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The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors among centenarians is low: risk factors in centenarians

Jolanta Zyczkowska1, Alicja Klich-Raczka, Barbara Wizner

  • 1Department of Internal Medicine and Gerontology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Poland.

European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation : Official Journal of the European Society of Cardiology, Working Groups on Epidemiology & Prevention and Cardiac Rehabilitation and Exercise Physiology
|December 5, 2006
PubMed

Insights

Centenarians exhibit a superior cardiovascular risk profile compared to middle-aged adults, with lower rates of smoking, overweight, and hypercholesterolemia. This suggests that exceptional longevity is associated with reduced cardiovascular risk factors.

Area of Science:

  • Gerontology
  • Cardiovascular Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Investigating major cardiovascular risk factors in centenarians.
  • Assessing the prevalence of key risk factors in extreme longevity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the cardiovascular risk profiles of centenarians with a younger, middle-aged cohort.
  • To determine the association between longevity and cardiovascular risk factors.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of cardiovascular risk factors (sex, smoking, overweight, diabetes, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia) in 93 centenarians.
  • Comparison with data from 90 individuals aged 40-60 years.

Main Results:

  • Smoking, overweight, and hypercholesterolemia were more prevalent in the younger group.
  • Hypertension was diagnosed more frequently in centenarians.
  • 55.4% of centenarians had zero or one risk factor, versus 14.2% in the younger group.

Conclusions:

  • Centenarians possess a significantly better cardiovascular risk profile than middle-aged individuals.
  • Longevity appears strongly linked to a favorable cardiovascular risk profile.
  • Reduced exposure to common cardiovascular risks may facilitate extreme aging.
Abstract

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