“They also share all kinds of habits, like diet, whether or not they smoke, socioeconomic status, years of education,” he says. “All these factors actually make a very big difference in how old individuals live to be.”
Looking to test the theory that supercentenarians shared “some probably fairly rare combinations of genes and environment,” Perls and other researchers began studying 32 certified supercentenarians from around the world, as well as their families.
While that research proved inconclusive, exploration of family links continues through the Long Life Family Study, a collaborative effort of the NECS, three other U.S. schools and the University of Southern Denmark. The study is sponsored by the National Institute on Aging.
Perls says some more conclusive results could come soon, as scientists conducting several gene studies associated with exceptional longevity complete their research.
Genetics appears to be one piece in the longevity puzzle. But the long-living ones have their own theories.
Asked for her recommendations, McKenna is emphatic: “No drinking! No smoking!”
She speaks from experience; she says she has never drank or smoked, and though she loves Greek food, she eats only one meal a day.
“She eats corn flakes, yogurt, candies and sometimes pasta with no sauce,” says Mount Pleasant Home office manager Kathy Seaman.
Dodsworth agrees with McKenna, attributing the long life of her aunt, the Air Force chief master sergeant, to wholesome living during her younger years.
She says that MacKay, who was born in Plainville, Mass., had oatmeal for breakfast everyday and never chose fast food. She also ate organic products because, growing up on a farm, that was all there was. After enlisting in the Air Force, though, MacKay did start to smoke and drink wine occasionally, Dodsworth says.
Nathan says she tried smoking once thinking it was glamorous, but she did not like it. In a 2007 interview with the Banner, she said she never drank alcohol.
Researchers say clean living is important, but may not be the primary determinant of longevity. Though diet seems to play an important role, studies have found centenarians with a wide variety of eating habits, and Perls said his findings are thus far inconclusive.
“In some individuals, I think it did [help], but this is an incredibly small sample,” he says.
Amid all the uncertainty surrounding supercentenarians’ health, Perls says he can point out one key to reaching extreme old age: Maintaining excellent health as one enters the later years.
“We found that about 25 percent of the supercentenarians were either independently functioning or just requiring minimal assistance,” he says. “Only 3 percent had evidence of cardiac disease, none had a history of diabetes, and relatively few had a history of hypertension.”
This, he adds, “speaks to the fact that if they had those problems, it would be very unlikely that they get to 110.”
All of which speaks well for McKenna’s chances, according to office manager Seaman.
“The thing that we really are amazed at [about] Maggie is that none of her body parts are old,” says Seaman. “Her eyes work fine, her ears work fine, her legs work fine.”
McKenna agrees.
“Yeah,” she says. “I can’t find nothing wrong with me.”
Some suggest that a positive outlook may also contribute to longevity. Perls’ study does not isolate the role of attitude, but he says he thinks a positive attitude can help people live longer.
A person who is optimistic about aging “also tends to live quite a bit longer than those who are not,” he says.
That view is based on a study conducted in the late 1990s by Becca Levy. The Yale University psychologist took answers given by survey participants to questions about their attitudes toward aging, then matched the responses up with records of their deaths.
She found that people who espoused sunnier views lived, on average, nearly eight years longer than those with more negative perspectives.
McKenna seems to fit the description. Mount Pleasant manager Braudaway-Baum says she gives moral support to much younger residents when they go on medical visits, and office manager Seaman says the 102-year-old is always having fun.
“She’s been to every party we’ve had,” Seaman says. “She is the first one to get up and dance every time.”
“None of us can understand how she can be so energetic and lively” at 102, adds Braudaway-Bauman.
For her part, McKenna is less interested in understanding than she is in simply living.
“I am so damn healthy,” says McKenna. “I am not ready to die.”
