From 70 to 100: The Kuakini Hawaii Centenarian Study

Past research has highlighted the association of family longevity, support, functioning, and health and well-being factors in predicting longevity. Based on the Georgia Adaptation Model that examined the impact of clusters of bio-psycho-social predictors on extreme longevity and adaptation, the current study aimed to employ seven clusters of behavioral and social predictors on longevity of Japanese-American men from Hawaii.

A sample of 3,734 men (Mage = 77.82 years) from the Kuakini Honolulu Heart Program was included in this research. We focused on three research questions. One, WHO survived to their 70s, 80s, 90s, and 100s? Two, WHAT behavioral and social predictors were found to predict survivors of the different ages? Three, are the survival predictors the same or different for the Japanese-American men compared to extant findings in the literature?

Our results demonstrated four distinct groups of survivors (70s, 80s, 90s, and 100+) and highlighted differentiating characteristics among groups. Moreover, regression analyses suggested that cognition, ADL functioning, health behaviors, diabetes, and father’s age at death were significantly associated with longevity. Finally, survival characteristics found among the Japanese-American men replicated many findings reported in the literature.

The results indicate that there are individual differences for survivors in the Kuakini Honolulu Study, as this sample reaches 70, 80, 90, or 100 years of life.