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Senior Citizen Longevity & Statistics
Oldest Americans More in Sync with Modern Times Than
Many Think
Centenarians credit longevity to 'Faith' over
genes, medical care
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Yone
Minagawa, 114, world's oldest living person |
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April 3, 2007 – Centenarians – those who have
attained age 100 – are more in tune with current trends than many
assume. One out of three has watched a TV reality show and almost that
many have watched music videos, according to the second annual survey by
Evercare. As was found in the first survey last year, the oldest
Americans attribute their longevity to faith and spiritual care more
than genes or medical care.
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The second annual “Evercare 100 @ 100 Survey”
polled one hundred Americans turning 100 and older this year about their
practices and habits and found that, contrary to some conventional
stereotypes, centenarians are staying in tune with the times.
Like the
rest of Americans, they are following current trends like reality
television, video games and iPods, worrying about health and diet, and
keeping up on news and current events.
“As Americans strive for healthier, longer lives,
the ‘Evercare 100 at 100 Survey’ provides us with a prescription for
longevity from those who have aged successfully, and finds that tuning
in to trends and current events, leading healthy lifestyles and holding
faith and spirituality in high regard are key themes,” said Dr. John
Mach, CEO of Evercare.
“We conduct this annual survey because Evercare is
constantly striving towards a better understanding of the oldest
Americans so that we may continue to provide the kind of care that keeps
people healthy and independent for as long as possible.”
Evercare, one of the nation’s largest care
coordination programs for people who have chronic or advanced illness,
are older or have disabilities, first surveyed centenarians in 2006 to
provide insight into one of the fastest-growing segments of the
population.
Since Evercare serves more than 1,000 centenarians,
the Company conducts this annual survey to better understand them so it
can continue to anticipate their needs. The anecdotal survey is meant
to provide a cultural snapshot of the lives and lifestyles of Americans
who achieve and surpass the 100-year-old milestone by remaining active
and independent.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are
nearly 80,000 centenarians in the United States, and that number is
projected to increase seven-fold, to 580,000, by 2040.
The survey found that two-thirds of centenarians
are concentrated in just ten states. Twelve percent live in Texas, 11
percent in Ohio, 8 percent in New York, 7 percent in California and
Michigan, 5 percent in Florida, and 4 percent each in Alabama,
Minnesota, North Carolina and Pennsylvania.
Edith Jansky, an Evercare enrollee in Cambridge,
MA, attributes her longevity to a positive outlook. “If you are happy
you can live longer I think, and I am happy… To tell you the truth, I
would not want to be anywhere else but here,” she said. “I have seen so
much, I don’t think there would be much more that I could see or hear.”
Among the key findings of the 2007 “Evercare 100 @
100 Survey”:
Keeping up with trends and current events.
● “I want my MTV.” When it comes to
entertainment, the survey found that nearly a third (31 percent) have
watched a reality TV show and 27 percent have watched MTV or music
videos. Nearly a quarter of centenarians have purchased a music CD, and
one in seven has played a video game.
● Sorry, Oprah, Johnny is still king. When
polled on their favorite TV talk show host, Johnny Carson topped the
list with 14 percent of the votes – more than double those for Oprah
Winfrey (6 percent). But, one centenarian did say of Oprah, “I used to
watch her every blessed day, I think she is a wonderful, wonderful,
wonderful person. I think she is very kind too. I think she does a lot
for charity… that must be wonderful to have someone give you a beautiful
new car [that] you didn’t have to work for.”
● Some centenarians have even tried the latest
technology. Six percent said they have been on the Internet and four
percent said they have listened to music on an iPod.
● Advertisers take note: Although 18- to
49-year olds may be a coveted demographic, sixty-eight percent of
centenarians polled also turn to the TV for news and current events,
while 40 percent turn to newspapers, a change from fifty years ago when
newspapers (56 percent) and radio (45 percent) were their primary
sources of news.
On the menu: Better diet and a healthy heart, no
“butts” about it.
● A full 82 percent said that their dietary
habits have improved or stayed the same as compared with 50 years ago.
Just 23 percent said they have ever smoked cigarettes, and on average,
those who quit did so 41 years ago.
● The oldest Americans have also tried specialty
coffee and enjoy fast food. Seventy-two percent did report having eaten
at a fast food restaurant and 11 percent have ordered coffee at
Starbucks.
● Centenarians have heart. When asked about the
best medical advances over their lifetime, they chose heart bypass
surgery and pacemakers (16 percent), ahead of cancer treatment (13
percent), the polio vaccine (7 percent) and organ transplants (4
percent). One respondent said, “I think aspirin is the greatest medical
achievement because they really help.”
Maintaining the brain is important, and marriage
makes for beautiful memories.
● Given the choice, centenarians voted for
having a better memory (34 percent) over less aches and pains (27
percent) or taking fewer prescription drugs (13 percent). Their
favorite memory in the last 100 years? Twenty-eight percent said their
wedding day followed by a tie for the birth of a child and their 100th
birthday (both at 13 percent).
One adventurous centenarian felt his best memory
was “when I learned to fly at age 76.”
Political Front
● They picked Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 to
1945) as the best American president. Slightly more than one out of
three made this choice. Second with 15% was Ronald Reagan (1981 to
1989), and 9% choose John F. Kennedy (1961 to 1963). Bill Clinton
received 5% and George W. Bush 3%.
Answering to a higher power.
● Centenarians trust their spiritual leader the
most to tell the truth, with more than one in three (34 percent) saying
they believe a priest, rabbi or preacher is the person most likely to
tell the truth when given a choice that included their doctor or nurse
(28 percent) and a police officer (8 percent).
This trust in clergy echoes the results of last
year’s survey, which revealed that the oldest Americans attribute their
longevity to faith and spiritual care more than genes or medical care.
Editor's Notes:
Survey Method
The “Evercare 100 @ 100 Survey” was designed to
provide a snapshot of centenarians’ views on current events and trends.
For the 2007 survey, telephone interviews were conducted with a total of
100 nationally-representative adults (70 females and 30 males) who were
99 years old or older, with 95 percent of the respondents between the
ages of 100 and 104. The research was conducted by Strategic Resource
Partners, LLC.
About Evercare
Evercare is one of the nation’s largest care
coordination programs for people who have long-term or advanced illness,
are older or have disabilities. Founded in 1987, Evercare today serves
more than 120,000 people nationwide through Medicare, Medicaid and
private-pay health plans, programs and services – from health plans for
people in community and skilled nursing settings, to caregiver support
and hospice care. Evercare offerings are designed to enhance health and
independence, and in the complex world of health care, make getting care
easier. Evercare is part of Ovations, a division of UnitedHealth Group
(NYSE: UNH) dedicated to the health care needs of Americans over age
50. For more information about Evercare, call 1-866-772-0859 (TTY
1-888-685-8480) or visit
EvercareHealthPlans.com.
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