The Great Escape. Centenarians' exceptional health

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Epidemiology
• Public Health

Background:

• Centenarian escapees are individuals who live to 100 without common age-related diseases.
• Understanding their characteristics offers insights into successful aging.
• This is the first study to examine disease-free centenarians in New Zealand.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of depression, dementia, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, physical activity, and social relationships in New Zealand centenarians and older adults.
• To identify factors associated with centenarians who are free from common chronic diseases.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective, observational, cross-sectional review of a national dataset.
• Analysis of interRAI-Home Care (interRAI-HC) assessments for community-dwelling older adults and centenarians over five years (July 2013-June 2018).

Main Results:

• 292 centenarians and 103,377 older adults were analyzed.
• Centenarians were more likely to be female (74.7%) compared to the elderly group (59.3%).
• Disease-free centenarians did not differ from other centenarians on analyzed variables, but reduced smoking and high social engagement were associated with disease-free status.

Conclusions:

• Not smoking and consistent social engagement in older age are linked to being a centenarian free of common chronic diseases.
• These findings contribute to understanding the complex factors behind exceptional longevity.