title: The different paths to age one hundred.
abstract: Attaining age 100 is a rare event in industrialized nations, occurring in 1 person per 10,000 in the population. Becoming a centenarian does not appear to be rare because the individual genetic or behavioral factors (such as specific genetic polymorphisms or lack of specific toxic exposures) that enable such longevity are rare, but rather because having the adequate combination of these factors is rare.
authors.affiliation: Geriatrics Section, New England Centenarian Study, Department of Medicine, Boston University Medical Center, Robinson 2400, 88 East Newton Street, Boston, MA 02118, USA. thperls@bu.edu
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Perls
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008136:Longevity / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis; D017741:Survivors