A Century of Living:Centenarians and Living Longest

Biblical belief holds that “our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow…” (Psalms 90:10). For those that have reached 100 years old (centenarians) and have broken through the barrier of fourscore years (80 years), what is their strength, labor and sorrow?

The United States currently has the greatest number of centenarians in the world, estimated at 70,490 on September 1, 2010. This statistic is partly a result of America's large population. California being the most populous state also has the largest number of centenarian residents at 5,341.

Since Methuselah--from the Old Testament of the Bible, who was erroneously reputed to have lived to 969--accuracy has always been an issue. With recent inaccuracies uncovered in Japan where officials now say that they are unable to account for more than 1,000 of the country's 44,449 listed centenarians, it is likely that our figures are still, similarly overinflated (last year the estimates were adjusted downwards from 96,548). Despite these inaccuracies, even if we account for a high margin of error, centenarians are one of the fastest growing segments of our population. In developed countries, the prevalence of centenarians is about 1-in-6,000. Supercentenarians, those who reach 110 years or more, are rarer with 1-in-7 million people living this long.

Although genetics play a dominant role, luck and money contribute. We cannot do very much with luck. Jean Calment who was the longest living human being dying at the age of 122 years, outlived her daughter Yvonne who died of pneumonia and her grandson Frédéric who died of a motorcycle accident. Both died at the age of 36.

Being rich helps. Although not all centenarians are rich, rich people are more likely to survive to old age then poor people. The secret with money is not being rich but having enough, and that can be very subjective. Although researchers found that 67 percent of 100-year-olds had income below the poverty line, 95 percent indicated to the researchers that they had enough money to meet their needs, and 76 percent reported they had “enough to buy extras.”

Although most centenarians live independently until age 92 by the time they reach the century mark, half are living in nursing homes, while 15 percent are still living alone. The rest are living with someone, or in assisted living facilities. And about 85 percent are women. Researchers indicate that centenarians tend to have an extroverted personality. Centenarians will often have many friends, strong ties to relatives and a healthy dose of self-esteem. This is true of Laura Simon, a La Jolla resident, who at 105 qualifies as one of the oldest residents in San Diego. Attitude is important.

In Blue Zones--Dan Buettner's analysis of region of the world where people commonly live active lives past the age of 100 years--the zones are not based on geography but based on clusters of people that share common practices. Apart from not smoking, eating healthy, and constant moderate physical exercise, the other contributing factors relate to family and social engagement. Invite your family and friends over, they will be the ones that will support your longevity.