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Disability and Aging Research Findings
Disability and Aging Research Results have been covered in a NY Times article.
Dr. Kaare Christensen (DuPRI) and researchers: M. McGue, I. Petersen, B. Jeune and J. W. Vaupel (DuPRI) published findings in late August 2008 related to one of their NIA grants in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS): 10.1073/pnas.0804931105, entitled: Exceptional longevity does not result in excessive levels of disability.
In an Aug 25th NY Times article, Longevity: Independent Even in Old Age, it states that the research tracked all Danes born in 1905 for seven years beginning in 1998. The researchers examined them with four assessments at ages 94, 96, 98 and 100, and found that the percentage living independently decreased only slightly in the seven-year span, to 32.7 percent from 38.9 percent. "Some worry that extreme old age leads to extreme levels of disability," said Dr. Kaare Christensen, the lead author of the study, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Southern Denmark, and a senior research scientist in PPARC at the Sanford Institute of Public Policy, "But our study shows that people are no more dependent at 100 than at 92." [more]