Supercentenarians are eight times more numerous in these two departments, a reason given

Supercentenarians, people who are over 110 years old, are more and more numerous in France. They are mainly present in two departments.

According to a study by the National Institute of Demographic Studies (Ined) published last April, a new class of young people is taking part. #39;&age &eac;is emerging in France, the "supercentenarians". These people manage à live beyond 110 years old. In 2022, 39 people will die due to deaths. 110 years or more in France and they are almost only women (38 out of 39). If they are the majority among centenarians (86% in 2023), among supercentenarians, their preponderance is therefore even more impressive. "Exceeding this age remains a rare event, but its frequency has increased. in turn greatly increased in recent decades, explains the study. 

The supposed French dean is currently Marie-Rose Tessier, who lives in a nursing home in Les Sables-d'Olonne. She will celebrate her 114th birthday on May 21. In addition, among the four people recognized as having lived more than 118 years, there are two French women, Jeanne Calment (122 years old) and Lucile Rendon, who is a month older. egrave;s would reach 119 years. 

122 years of Jeanne Calment © ERIC TSCHAEN/SIPA

The profile of these centenarians and supercentenarians is typical: "she's often a woman, who has done small, fairly hard jobs in the open air (farmer, wife of ;#39;farmer…) and had a diet based on healthy, unprocessed products, described the specialist Laurent Toussaint,& ;nbsp;as reported by theAFP. These supercentenarians are more numerous in Guadeloupe and Martinique than in the rest of the country& ;nbsp;: "Proportionally à the population, there are almost eight times more supercentenarians in Guadeloupe and Martinique than in French France, and in the rest of the world. Size l'Ined.

Of the 373 deaths of supercentenarians recorded in France between 1978 and 2022 and appearing in the  national directory for the identification of natural persons, 29 have, in fact, taken place in Guadeloupe and Martinique. If we relate this figure to the population, their frequency is 39 per million compared to 5 per million in mainland France, or almost eight times more. This data may be surprising since life expectancies the birth rate of women is lower in the West Indies (83.5 years for Guadeloupe women and 82.8 years for Martinique women) than in France (85.2 years for women from Martinique). nbsp;years).

According to the researchers, there is no single explanation that is required, but certain avenues are being studied. Among them, we find the hypothesis that these supercentenarians are descendants of slaves who suffered from the slave trade. re". "These extreme conditions could have led to & a selection of the most robust and, in doing so, perhaps that of long-lived genes, indicate Researchers. "In fact, genealogical tracings have already been established. carried out for half of the time supercentenarians, i.e. around fifteen, show that they all descend from slaves, said the researcher. the study. Furthermore, it is also envisaged; that "the simple chance of initial population and its evolution in an island environment could also be " the origin of this long life.