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Characteristics of 32 Supercentenarians
Author(s) -
Schoenhofen Emily A.,
Wyszynski Diego F.,
Andersen Stacy,
Pennington JaeMi,
Young Robert,
Terry Dellara F.,
Perls Thomas T.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of the american geriatrics society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.992
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 1532-5415
pISSN - 0002-8614
DOI - 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2006.00826.x
Subject(s) - medicine , stroke (engine) , diabetes mellitus , barthel index , medical history , smoking history , myocardial infarction , disease , vascular disease , osteoporosis , gerontology , activities of daily living , physical therapy , surgery , endocrinology , mechanical engineering , engineering
OBJECTIVES: To report phenotypic characteristics of 32 age‐validated supercentenarians. DESIGN: Case series. SETTING: U.S.‐based recruitment effort. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty‐two supercentenarians. MEASUREMENTS: Multiple forms of proof were used to validate age claims. Sociodemographic, activities of daily living, and medical history data were collected. RESULTS: Age range was 110 to 119. Fifty‐nine percent had Barthel Index scores in the partially to totally dependent range, whereas 41% required minimal assistance or were independent. Few subjects had a history of clinically evident vascular‐related diseases, including myocardial infarction (n=2, 6%) and stroke (n=4, 13%). Twenty‐two percent (n=7) were taking medications for hypertension. Twenty‐five percent (n=8) had a history of cancer (all cured). Diabetes mellitus (n=1, 3%) and Parkinson's disease (n=1, 3%) were rare. Osteoporosis (n=14, 44%) and cataract history (n=28, 88%) were common. CONCLUSION: Data collected thus far suggest that supercentenarians markedly delay and even escape clinical expression of vascular disease toward the end of their exceptionally long lives. A surprisingly substantial proportion of these individuals were still functionally independent or required minimal assistance.