Research Article

Typologies of Extreme Longevity Myths

Table 1

Social Security Death Index-generated frequencies of alleged supercentenarians whose deaths were reported between 1980 and 2009 and validation rate.

Age rangeTotal claimsNumber validatedValidation rate (%)

109-110110618316.6%
110-11161021935.9%
111-11237210929.3%
112-1132576324.5%
113-1141902714.2%
114-115222167.2%
115-1165335.7%
116-1173900.0%
117-1183912.6%
118-1193213.1%
119-1202500.0%
120-121700.0%
121-1221800.0%
122-123900.0%
123-1241300.0%
124-125800.0%
125-126700.0%
126-127600.0%
127-128600.0%
128-129300.0%
129-130700.0%

Totals302962220.5%

Excluding 109-110:192343922.83%

Social Security Death Index-generated frequencies of alleged supercentenarians whose deaths were reported between 1980 and 2009. The number of these purported supercentenarians was compared with an age-validated list of supercentenarians, also who died during the same time period, generated by the Gerontology Research Group, to obtain the validation rate. The rate for the age 109-110 range was lower than might otherwise be expected because persons who died at age 109 (e.g., born in April 1870 and died in January, 1980) were counted as “not validated.”