December 14, 2011 | News

Supercentenarian Workshop

The 9^th Supercentenarian Workshop will be held in Rome on May 11-12, 2012. The workshop is dedicated to the study of people aged 110 years and older.

The workshop is organized by MPIDR researchers James W. Vaupel and Heiner Maier and their colleague Graziella Caselli from the University “La Sapienza” in Rome. The workshop is open to invited researchers only.

The life expectancy of people in the developed world has risen for the past 170 years by an average of three months per year. People who have reached the age of 100 years or older have been studied extensively. Currently, the number of people aged 110 and older is increasing. These so-called “supercentenarians” are now the focus of research. For example, researchers are seeking to identify the factors that determine extreme longevity, and to understand the underlying principles of mortality in the highest age groups. But in order to investigate these questions, they first have to collect reliable data, as many reports about very old people have turned out to be false. To support this research, the International Database on Longevity (IDL) has been constructed using thoroughly validated data on people aged 110 and older. This database is operated by the MPIDR.

More Information

• www.supercentenarians.org – website of the International Database of Longevity (IDL)
• The Quest for the Modern-Day Methuselah – press release announcing the launch of the IDL
• Auf der Suche nach dem modernen Methusalem (PDF File, 743 kB)
  Popular science article about the launch of the IDL from the quarterly "Demografische Forschung Aus Erster Hand" (in German).
• Supercentenarians – A Demographic Research Monograph