More Americans are living past age 100 than ever before, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
While this sounds like great news, we must also consider what this means for the aging population regarding quality-of-life issues. The UMHS Endeavour looks at why Americans are living longer, based on a news release from the National Institute of Health and a feature in HealthDay published last week. We’ll explain the significance for the public and future doctors at international medical schools.
Fewer Deaths for Americans Over 100: CDC
A CDC study said Americans who are age 100 and up are surviving longer. An informative news feature on the National Institute of Health website HealthDay discussed the study’s findings and the impact.
The CDC said over 72,000 Americans age 100 and up are surviving longer.
“Death rates for the oldest Americans charted a steady decline between 2008 and 2014. This trend held for both genders and across races and ethnicities, the data showed,” the HealthDay feature said.
Causes of death for Americans over 100 have changed over the years. The CDC report said heart disease, stroke, flu, pneumonia, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease were among the leading causes of death for those over 100 back in 2000.
By 2014, "heart disease was still the leading cause of death, but Alzheimer's disease became the second leading cause, followed by stroke, cancer, and influenza and pneumonia," study author Dr. Jiaquan Xu, of the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics wrote.
Below are facts from the study, featured on the HealthDay website:
- “The percentage of total deaths from Alzheimer's disease [for centenarians] increased 124 percent between 2000 and 2014.”
- “In sheer numbers, the "100-plus" club is a growing demographic in the United States. Dr. Xu noted that 50,281 Americans were aged 100 or older in 2000, but by 2014 that number had jumped by almost 44 percent, to 72,197.”
- Women make up about four-fifths of centenarians, according to the CDC.
An expert is quoted in the HealthDay feature about why more Americans are living past 100.
"In the 19th century there were public health efforts of clean water and sanitation and vaccination science," Dr. Maria Torroella Carney, chief of geriatric and palliative medicine at Northwell Health in New Hyde Park, New York, is quoted in the feature as saying.
Dr. Carney said in the new millennium, such factors as vaccination development, injury prevention (wearing seatbelts and helmets), people quitting smoking and more have helped Americans live longer.
Preventive health services for stroke, diabetes and cancers have helped increase lifespans, Dr. Carney said.
Dr. Heather Whitson, a member of the American Geriatric Society, told HealthDay that doctors and other health care professionals have much better training now in caring for the elderly.
"One way we've been successful in improving care for patients who are very advanced in age is that we've infused geriatric education throughout more schools that train health care professionals," Dr. Whitson said in the feature.
Dr. Carney said we should be concerned about quality of life for the elderly, particularly Americans over 100.
"While Americans may be living longer, are they living well?" Dr. Carney is quoted in HealthDay. "Are individuals functional, communicative, or are they suffering? Are they living alone or with others in their own homes or in nursing homes? Are end-of-life decisions being made and wishes being carried out? Are these elders dying in their homes or in hospitals?"
"These are the questions that need to be addressed," Dr. Carney said. "Americans are living longer than ever before. Let's now look to promote how this longer life is lived."
(Top photo) CDC SAYS MORE AMERICANS THAN EVER LIVE PAST 100: Focusing on quality-of-life issues & how later life is lived are both important, experts say. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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Scott is Director of Digital Content & Alumni Communications Liaison at UMHS and editor of the UMHS Endeavour blog. When he's not writing about UMHS students, faculty, events, public health, alumni and UMHS research, he writes and edits Broadway theater reviews for a website he publishes in New York City, StageZine.com.
