Numbers of Centenarians Rising : Women Continue to Outlive Males

The number of centenarians in Ontario increased by more than 70 percent over the last 15 years with women making up more than 85 percent of people 100 or older, according to new research by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and Women's College Hospital.

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The findings, published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society , are among the first to examine centenarians in a large geographic population and the healthcare services they receive.

"Our study highlights that older people are living longer, and women make up a significant proportion of centenarians. The predominance of women among those of advanced age challenges us to consider tailoring health and social care to meet their particular needs," said Dr. Paula Rochon, lead author of the study and scientist at Women's College Research Institute and ICES.

The population-based study of centenarians used an estimated 1.8 million individuals 65 years of age and older. This study that documents changes to the size of the centenarian population over the past 15 years found:

• In Ontario, the number of centenarians increased from 1069 in 1995 to 1842 in 2010, a 72.3 percent increase during this period.
• During the same time period, the 85-99 year age group increased from 119,955 to 227,703, an 89.8 percent increase.
• Of the 1842 centenarians, 6.7 percent were 105 years or older.
• Women represented 85.3 percent of all centenarians and 89.4 percent of those 105 years or older.
• Almost half lived in the community (20.0 percent independently, 25.3 percent with publicly funded home care).
• Preventive drug therapies (bisphosphonates and statins) were frequently dispensed.
• In the preceding year, 18.2 percent were hospitalized and 26.6 percent were seen in an emergency department.
• More than 95 percent saw a primary care provider and 5.3 percent saw a geriatrician.

"We need a better understanding of who centenarians are, and how and when they use the health care system in order to improve their health service delivery," adds Rochon.

Understanding the sociodemographic profile and health service use of centenarians is important to inform strategies to improve the delivery of health services for many individuals who will approach or achieve this milestone in the future, the authors note. Better understanding of the health services use of centenarians assists health care providers to inform their care decisions and for policy makers to aid in their planning for the delivery of healthcare services, they add.

The study "Demographics and health care use of centenarians: a population-based cohort study," was published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Authors: Paula A. Rochon, Andrea Gruneir, Wei Wu, Sudeep S. Gill, Susan E. Bronskill, Dallas P. Seitz, Chaim M. Bell, Hadas D. Fischer, Anne Stephenson, Xuesong Wang, Andrea S. Gershon and Geoffrey M. Anderson.

Attribution/Source(s): This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Women's College Hospital and published on 2014/01/11, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.