New England Centenarian Study (NECS)
The NECS investigates the factors contributing to exceptional longevity by examining centenarians and their families. Participants initially included 37 individuals aged 100 to 109 years from 8 towns in the Boston, Massachusetts area when the study began in 1995. The cohort has now assessed over 4,000 individuals, including supercentenarians aged over 110 years, alongside centenarian's offspring and siblings, and a control group of those with parents born in the same years as the centenarians. Within the cohort of centenarians, 85% of participants are women, and among supercentenarians, the female prevalence is 90%. Participants are followed up annually to track their health and ageing process.
Study design
Cohort - intergenerational, Cohort - open
Number of participants at first data collection
37 (participants)
Recruitment is ongoing
Age at first data collection
100 - 109 years (participants)
Participant year of birth
Varied (participants)
Participant sex
All
Representative sample at baseline?
No
Sample features
Country
Year of first data collection
1995
Primary Institutions
Boston University (BU) (Academic, United States of America)
Profile paper DOI
Funders
Alzheimer's Association (Third Sector, United States of America)
Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (Third Sector, United States of America)
American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) (Research council, United States of America)
Boston University (BU) (Academic, United States of America)
Ellison Medical Foundation (Third Sector, United States of America)
Ongoing?
Yes
Data types collected
- Computer, paper or task testing (e.g. cognitive testing, theory of mind doll task, attention computer tasks)
- Interview – phone
- Physical or biological assessment (e.g. blood, saliva, gait, grip strength, anthropometry)
- Secondary data
- Self-completed questionnaire – unspecified
- None
- None
- Census data
- Healthcare data
- Mortality data
- Other government data
- Social care data
Engagement
Keywords
