Centenarians: who are they? A description of the total Swedish centenarian population in terms of living arrangements, health, and care utilization.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Nationwide population-based longitudinal registry cohort study
PubMed 37668844 · doi:10.1007/s40520-023-02555-z
What was done
A nationwide register-based cohort study evaluated the total population of individuals reaching age 100 in Sweden between 2013 and 2018 (n = 5,882; 80.7% women). Researchers examined sociodemographic factors, living arrangements, prescribed medication burden, morbidity, and health/care transitions over a two-year follow-up period.
What was found
At age 100, 15.0% of centenarians lived at home without formal care (22.7% of men vs. 13.2% of women), approximately 50% resided in care homes (41.0% men vs. 54.0% women), and 24.5% cohabited. Most (76.5%) had income below the median for Swedish older adults, and 66.6% had a child living within 50 km. Over half had at least one diagnosed morbidity, almost none were medication-free, and 65.3% experienced polypharmacy. Two years later, 63.9% had died, and only 4.3% remained living at home without formal care.
Why it matters
These complete population data demonstrate that reaching age 100 in Sweden is characterized by extensive care dependency, frequent solitary living, multi-morbidity, and high short-term mortality rather than disease-free independent longevity.
Limits
The analysis relied on administrative and healthcare registers, lacking direct measures of functional performance, cognitive status, or self-reported quality of life. Findings reflect Sweden's specific social care system and may not generalize to countries with different family or institutional care structures.
Cited by
- contradicts Centenarian studies consistently find that high levels of social connection and community engagement are among the most common characteristics of people who live to 100.