New research conducted by a team at King’s College
London has found an increasing trend in the number
of people in the UK reaching age 100 over the past
two decades. The study also found that, whilst women
were far more likely to reach 100 than men, males
tended to be healthier and had fewer diagnosed
chronic illnesses compared to women.
The study, published today in the Journal of the
American Geriatrics Society, used electronic health
records to examine some of the main age-related
chronic illnesses, including diabetes, stroke,
arthritis and cancer, as well as old age related
problems including falls, fractures, dementia and
hearing/visual impairments among 11,084
centenarians.
Findings suggested a 50 per cent increase in the
number of females reaching the age of 100 years
between 1990 and 2013 and that women were four times
more likely to reach age 100 than men. There was
also a 30 per cent increase in the number of males
reaching 100 during the same period.
Whilst far less men reached the age of 100, those
that did tended to be healthier, with females more
likely to experience multiple chronic illnesses and
disabilities such as fractures, incontinence and
hearing/visual deterioration than men.
Less life-threatening conditions such as arthritis
and other musculoskeletal diseases were also shown
to be more prevalent than the more serious illnesses
such as diabetes and cancer across both men and
women in the sample.
The increase in the overall number of centenarians
and conditions associated with reaching this age
suggest that the utilisation of health care services
by the elderly may increase substantially and could
also have an impact on the associated health care
costs.
However, further research is needed to understand
why some people reach extreme old age without severe
health problems and others do not. This could help
to improve care, develop health services and improve
quality of life for older generations in the future.
Nisha Hazra, lead author of the study from the
Department of Primary Care and Public Health
Sciences at King’s College London said: ‘We found a
surprising number of 100 year-olds who had no major
illnesses. However, as the number of people living
to 100 continues to increase, it’s very important to
understand the evolving health care needs of the
oldest old.
‘This will help to accurately project health care
costs associated with the ageing population. Future
research should focus on understanding these
implications to help develop healthcare services.’
See also
Single gene change increases mouse lifespan by 20
percent (2013-08-30)
Link...
For mmore information
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
Differences in Health at Age 100 According to Sex:
Population-Based Cohort Study of Centenarians Using
Electronic Health Records
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King's College London
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