Centenarian research in the past two decades

Abstract

Longevity research has increased in recent decades as the numbers of oldest old and centenarians have increased around the world. At the same time, the breadth of focus of longevity research has expanded and methodological approaches have become more robust. This paper reviews the demographic change seen in industrialised countries and the state of the literature on centenarian research, summarising findings from some of the major longitudinal studies.