Centenarians Have Fewer Diseases, Develop Them More Slowly

FRIDAY, Aug. 15, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Centenarians have lower overall disease burden, delayed onset of multiple conditions, and fewer cooccurring diseases over time, according to a study published online in the September issue of eClinicalMedicine.

Yuge Zhang, from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, and colleagues conducted a nationwide historical prospective study including all 274,108 individuals born in Sweden between 1920 and 1922, tracking their age for up to 30 years starting from age 70 years. Using national health registers, disease trajectories of centenarians were compared to those of shorter-lived peers.

The researchers found that compared with noncentenarians, centenarians had fewer diagnosed conditions and accumulated diseases at a slower rate. In all age groups, cardiovascular diseases were the most common diagnoses but contributed less to the overall disease burden among centenarians. In contrast, a relatively larger share of their disease profile was accounted for by malignancies. Among centenarians, neuropsychiatric conditions were consistently less common, showing the largest relative difference across all ages. Fewer co-occurring diseases were seen among centenarians, and they were more likely to have conditions confined to a single disease group.

“Our results challenge the widespread belief that a longer life inevitably means more diseases,” coauthor Karin Modig, Ph.D., also from the Karolinska Institutet, said in a statement. “We show that centenarians follow a distinct aging curve, with slower disease progression and greater resistance to common age-related diseases.”

Several authors disclosed ties to relevant organizations.

Abstract/Full Text