proven correct. In this US study, there were 289 potential centenarians reported by the censuses in the eight towns participating in the New England Centenarian Study. Of these, 186 (64%) had died at the time centenarian prevalence was determined. Of the 80 still alive, 13 (16%) had incorrect birth years recorded by the censuses. The specificity of the censuses for stating the number of centenarians still alive and living in the sample was 28-31%. Using additional sources, only four more centenarians were located. There was an 83% success rate in obtaining proof of age in those families interviewed. In all instances, age and birth order of children were an important source of corroborative evidence, and no cases of inconsistencies with families' reported ages were detected. Poor specificity of the census (about 30%) - mainly because of deaths not being notified - underscores the importance of doing population-based studies, and of seeking verification of birth dates in studies of very old people. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-990429007 A |
| Classmark | BGA: BB: BBT: 5HC: 3F: 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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