Research news: Even those with chronic ailments have shot at long life

The News:
Even those with chronic ailments have shot at long life
A study of those who reached age 100 finds longevity isn't limited to illness-free elders.
By Lindsey Tanner The Associated Press
Article Last Updated: 02/12/2008 03:04:27 AM MST
CHICAGO — Living to 100 is easier than you might think. Surprising new research suggests that even people who develop heart disease or diabetes late in life have a decent shot at reaching the century mark.
"It has been generally assumed that living to 100 years of age was limited to those who had not developed chronic illness," said Dr. William Hall of the University of Rochester.
Hall has a theory for how these people could live to that age. In an editorial in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine, where the study was published, he writes that it might be thanks to doctors who aggressively treat health problems of the elderly rather than taking an "ageist" approach that assumes they won't benefit.
For the study, Boston University researchers did phone interviews and health assessments of more than 500 women and 200 men who had reached 100. They found that roughly two-thirds of them had avoided significant age-related ailments.
But the rest, dubbed "survivors," had developed an age-related disease before reaching 85, including high blood pressure, heart disease or diabetes. Yet many functioned remarkably well — nearly as well as their disease-free peers. more...

The Research:
Read the research articles behind this story in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine.
Centenarians: Metaphor Becomes Reality

Disentangling the Roles of Disability and Morbidity in Survival to Exceptional Old Age

Exceptional Longevity in Men: Modifiable Factors Associated With Survival and Function to Age 90 Years