Functional status and well-being of centenarians

Data regarding a sample of 109 centenarians are presented, living in the region of central Italy. Physical and psychosocial variables were analyzed by a questionnaire based on a multidimensional conceptualization of health. Objective and laboratory data were collected and functional capacity was complemented by clinical diagnoses and judgements as well as by self-reported health problems and functional limitations. The results reveal that people can reach their maximum life span while maintaining good levels of functional capacity in spite of the chronological age. One major aspect of functional status in upper ranges of human life span is the everyday competence in the activities of daily living (ADL). In this regard, 26.6% of centenarians are classified as having no ADL-dependency (level A: 34.6% of males and 24.0% of females); the most frequent type of dependency was in bathing (65.1%; 46.2% of males, 71.1% of females) and in continence (45.9%; 50% of males, 44.6% of females). The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) showed a mean score of 19.86 +/- 5.93 (21.04 +/- 5.33 of males; 19.49 +/- 6.10 of females). The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) mean score was 8.22 +/- 4.89 (7.60 +/- 5.05 of males, 8.40 +/- 4.87 of females).