Determination of ages of elderly Nigerians through historical events: validation of Ajayi-Igun 1963 listing.

We compared ages of 59 elderly Nigerians subjects determined independently by records and historical events to validate the Ajayi-Igun listing of 1963. There was no statistically difference between the mean ages of the subjects as determined by the 2 methods (p > 0.05). In almost 50% of the subjects, the ages were exactly the same by both methods and in 93.2%, the difference in ages was 3 years. There was a high significant correlation between the two methods of age determination (Spearman correlation coefficient rs = 0.989, p < 10(-5)). Our study validate the use of historical listing for accurate age determination in Nigerians and its use is advocated for epidemiologic studies and other demographic needs in circumstances where written records of births are lacking.