Current Perspectives On Centenarians

This book explores various aspects related to human longevity and aging beyond 100 years old. It examines all domains of health and well-being of this elite group including the current demographics, genetics and epigenetics of exceptional longevity, cardiovascular risk factors, dementia, nutrition, physical activity, African American and Hispanic centenarians, financial planning, religion, spirituality, whole health, wellness, oral health, and nature. The book also delves into the lives of supercentenarians, defined as expert survivors who have lived beyond 110 years old. The implications of the Age-Friendly Healthcare Systems (AFHS) Movement on the care of centenarians are also discussed. This book is a valuable resource for healthcare professionals, epidemiologists, public health professionals, policy makers, and anyone interested in the study of aging and longevity.

Devoted to the description of The Georgia Centenarian Study, an interdisciplinary study of the ""oldest-old,"" conducted by the University of Georgia and the Medical College of Georgia. This issue consists of eight papers, that covers most of the domains of the study. It also includes a review of the book ""Centenarians: The New Generation"".

This book is in no way a medical textbook; it only aims at providing a wide in-depth thinking about the growing life expectancy in the current digital age. With the rising 21st century, flurries of new knowledge and technological opportunities have already merged. Longevity has recently become a major concern in our current societies. This has long been, in no way, a new issue as life expectancy was known to rise noticeably for a long time with improving life conditions, but the present breakthroughs in science and technology of the world 2.0 have led to deep changes in our way of life so that new prospects have surged. Now the leading key words are rejuvenation, juvenescence, ageing reversal or, bluntly, transformed, repaired, improved man. The last part of the book will, tentatively, suggest the consequences and the foreseeable issues such a breakthrough that could afford us in a close future to come. A question has arisen now: would this 100 years wall come down in a foreseeable future, thus opening up the way for a larger part of us to become seamlessly centenarians, instead of some individuals exceptionally favored by Nature, thus far. A kind of centenarian democratization!

People around the world are living longer. For the first time in history, most humans will live to be sixty and beyond. By 2050, the world's population aged 60 and over will reach a total of 2 billion, up from 900 million in 2015. Today, 125 million people are 80 years of age or older. By 2050, there will be 434 million people in this age group worldwide. In addition, the pace of aging of the world population is also increasing. However, there is not enough evidence to show that older people have better health than their parents. While rates of severe disability have declined over the past 30 years (but only in high-income countries), there have been no significant changes in mild to moderate disability over the same period of time. Indeed, the increase in the duration of life (lifespan) does not coincide with the increase in the duration of health (healthspan), that is, the period of life free from serious chronic diseases and disabilities. Therefore, the identification of the factors that predispose to a long and healthy life, as discussed in the papers of this book, is of enormous interest for translational medicine.

Does human mortality after age 110 continue to rise, level off, or start to decline? This book describes a concerted, international research effort undertaken with the goal of establishing a database that allows the best possible description of the mortality trajectory beyond the age of 110. The International Database on Longevity (IDL) is the result of this ongoing effort. The IDL contains exhaustive information on validated cases of supercentenarians (people 110 years and older) and allows unbiased estimates of mortality after age 110. The main finding is remarkable: human mortality after age 110 is flat at a probability of death of 50% per year. The sixteen chapters of this book discuss age validation of exceptional longevity, data on supercentenarians in a series of countries, structure and contents of the IDL, and statistical analysis of human mortality after age 110. Several chapters include short accounts of specific supercentenarians that add life to demographic research.

States that the number of genuine long-livers is exploding and a substantial proportion of new-borns in developed countries may survive to celebrate their 100th birthday. This book examines the storied realms of exceptional longevity.

Key research in the world’s largest aging population – in China – has fed into this important new work, which aims to answer questions critical to older people worldwide. These include: is the period of disability compressing or expanding with increasing life expectancy and what factors are associated with these trends in the recent decades? And is it possible to realize morbidity compression with a prolongation of the life span in the future? Essential reading for gerontologists.

This book focuses on centenarians – people aged 100 and over – one of the fastest growing segments of the population in most developed countries. Drawing on official international and national data, it describes the longevity phenomenon and profiles socio-demographic, health and living conditions of long-lived people in 28 European countries. By comparing and synthesizing current information according to country, the book helps fill the knowledge gap regarding Europe’s centenarian population. Providing insights to help stakeholders better predict, plan for and respond to the challenges of extreme longevity, it is a valuable resource for students and academics in the field of population aging, gerontology and geriatrics, as well as social scientists and policymakers.