A cross-sectional analysis of centenarians residing in long-term care facilities across Martinique, recently designated one of the world's Blue Zones, and neighboring Guadeloupe documented the proportion of residents reaching 100 years and characterized their clinical and geriatric status. The findings separate exceptional survival from preserved function, showing that extreme longevity in these Caribbean populations frequently coexists with institutional dependency, cognitive impairment, and accumulated comorbidity. For longevity science, the data sharpen the distinction between lifespan and healthspan within a population celebrated for the former.
Key Points
- Centenarian prevalence documented in Martinique and Guadeloupe care facilities
- Extreme survival frequently accompanied by dependency and cognitive decline
- Blue Zone status reflects survival, not preserved functional capacity
Longevity Analysis
Population-level survival statistics conceal wide variation in how the final decades are actually lived. When mobility, cognition, and self-sufficiency erode while the heart keeps working, the arithmetic of years no longer describes the quality of the life inside them. The practical target shifts toward maintaining the capacity to move, think clearly, and recover from insult — outcomes that depend on decades of daily practice rather than on geography or genetic fortune alone, and that demand measurement of function, not merely age.
Original published by SAGE Research on Aging, by Maturin Tabue-Teguo, Karine Peres, Jeanne Bardinet, Moustapha Drame, Nadine Simo, Denis Boucaud-Maitre1Equipe EPICLIV, 88640Université des Antilles, Fort-de-France, Martinique2Service de Gériatrie, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire de Martinique, Fort-de-France, Martinique3INSERM, BPH, U1219, 27086University of Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France426972DRCI, Centre Hospitalier le Vinatier, Bron, France.