First Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Aghia Sofia, School of Medicine, University of Athens, Thivon & Papadiamantopoulou Str,, GR-115-27, Athens, Greece.
BMC Geriatr. 2011 Dec 21;11:87. doi: 10.1186/1471-2318-11-87.
Centenarians are exceptional ageing paradigms, offering valuable information on achieving longevity. Although, there are several studies examining different biomedical factors as determinants of longevity in centenarians, little is known about gender differences with respect to personality traits and health locus of control.
Nation -wide study carried out in Greece, between 2007 and 2010. Our final sample of analysis consisted of 400 centenarians who reported on sociodemographic, disease-related and personality factors and health locus of control (HLC). Gender differences were investigated by simple nonparametric comparisons. Bivariate correlations between personality factors and internal and external HLC were obtained.
Women centenarians outnumbered men by a ratio of 1.68 to 1. Significant gender sociodemographic differences were noted, with men reporting less often widowhood, more often centenarian 1st degree relatives and smoking. Higher BMI score was measured in males than females. Concerning personality variables, females were more reward-dependent and adaptable than men, while men were more optimistic than women. No differences were found on health locus of control profile between the genders. Positive correlations between self-directness and spirituality with internal locus of control in men and negative correlations between optimism and external locus of control in women emerged as the main gender disparities in the correlation analyses. Self-directness in men and optimism in women were consistently correlated with the two HLC subscales.
Gender differences should be incorporated in future basic research and epidemiological studies of longevity. Informed policies on ageing and wellbeing programs should also take into account gender issues to increase efficacy by targeting health locus of control.
百岁老人是特殊的衰老范例，为实现长寿提供了有价值的信息。虽然有几项研究检查了作为百岁老人长寿决定因素的不同生物医学因素，但对于人格特质和健康控制源方面的性别差异知之甚少。
这是 2007 年至 2010 年在希腊进行的全国性研究。我们的最终分析样本包括 400 名报告社会人口统计学、与疾病相关的因素和人格因素以及健康控制源（HLC）的百岁老人。通过简单的非参数比较研究了性别差异。获得了人格因素与内部和外部 HLC 之间的双变量相关性。
女性百岁老人的数量比男性多 1.68 比 1。注意到显著的性别社会人口统计学差异，男性丧偶的比例较低，百岁老人 1 级亲属较多，吸烟的比例较高。男性的 BMI 评分高于女性。在人格变量方面，女性比男性更依赖奖励和适应，而男性比女性更乐观。在性别之间的健康控制源特征方面没有发现差异。男性的自我指导和精神性与内部控制源之间存在正相关，而女性的乐观主义与外部控制源之间存在负相关，这是相关性分析中出现的主要性别差异。男性的自我指导和女性的乐观主义与两个 HLC 子量表始终相关。
未来的基础研究和长寿的流行病学研究应考虑性别差异。关于老龄化和健康计划的明智政策也应考虑到性别问题，通过针对健康控制源来提高功效。
