WEDNESDAY, May 22, 2002 (HealthDayNews) -- Here's a bit of good news for those of you who dread the thought of living until you're 90: New research suggests ultra-senior citizens often lead independent lives.
In fact, more than half the nonagenarians and 100-somethings who were surveyed in one of the nation's most famous retirement communities said they drive at least once a day, and fewer than a quarter needed assistance from a caregiver.
Residents of southern California's Leisure World are wealthy and healthy enough to own their own property and stay out of nursing homes. Even better, their level of self-sufficiency is surprisingly high, says Karen Shore, a nurse practitioner at the University of California at Irvine who helped prepare the survey.
"They surpassed all of our expectations," she says.
An estimated 4.2 million Americans -- 1.5 percent of the population -- are 85 years or older. According to federal estimates, that number will jump to 5.8 million -- or 1.9 percent of the population -- by 2010 and zoom to 4.8 percent by 2050.
Researchers at the university are planning to launch a study on aging that will test the mental skills of people in their 90s until they die. To prepare for that, they sent written surveys to 800 residents of Leisure World who are 90 or older, Shore says.
More than 300 residents, including a handful of people older than 100, filled out the 13-page surveys. Two-thirds were women, and most lived alone.
The retirement community makes up its own city, called Laguna Woods, in Orange County between San Diego and Los Angeles. Residents must be able to live independently when they move in; those surveyed had lived there an average of two decades.
The residents can hire caregivers as they age, but they must move out if they need major assistance.
Only 23 percent of those surveyed required daily visits or full-time assistance from caregivers. Those who did need help mainly suffered from difficulties in walking.
Not surprisingly, the need for a caregiver grew with age. More than 40 percent of those 99 and older needed one, compared to 17 percent of those between the ages of 90 and 94.
About 85 percent of those surveyed said they feared falling and hurting themselves. Four out of 10 had, in fact, fallen sometime during the past year.
Four in every 10 also said they had at least one alcoholic drink a day, but only 3 percent smoked.
The survey suggests society will have to adjust to the needs of independent-minded seniors as the population ages, Shore says.
"They're not all going to be in nursing homes. They're going to be living among us in the community," she adds.
Even as medical care helps the elderly cope with things like heart disease, they'll still need assistance getting around, "from going to the doctor to shopping as well as leisure-time activities," she says.
The results of the survey were released at the recent annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society in Washington, D.C.
Marcia Ory, a professor of social and behavioral health at Texas A&M University, called the results exciting because they challenge the idea that "if you're 90, you're two steps away from the nursing home."
However, she adds, people need to use caution when they look at the study.
"It says that, in a very select population, you can live very actively and independently," she says.
What To Do
AARP offers plenty of information about aging.
You can also learn about aging from the Administration on Aging.
