Re: Male Okinawan Lifespan

[Guest guest]

I also read somewhere (also among the links/files) that the Okinawan

life expectancy has RISEN appreciably in the past thirty years,

suggesting that Mc's probably isn't involved in the change!

--- In , " Rodney " <perspect1111@y...>

wrote:

> Francesca:

>

> I have seen two 77 years numbers. One 76.8 the other 77.2

>

> This is how to find the 77.2 number:

>

> Click " Links "

>

> Click " Okinawan Longevity "

>

> Click " Okinawaprogram.com "

>

> Click " Centenarians " (at the top)

>

> Go to bottom of page and click " click here "

>

> Go to fourth paragraph of this page, which I paste below:

>

> " Evidence-based Extreme Longevity: The Case of Okinawa, Japan

> B. J. Willcox, D.C. Willcox, M. Suzuki.

>

> Division of Gerontology, Beth-Israel Deaconess Medical Center,

> Harvard Medical School; College of Nursing, Okinawa Prefectural

> University; Department of Gerontology, Okinawa International

> University and Okinawa Gerontology Research Center.

>

> At present it is generally accepted that there are approximately 10

> centenarians per 100,000 people in most industrialized countries.

> Nevertheless, we have documented a much higher prevalence of

> centenarians in Okinawa, a prefecture (state) of Japan that

consists

> of a group of 44 inhabited islands that stretches 800 miles between

> the Japan main islands and Taiwan.

>

> In a demographic survey of the entire Okinawan population we

> identified a total of 427 centenarians out of a population of 1.27

> million inhabitants. Ages were validated through the koseki (family

> registry) system that has been recording complete birth, marriage,

> and death statistics for every Okinawan-Japanese citizen since

1879.

> A prevalence of 33.6 centenarians per 100,000 population was

> identified of which 85.7% were female. The age range was 100-111

with

> a mean age of 101.6 There were 35 (8.2%) centenarians over the age

of

> 105 and 1 (0.2%) over the age of 110. This is the highest

prevalence

> of centenarians ever documented with a reliable database. Okinawan

> emigration is balanced by the highest fertility rate in Japan with

a

> net positive population growth so this phenomenon cannot be

> attributed to attrition of younger age groups.

>

> Okinawa has the longest life expectancy in Japan, and likely the

> world, at 85.1 years for women and 77.2 years for men (Japan

Ministry

> of Health,1995) therefore it seems plausible that this high

> centenarian prevalence is secondary to a higher percentage of

> Okinawans living closer to the maximum human life span than in

other

> populations. Further study is required to identify the reasons

behind

> this fascinating phenomenon.

>

> We thank the Japan Ministry of Health, the Japan Foundation for

Aging

> and Health (JAFAH), and the Division on Aging, Harvard Medical

School

> for their support. BW is a JAFAH Scholar.

>

> Scientific abstract of research presented at the Presidential

Poster

> Session of the American Geriatrics Society Annual Meeting, 2001. "

[Guest guest]

These are eight year old numbers.

on 10/18/2003 7:32 PM, Rodney at perspect1111@... wrote:

> Okinawa has the longest life expectancy in Japan, and likely the

> world, at 85.1 years for women and 77.2 years for men (Japan Ministry

> of Health,1995)

[Guest guest]

Francesca:

Well I am using the resources this site provides. If you can find a

more recent one I would like to hear what it is.

Here is a link to the US number which presumably is also rising (not

the link I originally found):

" U.S. Life Expectancy Reaches Record High ...............

The average person in the United States can expect to live 77.2

years, which is a jump of nearly two years since 1990, the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services says in new report released

Friday on the nation's health.

The life expectancy for women was 79.8 years, while for men it was

74.4 years. Both statistics were compiled from data taken in 2001,

and represent a significant jump from 11 years earlier. "

>

> > Okinawa has the longest life expectancy in Japan, and likely the

> > world, at 85.1 years for women and 77.2 years for men (Japan

Ministry

> > of Health,1995)

[Guest guest]

Francesca:

Note that those 1995 data were presented at a scientific conference

in 2001 .............. " Scientific abstract of research presented

at the Presidential Poster session of the American Geriatrics Society

Annual Meeting, 2001. "

So I would think they were likely the latest data available at the

time. If so, then in 2003 you may not find data later than 1997.

> >

> > > Okinawa has the longest life expectancy in Japan, and likely the

> > > world, at 85.1 years for women and 77.2 years for men (Japan

> Ministry

> > > of Health,1995)

[Guest guest]

For reference, the US male life expectancy number for 2001 was 74.4.

--- In , " Rodney " <perspect1111@y...>

wrote:

> Francesca:

>

> I have seen two 77 years numbers. One 76.8 the other 77.2