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Aging Gracefully: A Retrospective Analysis of Functional Status in Okinawan Centenarians

From the College of Nursing, Okinawa Prefectural University, Okinawa, Japan (DCW, SS, SK); the University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan (MK); Pacific Health Research Institute, Honolulu, HI (DCW, BJW); Departments of Geriatric Medicine and Medicine, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI (BJW).

Objective: This study retrospectively explored the late-life functional status of Okinawan centenarians.

Methods: Activities of daily living were measured retrospectively at five time points (10, 5, 3, and 1 year prior and present) for 22 centenarians in relation to seven physical, two sensory, and two cognitive functions using the Inoue Index.

Results: In all, 82% of individuals were still functioning independently at a mean age of 92 years and almost two-thirds were still functioning independently at a mean age of 97 years.

Conclusion: Preliminary analyses suggest high functional status in Okinawan centenarians throughout their 90s. The genetic and environmental factors contributing to this successful aging phenomenon deserve further investigation.

Key Words: ADL • functional status • centenarians • Okinawa • successful aging

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. C. Willcox, B. J. Willcox, Q. He, N.-c. Wang, and M. Suzuki They Really Are That Old: A Validation Study of Centenarian Prevalence in Okinawa J. Gerontol. A Biol. Sci. Med. Sci., April 1, 2008; 63(4): 338 - 349. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. E. Vaillant Aging Well Am J Geriatr Psychiatry, March 1, 2007; 15(3): 181 - 183. [Full Text] [PDF]