Bad news, guys. The chances of making it to 100 are much greater if you're a woman.
The 2010 Census found 80% of the 53,364 people age 100 and older are women, according to a report out today. For every 100 centenarians, only 20.7% were men. The overall number of centenarians has increased 5.8% since 2000.
What helps the women? The largest study of centenarians in this country, the New England Centenarian Study, suggests that women handle age-related diseases better than men. But among men who do survive to 100, they seem better able to function than the women. The Census report finds the men were more likely to be living with others in a household (43.5%) while women are more likely to be living in a nursing home (35.2%).
The Census report also finds:
The report also shows that centenarians were less diverse than the rest of the population. Nearly 83% of centenarians are white, compared to about 72% in the total population. Nearly 6% (5.8%) are Hispanic compared to the 16.3% of Hispanics who make up the total population.
Most centenarians lived in the South (17,444), followed by the Midwest (13,112), Northeast (12,244) and West (10,564). California has the highest number (5,921), followed by Florida, New York and Texas.
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Read the original story: Living to 100: 80% are women, report shows