A global team of demographers has identified at least 600 individuals
who have reached the age of 110 and earned the title of
"supercentenarians." Of these 600, 20 were more than 115 years old.
More than half (341) of the supercentenarians discovered are in the
United States, where women in the cohort outnumbered men by nearly 10
to 1. (These numbers may have been a factor of better record keeping in
the United States compared with other countries, the researchers note.)
The work, coordinated by the Max Planck Institute for Demographic
Research in Germany, aims to create a database that would provide a
reliable, international record of scientifically verified data on human
longevity.
The effort may yield important clues about why and how some individuals
are able to live such a long time, some even surviving major surgery in
their 110s. For instance, as the U.S. example illustrates, being born
female has its advantages for longevity, whereas socioeconomic
differences and the longevity of one's ancestors seem to have little
impact on the likelihood of supercentenarianism.
The researchers observed that many of the supercentenarians had been
able to avoid dementia. This suggests that efforts to prevent,
diagnose, and treat Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia may
also contribute to longevity.
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