Age and Ageing, Vol 28, 193-197, Copyright © 1999 by British Geriatrics Society
TT Perls, K Bochen, M Freeman, L Alpert and MH Silver
INTRODUCTION: the age reported by or on behalf of centenarians may be
suspect unless proven correct. We report the validity of age reports in a
population-based sample of centenarians living in New England and the
prevalence of centenarians in an area within the North Eastern USA.
METHODS: cohort study. All centenarians in a population-based sample
detected by local censuses. Ages were confirmed by birth certificate. Type
of residence and whether the subject was living independently were also
recorded. RESULTS: from a population of about 450,000 people, 289 potential
centenarians were reported by the censuses of the eight towns participating
in the study. Of these, 186 (64%) had died at the time centenarian
prevalence was determined. Of the 80 still alive, 13 (16%) had incorrect
birth years recorded by the censuses. The specificity of the censuses for
stating the number of centenarians alive and living in the sample was
28-31%. Using additional sources, only four more centenarians were located,
indicating that the sensitivity of the censuses approached 100%. We had an
83% success rate in obtaining proof of age in those families we
interviewed. In all instances, age and birth order of children were an
important source of corroborative evidence and in no case did we detect
inconsistencies with the families' reported ages of the centenarian
subjects. Therefore, there were at least 46 centenarians or approximately 1
centenarian per 10,000 people. CONCLUSIONS: age validation can be performed
for most centenarians in the North Eastern USA. Self or family reports of
those between the ages of 100 and 107 years were dependable.
ARTICLES
Validity of reported age and centenarian prevalence in New England
Gerontology Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02215, USA. tperls@warren.med.harvard.edu
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