TY - JOUR
T1 - How to classify the oldest old according to their health status
T2 - A study on 1160 subjects belonging to 552 90+ Italian sib-ships characterized by familial longevity recruited within the GEHA EU Project
AU - Cevenini, Elisa
AU - Cotichini, Rodolfo
AU - Stazi, Maria Antonietta
AU - Toccaceli, Virgilia
AU - Scurti, Maria
AU - Mari, Vincenzo
AU - Berardelli, Maurizio
AU - Passarino, Giuseppe
AU - Jeune, Bernard
AU - Franceschi, Claudio
AU - Bezrukov, Vladyslav
AU - Blanché, Hélené
AU - Bolund, Lars
AU - Christensen, Kaare
AU - Deiana, Luca
AU - Gonos, Efsthatios
AU - Hervonen, Antti
AU - Kirkwood, Tom B L
AU - Kristensen, Peter
AU - Leon, Alberta
AU - Pelicci, Pier Giuseppe
AU - Perola, Markus
AU - Poulain, Michel
AU - Rea, Irene M.
AU - Remacle, Josè
AU - Robine, Jean Marie
AU - Schreiber, Stefan
AU - Sikora, Ewa
AU - Slagboom, P. Eline
AU - Spazzafumo, Liana
AU - Toussaint, Olivier
AU - Vaupel, James W.
PY - 2014/1/1
Y1 - 2014/1/1
N2 - The health status of the oldest old, the fastest increasing population segment worldwide, progressively becomes more heterogeneous, and this peculiarity represents a major obstacle to their classification. We compared the effectiveness of four previously proposed criteria (Franceschi et al., 2000; Evert et al., 2003; Gondo et al., 2006; Andersen-Ranberg et al., 2001) in 1160 phenotypically fully characterized Italian siblings of 90 years of age and older (90+, mean age: 93 years; age range: 90-106 years) belonging to 552 sib-ships, recruited in Northern, Central and Southern Italy within the EU-funded project GEHA, followed for a six-year-survival. Main findings were: (i) "healthy" subjects varied within a large range, i.e. 5.2% (Gondo), 8.7% (Evert), 17.7% (Franceschi), and 28.5% (Andersen-Ranberg); (ii) Central Italy subjects showed better health than those from Northern and Southern Italy; (iii) mortality risk was correlated with health status independently of geographical areas; and (iv) 90+ males, although fewer in number, were healthier than females, but with no survival advantage. In conclusion, we identified a modified version of Andersen-Ranberg criteria, based on the concomitant assessment of two basic domains (cognitive, SMMSE; physical, ADL), called "Simple Model of Functional Status" (SMFS), as the most effective proxy to distinguish healthy from not-healthy subjects. This model showed that health status was correlated within sib-ships, suggesting a familial/genetic component.
AB - The health status of the oldest old, the fastest increasing population segment worldwide, progressively becomes more heterogeneous, and this peculiarity represents a major obstacle to their classification. We compared the effectiveness of four previously proposed criteria (Franceschi et al., 2000; Evert et al., 2003; Gondo et al., 2006; Andersen-Ranberg et al., 2001) in 1160 phenotypically fully characterized Italian siblings of 90 years of age and older (90+, mean age: 93 years; age range: 90-106 years) belonging to 552 sib-ships, recruited in Northern, Central and Southern Italy within the EU-funded project GEHA, followed for a six-year-survival. Main findings were: (i) "healthy" subjects varied within a large range, i.e. 5.2% (Gondo), 8.7% (Evert), 17.7% (Franceschi), and 28.5% (Andersen-Ranberg); (ii) Central Italy subjects showed better health than those from Northern and Southern Italy; (iii) mortality risk was correlated with health status independently of geographical areas; and (iv) 90+ males, although fewer in number, were healthier than females, but with no survival advantage. In conclusion, we identified a modified version of Andersen-Ranberg criteria, based on the concomitant assessment of two basic domains (cognitive, SMMSE; physical, ADL), called "Simple Model of Functional Status" (SMFS), as the most effective proxy to distinguish healthy from not-healthy subjects. This model showed that health status was correlated within sib-ships, suggesting a familial/genetic component.
KW - Gender
KW - Health status classification
KW - Longevity
KW - Mortality
KW - Oldest old
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84891557012&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.mad.2013.11.001
DO - 10.1016/j.mad.2013.11.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84891557012
SN - 1872-6216
VL - 134
SP - 560
EP - 569
JO - Mechanisms of Ageing and Development
JF - Mechanisms of Ageing and Development
IS - 11-12
ER -