Research into centenarians

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A centenarian is a person who has attained the age of 100 years or more. Research on centenarians has become more common with clinical and general population studies now having been conducted in France, Hungary, Japan, Italy, Finland, Denmark, the United States, and China. [1] Centenarians are the second fastest-growing demographic in much of the developed world. [2] By 2030, it is expected that there will be around a million centenarians worldwide. [3] In the United States, a 2010 Census Bureau report found that more than 80 percent of centenarians are women. [4]

Contents

Biochemical factors

Research carried out in Italy suggests that healthy centenarians have high levels of vitamin A and vitamin E and that this seems to be important in guaranteeing their extreme longevity. [5] Other research contradicts this and has found that these findings do not apply to centenarians from Sardinia, for whom other factors probably play a more important role. [6] A preliminary study carried out in Poland showed that, in comparison with young healthy female adults, centenarians living in Upper Silesia had significantly higher red blood cell glutathione reductase and catalase activities and higher, although insignificantly, serum levels of vitamin E. [7] Researchers in Denmark have also found that centenarians exhibit a high activity of glutathione reductase in red blood cells. In this study, those centenarians having the best cognitive and physical functional capacity tended to have the highest activity of this enzyme. [8]

Some research suggests that high levels of vitamin D may be associated with longevity. [9]

Other research has found that people having parents who became centenarians have an increased number of naïve B cells. [10]

It is believed that centenarians possess a different adiponectin isoform pattern and have a favorable metabolic phenotype in comparison with elderly individuals. [11]

Genetic factors

Research carried out in the United States has found that people are much more likely to celebrate their 100th birthday if their brother or sister has reached the age. [12] These findings, from the New England Centenarian Study in Boston, suggest that the sibling of a centenarian is four times more likely to live past 90 than the general population. [13] Other research carried out by the New England Centenarian Study has identified 150 genetic variations that appeared to be associated with longevity which could be used to predict with 77 percent accuracy whether someone would live to be at least 100. [14]

Research also suggests that there is a clear link between living to 100 and inheriting a hyperactive version of telomerase, an enzyme that prevents cells from ageing. Scientists from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the US say centenarian Ashkenazi Jews have this mutant gene. [15]

Many centenarians manage to avoid chronic diseases even after indulging in a lifetime of serious health risks. For example, many people in the New England Centenarian Study experienced a century free of cancer or heart disease despite smoking as many as 60 cigarettes a day for 50 years. The same applies to people from Okinawa in Japan, where around half of supercentenarians had a history of smoking and one-third were regular alcohol drinkers. It is possible that these people may have had genes that protected them from the dangers of carcinogens or the random mutations that crop up naturally when cells divide. [16]

Similarly, centenarian research carried out at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine found that the individuals studied had less than sterling health habits. As a group, for example, they were more obese, more sedentary and exercised less than other, younger cohorts. The researchers also discovered three uncommon genotype similarities among the centenarians: one gene that causes HDL cholesterol to be at levels two- to three-fold higher than average; another gene that results in a mildly underactive thyroid; and a functional mutation in the human growth hormone axis that may be a safeguard from aging-associated diseases. [17]

It is well known that the children of parents who have a long life are also likely to reach a healthy age, but it is not known why, although the inherited genes are probably important. [18] A variation in the gene FOXO3 is known to have a positive effect on the life expectancy of humans, and is found much more often in people living to 100 and beyond – moreover, this appears to be true worldwide. [19]

Some research suggests that centenarian offspring are more likely to age in better cardiovascular health than their peers. [20]

Other factors

A 2011 study found people with exceptional longevity (aged 95 and older) not to be distinct from the general population in terms of lifestyle factors such as regular physical activity, diet or alcohol consumption. [21]

A study indicates gut microbiomes with large amounts of microbes capable of generating unique secondary bile acids are a key element of centenarians' longevity. [22] [23]

General observations

Several studies have shown that centenarians have better cardiovascular risk profiles compared to younger old people. The contribution of drug treatments to promote extreme longevity is not confirmed and centenarians in general have needed fewer drugs at younger ages due to a healthy lifestyle. [24] A study by the International Longevity Centre-UK, published in 2011, suggested that today's centenarians may be healthier than the next generation of centenarians. [25]

Ninety percent of the centenarians studied in the New England Centenarian Study were functionally independent the vast majority of their lives up until the average age of 92 years and 75% were the same at an average age of 95 years. [26] Similarly, a study of US supercentenarians (age 110 to 119 years) showed that, even at these advanced ages, 40% needed little assistance or were independent. [27]

A study supported by the US National Institute on Aging found significant associations between month of birth and longevity, with individuals born in September–November having a higher likelihood of becoming centenarians compared to March-born individuals. [28]

In the United States, a 2010 Census Bureau report found that more than 80 percent of centenarians are women. [29]

Possible errors in records

In 2024, Saul Justin Newman published a pre-print paper finding that supercentenarians and extreme age records tend to come from areas with no birth certificates, rampant clerical errors, pension fraud, and short life spans. The study argues that document validation, the only method that demographics use to verify old age, is susceptible to errors that have often been ignored due to confirmation bias and other factors, causing inflated number of valid cases. This suggests that many figures of supercentenarians' population, and studies that rely on those populations, may contain significant errors that have yet to reassessed critically. [30] The study was awarded with the Ig Nobel Prize in 2024. [31]

See also

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A centenarian is a person who has reached the age of 100 years. Because life expectancies worldwide are below 100, the term is invariably associated with longevity. The United Nations estimated that there were 316,600 living centenarians worldwide in 2012, and 573,000 in 2020, almost quadruple the 2000 estimate of 151,000.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Supercentenarian</span> A person who is 110 years or older

A supercentenarian, sometimes hyphenated as super-centenarian, is a person who is 110 years or older. This age is achieved by about one in 1,000 centenarians. Supercentenarians typically live a life free of significant age-related diseases until shortly before the maximum human lifespan is reached.

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References

  1. ↑ Mental Health of the Oldest Old: The Relevance of Centenarian Studies to Psychogeriatric Research International Psychogeriatrics (1998), 10:1:7–9 Cambridge University Press. Published 1998. Accessed February 7, 2009.
  2. ↑ Stamford, Bryant (26 May 2022). "Fastest growing age group is people over 85. How to live long and well". Courier-Journal. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  3. ↑ Secrets of the centenarians: Life begins at 100 New Scientist. Published September 7, 2009. Accessed September 14, 2009.
  4. ↑ 2010 Census Report Shows More Than 80 Percent of Centenarians are Women. U.S. Department of Commerce, United States Census Bureau press release. Published December 10, 2012. Accessed December 12, 2012.
  5. ↑ Mecocci P, Polidori MC, Troiano L, Cherubini A, Cecchetti R, Pini G, et al. (April 2000). "Plasma antioxidants and longevity: a study on healthy centenarians". Free Radical Biology & Medicine. 28 (8): 1243–1248. doi:10.1016/S0891-5849(00)00246-X. PMID   10889454.
  6. ↑ Polidori MC, Mariani E, Baggio G, Deiana L, Carru C, Pes GM, et al. (July 2007). "Different antioxidant profiles in Italian centenarians: the Sardinian peculiarity". European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 61 (7): 922–924. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602596 . PMID   17228351.
  7. ↑ Kłapcińska B, Derejczyk J, Wieczorowska-Tobis K, Sobczak A, Sadowska-Krepa E, Danch A (2000). "Antioxidant defense in centenarians (a preliminary study)". Acta Biochimica Polonica. 47 (2): 281–292. doi: 10.18388/abp.2000_4008 . PMID   11051193.
  8. ↑ Andersen HR, Jeune B, Nybo H, Nielsen JB, Andersen-Ranberg K, Grandjean P (September 1998). "Low activity of superoxide dismutase and high activity of glutathione reductase in erythrocytes from centenarians". Age and Ageing. 27 (5): 643–648. doi: 10.1093/ageing/27.5.643 . PMID   12675104.
  9. ↑ Levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in familial longevity: the Leiden Longevity Study CMAJ November 5, 2012 First published November 5, 2012, doi : 10.1503/cmaj.120233
  10. ↑ Blood tests 'could be used to predict lifespan' Daily Telegraph, UK. Published June 25, 2008. Accessed February 7, 2009.
  11. ↑ Bik W, Baranowska-Bik A, Wolinska-Witort E, Kalisz M, Broczek K, Mossakowska M, Baranowska B (April 2013). "Assessment of adiponectin and its isoforms in Polish centenarians". Experimental Gerontology. 48 (4): 401–407. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2013.01.015. PMID   23396152. S2CID   28072539.
  12. ↑ Family link to long life BBC News. Published June 10, 2002. Accessed February 4, 2009.
  13. ↑ The secrets to longevity USA Today. Published February 22, 2004. Accessed February 7, 2009.
  14. ↑ Study shows genes are key in living to be 100 San Francisco Chronicle. Published July 2, 2010. Accessed July 2, 2010.
  15. ↑ Mutant genes 'key to long life' BBC News. Published November 15, 2009. Accessed January 9, 2010.
  16. ↑ Lessons in Longevity: Growing Life Spans Pose Social, Ethical and Economic Dilemmas Hartford Courant. Published October 21, 2009. Accessed January 9, 2010.
  17. ↑ In the Science of Aging, Oldest New Yorkers Hold the Key Wall Street Journal. Published July 13, 2011. Accessed July 18, 2011.
  18. ↑ Blood tests 'could be used to predict lifespan' Daily Telegraph, UK. Published June 25, 2008. Accessed June 30, 2008.
  19. ↑ Living longer thanks to the 'longevity gene' Physorg.com. Published February 3, 2009. Accessed February 4, 2009.
  20. ↑ Adams ER, Nolan VG, Andersen SL, Perls TT, Terry DF (November 2008). "Centenarian offspring: start healthier and stay healthier". Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 56 (11): 2089–2092. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2008.01949.x. PMC   2892731 . PMID   18811609.
  21. ↑ Rajpathak SN, Liu Y, Ben-David O, Reddy S, Atzmon G, Crandall J, Barzilai N (August 2011). "Lifestyle factors of people with exceptional longevity". Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. 59 (8): 1509–1512. doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03498.x. PMC   6034120 . PMID   21812767.
  22. ↑ "Clues to healthy aging found in the gut bacteria of centenarians". New Atlas. 2 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  23. ↑ Sato Y, Atarashi K, Plichta DR, Arai Y, Sasajima S, Kearney SM, et al. (November 2021). "Novel bile acid biosynthetic pathways are enriched in the microbiome of centenarians". Nature. 599 (7885): 458–464. doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03832-5. PMID   34325466. S2CID   236514774.
  24. ↑ Galioto A, Dominguez LJ, Pineo A, Ferlisi A, Putignano E, Belvedere M, et al. (February 2008). "Cardiovascular risk factors in centenarians". Experimental Gerontology. 43 (2): 106–113. doi:10.1016/j.exger.2007.06.009. PMID   17689040. S2CID   17879395.
  25. ↑ "Living Beyond 100". 29 November 2011.
  26. ↑ Overview, New England Centenarian Study website Accessed February 7, 2009.
  27. ↑ Half of babies 'will live to 100' BBC News, UK. Published October 2, 2009. Accessed October 2, 2009.
  28. ↑ Season of Birth and Exceptional Longevity: Comparative Study of American Centenarians, Their Siblings, and Spouses Journal of Aging Research, Volume 2011 (2011), Article ID 104616, doi:10.4061/2011/104616. Published September, 2011. Accessed July 14, 2012.
  29. ↑ 2010 Census Report Shows More Than 80 Percent of Centenarians are Women U.S. Department of Commerce, United States Census Bureau press release. Published December 10, 2012. Accessed December 12, 2012.
  30. ↑ Newman, Saul Justin (2024). "Supercentenarian and remarkable age records exhibit patterns indicative of clerical errors and pension fraud". bioRxiv. doi:10.1101/704080.
  31. ↑ Sample, Ian (2024-09-13). "Ig Nobel prize goes to team who found mammals can breathe through anuses". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-09-13.
  32. ↑ Remote Italian Village Could Harbor Secrets of Healthy Aging, UC San Diego Health, March 29, 2016
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