Last review and update: December 10, 2022.
A Short Summary.
75% of all living Danish centenarians participated in a 2001 study by Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Bernard Jeune et al. Only one was “free from chronic disease”. The vast majority of the other participants were unhealthy, though 12% were categorized as autonomous. Modern-day centenarians do not appear to be a good model of health. They have the ability to maintain a number of normal biological functions regardless of the presence of several diseases and atrophy of organs. But their longevity is not “healthy”.
It is remarkable that one individual was categorized as free from chronic disease. This exceptional individual should have been studied extensively but the authors of the study did not manifest any particular interest to the healthiest of the group.
Staying “healthy”, “disease-free”, at all periods of our lives should be our goal. “Avoiding errors” is one way to achieve this. If you need help with “avoiding errors” , do not hesitate to get in contact with us.
The cited literature:
The article contains informative data and food for thought.
Re-reading+-
Introduction.
“Is it possible to reach extreme ages as a mainly healthy person or do we all have to pass the stages of increasing comorbidity? Results from studies of centenarians may contribute to answering this question,” – Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Bernard Jeune et al., 2001.
The study by Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Bernard Jeune et al., 2001(1).
75% of all living Danish centenarians participated in the study.
Of all 276 Danes who celebrated their 100th anniversary between April 1, 1995 and May 31, 1996, 207 persons participated in the study.
34% lived in their own homes.
Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Bernard Jeune et al., 2001(1):
“Two hundred and seven centenarians (162 women and 45 men) participated in the survey. One hundred and fourteen lived in nursing homes, 70 (34%) in their own homes, and 23 (11%) in sheltered houses.”
Only 12% were categorized as autonomous.
Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Bernard Jeune et al., 2001(1):
“Of the relatively independent centenarians, 25 (12%) were categorized as autonomous.”
Only one subject was identified as being free from any chronic condition or illness. The others were unhealthy. The autonomous 12% had equivalent comorbidities to those of the dependent centenarians.
Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Bernard Jeune et al., 2001(1):
“Cardiovascular disease was present in 149 (72%) subjects. Osteoarthritis (major joints) was present in 54%, hypertension ( 140/ 90) in 52%, dementia in 51%, and ischemic heart disease in 28%. The mean number of illness was 4.3 (standard deviation (SD) 1.86). Only one subject was identified as being free from any chronic condition or illness. Sixty percent had been treated for illness with high mortality. In 25 autonomous (nondemented, functioning well physically, living at home) and 182 nonautonomous centenarians, comorbidities were equivalent.”
Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Bernard Jeune et al., 2001(1):
“Had we had a 100% participation rate in all the clinical examinations, the prevalence of disease and diagnoses would have been higher.”
Reaching the age of 100 today is not reserved for people free from potentially mortal diseases.
Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Bernard Jeune et al., 2001(1):
“… both lifestyle improvements and an increasing use of treatments, including secondary prevention, offered even to very old people, are the largest contributors to the increased survival of those age 80 and older. As a consequence, reaching the age of 100 today is not reserved for people free from potentially mortal diseases. The fact that almost 75% of the Danish centenarians have survived stroke, myocardial infarction, malignant cancer, hip fracture, or pneumonia supports this notion. Furthermore, when reaching the age of 100, people suffer from several chronic conditions, which strongly suggests that healthy centenarians do not exist, or at least are extremely rare.”
Ability to maintain a number of normal biological functions regardless of the presence of several diseases and atrophy of organs.
Karen Andersen-Ranberg, Bernard Jeune et al., 2001(1):
“One can therefore wonder that they are still alive. They may have been relatively healthier than their fellow birth cohort members who did not reach the age of 100, or they may have benefited from disease onset at later ages. They may also have been treated better medically, or the diseases they have had or had at the age of 100 may have been less serious. Centenarians may be biologically better “fit” with a well-preserved adaptability and ability to maintain a number of normal biological functions regardless of the presence of several diseases and atrophy of organs. Such a preservation or adaptation of normal functions has been shown in studies of the immune, metabolic, and hematopoietic systems in apparently healthy Italian centenarians and in Danish centenarians, where thyroid function was normal in spite of small thyroid glands determined by ultrasound.”
Image: Georg Ingwersen Jensen (14 June 1906 – 15 May 2016), a Danish centenarian who was, at the time of his death, the oldest known living man in Denmark. It is not known if he was free from chronic disease.
Selected References:
1. Andersen-Ranberg K, Schroll M, Jeune B. Healthy centenarians do not exist, but autonomous centenarians do: a population-based study of morbidity among Danish centenarians. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2001 Jul;49(7):900-8.