Eighty-two percent were women, 25 percent lived in their own home, 37 percent in old age homes, and 38 percent in nursing homes. Socioeconomic status showed a similar distribution compared to nationally representative data. Fifty-two percent managed activities of daily living with or without minor assistance. The incidence of severe diseases was low. In 39 percent a disorder of the circulatory system was found. Thirty-nine percent (women) and 11 percent (men) had had at least one hip fracture. Twenty percent had good hearing and good vision. Twenty-seven percent were demented according to DSM III-R criteria. Means on cognitive tests (word-list, digit-span, learning, and memory) were lower compared to seventy to eighty year old groups. The variation in performance was extremely widespread. Personality profiles (MMPI) indicated that the centenarians were more responsible, capable, easygoing and less prone to anxiety than the population in general. Extensive neuropathological investigation revealed no major diseases or large lesions but mild through multiple changes. RESULTS suggest that centenarians are a special group genetically. A causal structure model emphasized body constitution, marital status, cognition and blood pressure as particularly important determinants for survival after 100 years.

This is a prospective study of the incidence of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) in children 0-14 years of age, including all newly diagnosed cases in the whole of Sweden from July 1, 1977 until June 30, 1980. All 45 Swedish departments of paediatrics participated. During the three-year-period studied, 1108 Swedish children, 0-14 years of age had their onset of diabetes. That means around 369 new diabetics yearly in the age groups studied. The mean yearly incidences in the years 1977-80 were 22.6, 22.8 and 22.6 per 100000 children, respectively. Mean prevalence on June 30, 1980 and 1.48 per 1000 children 0-14 years with a wide range of 0.71-2.65. The age distribution at onset showed a gradual increase and peak incidences at 11 years of age for the girls and 4 and 13 years of age for the boys. There was a consistently higher incidence for boys in the younger age groups during the three-year-period studied. Peak incidences of new cases were reached in January, March and July through October for the age groups 5-9 and 10-14 years of age. No such seasonal variation was seen for children 0-4 years of age. The cumulative incidence of IDDM at 14 years of age was 3.2 per 1000 for the boys and 2.9 per 1000 for the girls. The degree of ascertainment in this study was 93.4%.

This longitudinal study examines the relationship between family and friend social support, health, and life satisfaction for a single cohort of eighty-year-old persons living in Lund, Sweden. Results indicate that participants who remained in the study are healthier and score higher on life satisfaction when compared with those who either drop-out or die prior to age eighty-three. Even though well-integrated with family and friends, the number of friends decreases significantly from eighty to eighty-three years; those who reported no close friends nearly doubled from eighty to eighty-three years. However, for those with close friends, contact with friends increases with age. In contrast to previous research, a correlational analysis indicates that neither child nor friend support is related to life satisfaction at either eighty or eighty-three years. However, health measures and satisfaction with sibling contact are related to total life satisfaction at age eighty-three only. These findings indicate the multidimensionality of both social support and life satisfaction for the old-old.

Individual characteristics such as physiological reserve, present health and functional status, as well as chance appear important for centenarian survival. Hereditary factors, social relationships, marital status, and personality did not contribute to survival prediction in this exceptional age group. From a theoretical point of view, our data suggest that, in very old age, stochastic determinants may dominate over programmed factors (e.g., family longevity) in determining survival. More research is needed to assess survival factors at exceptional ages.

SUMMARYIn this study, insomnia in 80-year-olds was related to medical, psychological and social factors. The data were based on examinations every year in people aged between 80 and 89 years. Of 333 people living in the city of Lund and born in 1908, 67% participated. Increased severity of insomnia was significantly associated with use of diuretics, other cardiovascular drugs, hypnotics and laxatives, and with nervousness, difficulty relaxing, anorexia, nausea, constipation, backache, feeling cold, sweating, loss of weight, dizziness, depression, general fatigue, exhaustion, angina pectoris, cardiac insufficiency, worsened objective and subjective health, presence of negative T-waves on ECG, anxiety, total life satisfaction, neuroticism, disbelief in a just world, feeling lonely and lower survival rates. Thus insomnia has widespread associations with different aspects of life in 80-year-olds. aged, depression, insomnia, psychology, quality of life, sociology, survival