Why are supercentenarians so frequently found in French Overseas Departments? The cases of Guadeloupe and Martinique

Vallin, Jacques

doi:10.1186/s41118-020-00086-3

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…This surfeit of supercentenarians among the ethnic minorities continues with better statistical significance further down the list of oldest people in the US and has been used as evidence in favour of a genetic origin for improved longevity with its roots in slavery [43]. A similar conclusion was reached in another study in the French colonies [44].…”

Section: Civil Registration By Regionmentioning

confidence: 58%

A Review of Longevity Validations up to May 2023

Gibbs¹,

Zak²

2023

Preprint

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Background: The ages of the oldest humans are important data for scientific studies in gerontology, medicine and demographics. Scientists often reference specific cases such as Jeanne Calment, or resources such as the International Database on Longevity. However, numerous inherent dangers and pitfalls have dogged the history of human longevity record keeping. Many people who were believed to be the oldest person in their day turned out to be younger than claimed. This could affect scientific conclusions based on their assumed longevity. In this work we review longevity validations at the top of the official lists of the world’s oldest ever men and women. We aim to outline a stronger “cast-iron” standard for the purposes of future scientific studies of extreme longevity.Results: To inform the higher standard, we have examined individual cases of validation, including those that have been withdrawn or disputed. We highlight their weaknesses and show how deeper investigation could help validate similar claims in the future. We also consider the use of DNA testing to verify the identity of supercentenarians. A self-use questionnaire is offered to validators to help further improve consistency and completeness of their reporting.In a few cases, such as the lives of Sarah Knauss, Christian Mortensen and Israel Kristal we have found new evidence that improves confidence in their validation, but for others our search casts serious doubt on authenticity, or leaves questions over whether the standard of validation is good enough. Having previously disputed the longevity of Jeanne Calment, we now add Nabi Tajima from Japan and Johnson Parks from the U.S. to those who should be invalidated, and we question whether birth records for Japanese supercentenarians can be considered reliable. We also challenge the validation of several U.S cases which were based on unreliable census data in the SSA Kestenbaum study.Conclusions: Correct assessment of the chronological age is a necessary step for biologists studying the determinants of exceptional longevity. We hope that our findings could be used to improve the quality of age validations. They may also influence demographers' conclusions about the future of life expectancy

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Section: Civil Registration By Regionmentioning

confidence: 58%

A Review of Longevity Validations up to May 2023

Gibbs¹,

Zak²

2023

Preprint

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“…How might documentary validation or interview methods ever reproducibly solve the ‘Italian sibling’ problem? Why are leading demographers allowed to state that African-American people live longer because they ‘have evolved 10% more genes’[24], or are more ‘robust’ due to ‘faster breeding’[14], whilst being promoted to senior roles in major institutes, without a solitary word of criticism?…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, for example, Vallin[14] claimed that extreme age records on Guadeloupe and Martinique are a positive outcome of the African slave trade’s “ selection of the strongest individuals ” through “ the tremendous health selection effect of slavery ”, and that such hypothetical effects are further enriched “ due to low immigration and high fertility among black people compared to white ”[14]. Vallin then proposes, without providing sources, that gaps in supercentenarian status between these two islands and Réunion exist because mortality rates from slavery was markedly lower in the Indian Ocean: a claim directly contradicted by contemporary and historical mortality estimates[15,16].…”

Section: Indicators Of Systemic Cultural Problems In Extreme-age Demo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, despite enjoying better healthcare, higher wages, lower poverty, and more complete vital registration records of mainland France, this larger slave-descendant population has apparently not produced a single supercentenarian. Given 16% of birth certificates in supercentenarian families are missing (Vallin Table 6) it seems the claim that slavery enriches for ‘robust’ individuals is just racist window-dressing of poor-quality data[14].…”

Section: Indicators Of Systemic Cultural Problems In Extreme-age Demo...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Supercentenarian and remarkable age records exhibit patterns indicative of clerical errors and pension fraud

Newman

2019

Preprint

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0The observation of individuals attaining remarkable ages, and their concentration into geographic sub-regions or 'blue zones', has generated considerable scientific interest. Proposed drivers of remarkable longevity include high vegetable intake, strong social connections, and genetic markers. Here, we reveal new predictors of remarkable longevity and 'supercentenarian' status.In the United States, supercentenarian status is predicted by the absence of vital registration. The 1 5 state-specific introduction of birth certificates is associated with a 69-82% fall in the number of supercentenarian records. In Italy, which has more uniform vital registration, remarkable longevity is instead predicted by low per capita incomes and a short life expectancy. Finally, the designated 'blue zones' of Sardinia, Okinawa, and Ikaria corresponded to regions with low incomes, low literacy, high crime rate and short life expectancy relative to their national average. 2 0As such, relative poverty and short lifespan constitute unexpected predictors of centenarian and supercentenarian status, and support a primary role of fraud and error in generating remarkable human age records.

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Huit fois plus de supercentenaires aux Antilles qu’en France métropolitaine

Vallin¹

2021

Gérontologie Et Société

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On observe beaucoup plus de supercentenaires en Martinique et en Guadeloupe que dans n’importe quel département de France métropolitaine. La procédure de validation des âges, pourtant au meilleur niveau international, est-elle insuffisante pour les Antilles ? Il faut absolument vérifier. C’est avant tout ce à quoi vise cet article. Mais si un contrôle approfondi des faits confirme ce résultat, comment peut-on expliquer un écart aussi impressionnant ? La théorie des petits nombres n’y suffirait pas. Sans pouvoir encore à ce stade en apporter la preuve j’évoquerai ici l’hypothèse qui me paraît la plus vraisemblable : la sélection de gènes favorables à la longévité consécutive à l’extrême surmortalité infligée hier par l’esclavage aux ancêtres des supercentenaires d’aujourd’hui.

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Why are supercentenarians so frequently found in French Overseas Departments? The cases of Guadeloupe and Martinique

Cited by 4 publications

References 13 publications

A Review of Longevity Validations up to May 2023

A Review of Longevity Validations up to May 2023

Supercentenarian and remarkable age records exhibit patterns indicative of clerical errors and pension fraud

Huit fois plus de supercentenaires aux Antilles qu’en France métropolitaine

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