Table 5.
Percentage distributions of objective health indicators among centenarians in China, CLHLS (2008)
| Rural areas | Urban areas | Rural-Urban combined | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | Women | Two-sex | Men | Women | Two-sex | Men | Women | Two-sex | |
| Sample size | 369 | 1751 | 2120 | 319 | 974 | 1293 | 688 | 2725 | 3413 |
| Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) | |||||||||
| Maximum | 18.87 | 10.60 | 12.18 | 17.10 | 8.53 | 10.79 | 18.04 | 9.84 | 11.64 |
| Normal | 25.50 | 14.81 | 16.85 | 24.91 | 16.80 | 18.94 | 25.22 | 15.54 | 17.67 |
| Mild impairment | 14.90 | 16.13 | 15.90 | 15.61 | 18.67 | 17.86 | 15.24 | 17.07 | 16.67 |
| Severe impairment | 40.73 | 58.46 | 55.08 | 42.38 | 56.00 | 52.40 | 41.51 | 57.55 | 54.03 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Ability to stand up from the chair | |||||||||
| Yes, without using hands | 39.30 | 30.91 | 32.38 | 43.26 | 33.95 | 36.25 | 41.13 | 32.00 | 33.85 |
| Yes, using hands | 44.44 | 48.39 | 47.69 | 37.93 | 40.53 | 39.89 | 41.42 | 45.57 | 44.73 |
| Unable | 16.26 | 20.70 | 19.92 | 18.81 | 25.51 | 23.86 | 17.44 | 22.43 | 21.42 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Ability to pick up a book | |||||||||
| from the floor | |||||||||
| Yes, standing | 40.11 | 28.14 | 30.23 | 38.87 | 26.16 | 29.30 | 39.53 | 27.43 | 29.88 |
| Yes, sitting | 36.59 | 41.09 | 40.30 | 28.21 | 31.82 | 30.93 | 32.70 | 37.78 | 36.75 |
| Unable | 23.31 | 30.77 | 29.47 | 32.92 | 42.02 | 39.77 | 27.76 | 34.79 | 33.37 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Ability to turn around 360° | |||||||||
| Yes, <=10 steps | 44.72 | 34.89 | 36.60 | 42.01 | 27.54 | 31.11 | 43.46 | 32.27 | 34.53 |
| Yes, > 10 steps | 3.25 | 2.40 | 2.55 | 2.51 | 2.16 | 2.24 | 2.91 | 2.31 | 2.43 |
| Unable | 52.03 | 62.71 | 60.85 | 55.49 | 70.30 | 66.64 | 53.63 | 65.42 | 63.04 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Visual function | |||||||||
| Can see and distinguish | 38.63 | 29.76 | 31.33 | 39.43 | 28.93 | 31.53 | 39.00 | 29.46 | 31.41 |
| Can see only | 23.84 | 24.94 | 24.75 | 20.19 | 22.79 | 22.14 | 22.14 | 24.16 | 23.75 |
| Can’t see | 34.25 | 40.82 | 39.66 | 37.85 | 45.06 | 43.27 | 35.92 | 42.35 | 41.04 |
| Blind | 3.29 | 4.47 | 4.26 | 2.52 | 3.23 | 3.05 | 2.93 | 4.02 | 3.80 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Number of residual teeth | |||||||||
| 0 | 50.14 | 61.46 | 59.49 | 53.29 | 64.44 | 61.69 | 51.60 | 62.53 | 60.32 |
| 1–3 | 16.53 | 18.47 | 18.13 | 16.61 | 15.21 | 15.56 | 16.57 | 17.30 | 17.16 |
| 4–6 | 13.55 | 10.06 | 10.67 | 13.17 | 10.89 | 11.46 | 13.37 | 10.36 | 10.97 |
| 7–9 | 6.78 | 3.49 | 4.06 | 6.27 | 3.08 | 3.87 | 6.54 | 3.34 | 3.99 |
| 10–12 | 6.50 | 2.92 | 3.54 | 3.76 | 3.19 | 3.33 | 5.23 | 3.01 | 3.46 |
| 13–15 | 1.08 | 0.97 | 0.99 | 2.19 | 1.23 | 1.47 | 1.60 | 1.07 | 1.17 |
| 16–18 | 1.90 | 1.14 | 1.27 | 1.57 | 0.31 | 0.62 | 1.74 | 0.84 | 1.03 |
| >=19 | 3.52 | 1.49 | 1.84 | 3.13 | 1.64 | 2.01 | 3.34 | 1.54 | 1.91 |
| Total | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
Note: (1) The MMSE testing protocol includes 24 items regarding orientation, registration, attention, calculation, recall and language, with a total score ranging from 0 to 30. In this study, we use the MMSE cutoffs to define cognitive function as: severe impairment (0–17), mild impairment (18–22), normal (23–27) and maximum (28–30). Note that a zero score was given to those items to which the interviewee was not able to answer or perform the test, purely due to his or her mental or physical impairment (rather than not willing to answer or perform the test), and no proxy was allowed in performing the MMSE tests. (2) Participants were asked to see a break in a circle on a cardboard sheet under light one meter away and to distinguish the exact location of the break. Tests results were classified into four categories: (a) can see and distinguish; (b) can see only; (c) can’t see; and (d) blind.