Description: The 90+ Study is a longitudinal research project led by Dr. Claudia Kawas that examines successful aging and dementia in individuals 90 years and older
Co-Principal Investigators: Claudia Kawas, MD ; Maria Corrada, ScD Co-Investigators: Annlia Paganini-Hill, PhD ; Dana Greenia, RN, MS
The 90+ Study was initiated in 2003 to study the oldest-old, the fastest growing age group in the United States. The 90+ Study is one of the largest studies of the oldest-old in the world. More than 1,600 people have enrolled. Because little is known about people who achieve this milestone, the remarkable increase in the number of oldest-old presents a public health priority to promote the quality as well as the quantity of life.
Initial participants in The 90+ Study were once members of The Leisure World Cohort Study (LWCS), which was started in 1981. The LWCS mailed surveys to every resident of Leisure World, a large retirement community in Orange County, California (now incorporated as the city of Laguna Woods). Using the 14,000 subjects from the LWCS, researchers from The 90+ Study were able to ask, What allows people to live to age 90 and beyond?