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  • © 2007

Human Longevity, Individual Life Duration, and the Growth of the Oldest-Old Population

  • Living longer and healthier has been a goal of human beings for thousands of years, but we know little about it
  • Distinguished experts in the field of healthy aging/ longevity address strategically important issues of “living longer and healthier”
  • Presents county-specific studies and cross-national comparisons with easy-to-read texts, based on longitudinal and cross-sectional data from North America, Europe, and Asia
  • Interdisciplinary approach to human longevity
  • Focus on the oldest-old population

Part of the book series: International Studies in Population (ISIP, volume 4)

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Table of contents (19 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xvii
  2. Theoretical and Comparative Biological Concepts

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 4-6
    2. Research Issues on Human Longevity

      • Jean-Marie Robine
      Pages 7-42
  3. Empirical and Analytical Studies of Ageing and Oldest-Old Populations

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 84-86
    2. Oldest-Old Mortality in China

      • Zeng Yi, James W. Vaupel
      Pages 87-110
    3. The Validation of Exceptional Male Longevity in Sardinia

      • Michel Poulain, Giovanni M. Pes, Ciriaco Carru, Luiggi Ferrucci, Giovanella Baggio, Claudio Franceschi et al.
      Pages 147-166
    4. Mortality at Extreme Ages and Data Quality: The Canadian Experience

      • Robert Bourbeau, Bertrand Desjardins
      Pages 167-185
  4. Causes of Death and Biological Frailty

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 188-190
    2. Genetic Factors Associated with Individual Life Duration: Heritability

      • Kaare Christensen, Anne Maria Herskind
      Pages 237-250
  5. Sex, Gender, and Social Determinants and Consequences of Mortality

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 268-270

About this book

Old-age survival has considerably improved in the second half of the twentieth century. Life expectancy in wealthy countries has increased, on average, from 65 years in 1950 to 76 years in 2005. The rise was more spectacular in some countries: the life expectancy for Japanese women rose from 62 years to 86 years during the same period. Driven by this longevity extension, the population aged 80 and over in those countries has grown fivefold from 8.5 million in 1950 to 44.5 million in 2005. Why has such a substantial extension of human lifespan occurred? How long can we live? In this book, these fundamental questions are explored by experts from such diverse fields as biology, medicine, epidemiology, demography, sociology, and mathematics: they report on recent cutting-edge studies about essential issues of human longevity such as evolution of lifespan of species, genetics of human longevity, reasons for the recent improvement in survival of the elderly, medical and behavioral causes of deaths among very old people, and social factors of long survival in old age.

Reviews

From the reviews:

"This book is divided into five sections in an attempt to find common ground among the broad selection of topics. ... I read this book with great interest and enthusiasm and believe it should be on the shelf of anyone now doing research in this field. ... My recommendation is to add this volume to your library and enjoy, as I have ... ." (S. Jay Olshansky, Population Studies, Vol. 62 (2), 2008)

Editors and Affiliations

  • University of Montpellier, France

    Jean-Marie Robine

  • University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA

    Eileen M. Crimmins

  • Rockefeller University, USA

    Shiro Horiuchi

  • Duke University, Durham, USA

    Zeng Yi

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Human Longevity, Individual Life Duration, and the Growth of the Oldest-Old Population

  • Editors: Jean-Marie Robine, Eileen M. Crimmins, Shiro Horiuchi, Zeng Yi

  • Series Title: International Studies in Population

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4848-7

  • Publisher: Springer Dordrecht

  • eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4020-4846-3Published: 23 November 2006

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-1-4020-4847-0Published: 28 September 2007

  • eBook ISBN: 978-1-4020-4848-7Published: 21 March 2007

  • Series ISSN: 1871-0395

  • Series E-ISSN: 2543-0459

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XVI, 442

  • Topics: Demography, Aging, Geriatrics/Gerontology, Social Sciences, general

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access