A study of veterans in their 80s, 90s, and 100s found that the oldest cohort was actually in the best health, reports Physicians Briefing.
The researchers found that octogenarians had higher incidence rates of chronic illnesses than centenarians did (atrial fibrillation, 15 versus 0.6 percent; heart failure, 19.3 versus 0.4 percent; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 17.9 versus 0.6. percent; hypertension, 29.6 versus 3 percent; end-stage renal disease, 7.2 versus 0.1 percent; malignancy, 14.1 versus 0.6 percent; diabetes mellitus, 11.1 versus 0.4 percent; and stroke, 4.6 versus 0.4 percent). Nonagenarians also had higher incidence rates of chronic illnesses than did centenarians (atrial fibrillation, 13.2 versus 3.5 percent; heart failure, 15.8 versus 3.3 percent; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 11.8 versus 3.5 percent; hypertension, 27.2 versus 12.8 percent; end-stage renal disease, 11.9 versus 4.5 percent; malignancy, 8.6 versus 2.3 percent; diabetes mellitus, 7.5 versus 2.2 percent; and stroke, 3.5 versus 1.3 percent).
“Centenarians had a lower incidence of chronic illness than those in their 80s and 90s, demonstrating similar compression of morbidity and extension of health span observed in other studies,” the authors write.
Read more at www.physiciansbriefing.com
