As of January 1, 2021, the centenarians residing in Italy were 17,177, a number more than doubled compared to 2009, and of these over a thousand were 105 or older.
While 17 are the people who are over 110 years old and they are all women.
The oldest living person in Italy, who has reached the age of
112
, is also a woman and lives in the Marche region .
Record numbers are those contained in the Istat report "Centenaries in Italy, an increasing population", which also shows that those over 105 have been less affected by Covid than other elderly people.
From 2009 to 2021, the number of residents aged 100 and over increased from just over 10 thousand to 17 thousand.
"In the last 10 years, after constant growth up to 2015 - explains Istat - the super-long-lived population has had a reduction largely due to a structural effect: the entry into this age group of cohorts, less numerous than to the previous ones, because they consisted of those born in correspondence with the First World War ".
On the other hand, 7,262 individuals have reached or exceeded the 105-year threshold from 1 January 2009 to 1 January 2021, of which only 851 men and 6,411 women.
As many as 1,111 of them were still alive as of January 2021 and the increase in this population is constant over the 12 years considered: it has gone from 472 living individuals in January 2009 to 1,111 in 2021 (+ 135.8%) and for all the cohorts there was an increase of more than 100%
Almost 90% of the population that has reached or exceeded the age of 105 is made up of women and reside
mainly in Northern Italy
.
But the region with the highest ratio between the population aged 105 and over and the total resident population is
Molise
(4.1 per 100 thousand), followed by Valle d'Aosta (3.2 per 100 thousand), Friuli- Venezia Giulia, Liguria and Abruzzo (3.0 per 100 thousand in all three regions).
Perhaps because more protected and isolated or genetically selected to better resist disease, among those who are 105 years old and over, unlike other age groups of the elderly population, there was no increase in deaths in 2020, the year characterized by the pandemic. from
Covid-19
, Istat notes.
Analyzing the probability of death of this sub-population from 2009 to 2020 (i.e. the ratio between deceased and resident population as of January 1st), it is noted that the 2020 value is in line with that of past years: about 66 deaths per 100 individuals , albeit with regional differences.
In the North, the area most affected by the pandemic, the highest value of the series is recorded (71 per 100 inhabitants), in the Center the lowest value (54 per 100).
"The containment measures adopted during the year probably saved this segment of the population from other infections", explains Istat.
But the differences with the rest of the population could also be "related to the fact that
the population aged 105 and over is a genetically selected, more resilient population
."
Furthermore, almost 9 out of 10 live 'protected' in the family, while 12% live in a clinic or residence for the elderly.
