centenarian

Overall, the total   number of centenarians is going up.

In recent years, the death rate among American centenarians—people who have lived to age 100 or older—has decreased, dropping 14% for women and 20% for men from 2008 to 2014.

In 2014, there were 72,197 centenarians compared to 50,281 in 2000.

In 2000, the top five causes of death for centenarians were heart disease, stroke, flu, cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease.

But by 2014, the death rate from Alzheimer’s Disease for this age group have more than doubled, increasing from 3.8% to 8.5%, making the progressive brain disease the second leading cause of death for centenarians.