Close to 1,500 people in Cuba 100 years and older
Campaign News | Monday, 1 December 2008
There are 1,488 people living in Cuba who are 100 years and older, mostly Cuban born, according to the results of a recent study done on the subject.
This research, dedicated to exceptional survival, is the first in the world to cover an entire country aimed to determine how life style and perception of it, influence on how long and how people live in the Caribbean island.
Considering the inhabitant density, the provinces with more people over 100 years old are Havana City, Villa Clara and Santiago de Cuba.
The study also revealed that in Cuba, for every 1,200 adults there is one exceptionally old person, and out of them, around 100 are in the 105 and 109 range, while 6 surpass the 110 barrier.
This research showed that women are predominant, and that although most of these people had exceptional long-living parents, genes only had something to do with 35 percent of the cases; the rest was the result of their life styles.
In statements to Granma newspaper, the psycho-geriatrics Dr. Josefa Gonzalez Picos said that these have not lived stressed out by consumerism to live an honorable and full life.
"They have always been very optimistic, realistic and objective. They value problems due to their relevance and have faith that there is a solution for everything. The tendency to suffer from stress, so usual in these modern times, is very low in them" she explained.
The research also yielded that in these old people there is no predominance of toxic habits like drinking alcohol or smoking, and their
diet was balanced as possible and most of them were satisfied with the lives they had led.
