Centenarian is a word used to highlight people who have lived a hundred years or beyond. If you live for a century, you will be known as a centenarian. In recent years, researchers and scientists have understood that centenarians are important subjects to be studied. They hold secrets to successful aging. Apparently, some centenarians tend to be very healthy, and it is only at the terminal phase of their life that their healthy rapidly begins to decline. This leads to a compression of their morbidity.
In Okinawa, the elders aged 70 or above seem to have had a very healthy life. They have been able to circumvent some if not all the common age-related diseases such as cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer disease and cancer.
How Many Centenarians Are Alive?
Recent estimates say that in the United States, there are around 80,000 centenarians, or per every 100,000 population 10 to 20 individuals will turn into centenarians. According to U.S. Census Bureau, the number of centenarians in America will reach a zenith of one million by year 2050.
In other developed countries, the figures are quite similar. However, in Okinawa (Japan) the figures are fascinating. In a population of 100,000, 50 individuals are likely going to become centenarians. According to Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2006, in a population of 1.3 million, there are 740 centenarians and 90 percent are actually women.
Super- Centenarians?
In addition, in the former Soviet state of Georgia, Caucasus Mountains of the Hunza Valley of Pakistan and Vilcabamba in Ecuador there is apparently a high density of centenarians. It is said to be people living to the age of 120 years in these regions. However, further studies have illustrated that for these regions, there is an age and life expectancy exaggeration as the volume of centenarians is actually less than the average of U.S.
Second Centenarian Concentrated Region – Sardinia, Italy
An uncommonly high life expectancy is equally present in Sardinia, Italy. There is a much higher concentration of centenarians in Sardinia compared to other regions in Italy. Interestingly, most of the long-lived people in Sardinia are concentrated, in particular, regions. The reason for the high volume of centenarians in Sardinia is suggested to be prevalent due to the lower level of mortality rates caused by circulatory diseases amidst elders of 80 to 100 years.
The unusually low prevalence of death-circulatory disease and cancer do support longevity. In addition, female mortality is higher in Sardinia and this gives rise to a higher presence of male centenarians.
The Okinawan Longevity Phenomenon – did only recently reach the West Media
The lack of interest in gerontology or rather, at that time (1970), relatively new field of study made findings associated to the ‘Okinawan longevity phenomenon’ quite unknown in the west. It is only recently that Japanese findings on longevity have been translated and made globally public. The world is now learning about the extremely longevity that people of Okinawa are enjoying.
World Trends – Longevity
In developed nations such as Japan and USA, centenarians are an expanding demographic group. Early in 1963, the Japan Ministry of Health and Welfare started to scrutinize centenarian figures for the country. At that time, there were merely 153 centenarians in Japan. However, in 2006 the figures had increased to 28,395, where women accounted for 85 percent of the total. Okinawa’s first centenarians were revealed in the mid-1960s. In the years after they have been mushrooming to reach 740.
The rapidly expanding demographic of centenarians is a worldwide phenomenon. Better health services, medical care, public health infrastructure, nutrition, income and housing are the underling engines for an aging and healthy population.
Source: Oki-cent
Anti Aging,
Gerontology,
Longevity
© Jimmy Eriksson for Anti Aging and Human Immortality News, 2011. |
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