Abstract
The number of older adults living with multiple disease conditions is increasing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of age, longevity, and comorbidity in 319 participants (103 men and 216 women), 60 to 107 years of age (M = 85.27), from the Georgia Centenarian Study. Of those participants, 232 were White, 87 were Black. Of the 319 participants, this study has 295 confirmed death dates. A comorbidity index was calculated for each participant based on the Charlson Comorbidity Index (Charlson, 1987). Two blocked multiple regression analyses were computed to first examine the relationship of comorbidity as the dependent variable and age, gender and race/ethnicity as independent variables. Second, the relationship of comorbidity as the dependent variable and age at death as a longevity index, gender and race/ethnicity as independent variables was assessed. In the first regression, age (β = .73, p < .001) was positively associated with comorbidity, whereas gender and race/ethnicity were not significant. In the second regression, age at death as a measure of longevity was positively associated with comorbidity (β = .40, p < .001) suggesting that comorbidity is a consequence of longevity. Once again, gender and race/ethnicity were not significant. These findings are important in our understanding of comorbidity in older adults. As age-specific mortality rates decline and the average life expectancy nears 80 years, understanding the influence of chronic conditions is more imperative than ever before.