The world’s oldest woman, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, died on Friday, January 2nd, at the age of 115 years and 114 days. Maria de Jesus, of Portugal, died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital. She started the day with breakfast and then went to the hospital for swelling, her daughter said (and she did not elaborate beyond that so the exact details for cause of death or unknown).
The Gerontology Research Group at the University of California, Los Angeles, tracks supercentenarians and verifies birth dates through birth certificates and other documents. Now the oldest person status falls to American Gertrude Baines, a 114-year-old daughter of former slaves who still has a very good memory and is healthy except for arthritis in her left knee. She was proud to vote for Barack Obama and lives in a nursing home in Los Angeles.
Researchers say that definitely for these seniors healthy aging is in their genes – they chose parents who also lived long lives.
It is kind of cool to think that living to be 100 is no longer all that big of an accomplishment. However, this means savings must last longer, along with good health and presents new challenges for health care and government, primarily making sure we have enough caregivers and enough money for the aging population!
