Perceptions of Longevity and Successful Aging in Very Old Adults

We 1. The Louisiana Healthy Aging Study Personnel: Meghan B. Allen, BS; Gloria Anderson, BS; Iina E. Antikainen, BS; Arturo M. Arce, MD; Jennifer Arceneaux, RN; Mark A. Batzer, PhD; Emily O. Boudreaux, MA; Lauri Byerley, PhD; Pauline A. Callinan, PhD; Catherine M. Champagne, PhD, RD; Jian Chen, PhD; Hau Cheng, MS; Katie E. Cherry, PhD; Yu-wen Chiu, MPH; Liliana Cosenza, BS; M. Elaine Cress, PhD-Consultant; Jianliang Dai, PhD; James P. DeLany, PhD; Jenny Y. Denver, MS; Andy Deutsch, PhD; Melissa J. deVeer, MS; Devon A. Dobrosielski, MS; Rebecca Ellis, PhD; Marla J. Erwin, MA; Mark Erwin, MA; Jennifer Fabre, MPT; Elizabeth T. Fontham, PhD; Madlyn Frisard, PhD; Paula Geiselman, PhD; Lindsey Goodwin, BS; Jason Gtray, BS; Valentina Greco, PhD; Tiffany Hall; Karri S. Hawley, PhD; Jennifer Hayden, MS; Kristi Hebert, BS; Scott W. Herke, PhD; Fernanda Holton, MA; Hui-Chen Hsu, PhD; S. Michal Jazwinski, PhD; Darcy Johanssen, PhD; Lumie Kawasaki, MD; Sangkyu Kim, PhD; Beth G. Kimball, BS; Christina King-Rowley, MS; Miriam Konkel, MD; Robyn Kuhn, MS; Lynn LaMotte, PhD; Kim Landry; Carl Lavie, MD-Consultant; Daniel LaVie, BS; Matthew Leblanc; Christina M. Lefante, MPH; Li Li, MD; Hui-Yi Lin, PhD, MSPH; Kay Lopez, DSN; James Major; Bridget McEvoy-Hein, MS; John D. Mountz, MD, PhD; Leann Myers, PhD; Jennifer Owens, BA; Kim B. Pedersen, PhD; Andrew Pellett, PhD; Eric Ravussin, PhD; Paul Remedios, BS; Ryan Rhodes, BS; Yolanda Robertson, NP; Jennifer Rood, PhD; Henry Rothschild, MD, PhD; Ryan A. Russell, BS; Erin Sandifer, BS; Charles Sasser, BS; Beth Schmidt, MS; Robert Schwartz, MD–Consultant; Donald K. Scott, PhD; Mandy Shipp, RD; Jennifer Silva Brown, PhD; F. Nicole Standberry; L. Joseph Su, PhD, MPH; Jolie Thibodeaux; Mary Susan Thomas, APRN, MSN, FNP; Jessica Thomson, PhD; Valerie Toups, LPN; Crystal Traylor, APRN, MSN, WHNP; Cruz Velasco-Gonzalez, PhD; Julia Volaufova, PhD; Celeste Waguespack, BSN, RN; Jerilyn A. Walker, MS; David A. Welsh, MD; Michael A. Welsch, PhD; Robert H. Wood, PhD; Jessica Zack, BS; Sarah Zehr, PhD; Pili Zhang, PhD (Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge; Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans; Tulane University, New Orleans; University of Alabama, Birmingham). examined perceptions of longevity and successful aging in young-old (60 to 74 years), old-old (75 to 89 years), and oldest-old (90+ years) adults drawn from the Louisiana Healthy Aging Study. Participants’ responses to three open-ended questions that assessed their attributions for longevity, what they look forward to, and advice for younger persons today were compared. Content analyses yielded three emergent themes: maintaining physical, mental, and relational well-being; living a healthy life; and living a faithful life. Implications of these findings for current views on successful aging and insights for promoting a long and healthy life are considered.