Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto (FMUP-UP), Porto, Portugal.
Center for Health Technology and Services Research (CINTESIS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal; Department of Education and Psychology, University of Aveiro (DEP.UA), Aveiro, Portugal.
Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2019 May-Jun;82:139-146. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2019.02.009. Epub 2019 Feb 18.
The worldwide increase of human life expectancy and the rapid aging of the population will contribute to an increasing prevalence of chronic illness. Even so, individuals who reach very advanced ages often postpone or escape age-related diseases that are common causes of death.
This article aims to examine health-related characteristics of two distinct samples of Portuguese centenarians (one predominantly rural - PR vs. one predominantly urban - PU), and explore potential dissimilarities in their morbidity profiles and use of health care services.
A total of 241 centenarians were considered. Sociodemographic characteristics, health status, and use of health care services were assessed by semi-structured interviews with the centenarians and their proxies (family or formal caregiver).
A higher average of 4.80 self-reported illnesses (sd = 2.01) were found in the PU sample (vs. 2.96; sd = 1.77 in the PR sample); in overall the PR sample presented a better health condition with lower levels of physical and mental impairments, and a greater number of centenarians who did not succumb to the three most common lethal diseases (heart disease, non-skin cancer and stroke) in the elderly population (85.4% vs. 60% in the PU sample).
Portuguese centenarians experienced a substantial number of illnesses, but an overall better health status was found in centenarians from the PR area. By providing distinctive health-related profiles, our findings suggest the importance of contextual factors in shaping how very advanced ages may be achieved.
全球人类预期寿命的延长和人口的快速老龄化将导致慢性病的患病率不断上升。尽管如此，达到非常高年龄的个体往往会推迟或避免常见的老年疾病，这些疾病是导致死亡的主要原因。
本文旨在研究两个不同的葡萄牙百岁老人样本（一个主要是农村地区的样本-PR 与一个主要是城市地区的样本-PU）的与健康相关的特征，并探讨他们在发病率谱和医疗保健服务使用方面的潜在差异。
共纳入 241 名百岁老人。通过对半结构化访谈，评估了百岁老人及其代理人（家庭或正式护理人员）的社会人口统计学特征、健康状况和医疗保健服务使用情况。
PU 样本中报告的平均自我报告疾病数量（4.80，标准差 = 2.01）高于 PR 样本（2.96，标准差 = 1.77）；总体而言，PR 样本的健康状况更好，身体和精神损伤程度较低，并且未屈服于老年人群中三种最常见致命疾病（心脏病、非皮肤癌和中风）的百岁老人比例更高（85.4% vs. 60%，PU 样本）。
葡萄牙百岁老人经历了大量的疾病，但 PR 地区的百岁老人整体健康状况更好。通过提供独特的与健康相关的特征，我们的发现表明了背景因素在塑造人们达到极高年龄方面的重要性。
