A Survey of the Residential Distribution and Its Chronological Changes of Centenarians Viewed from Climatic Region

Abstract

We plotted the distribution of long-lived persons derived from the national register of long-lived persons as of fiscal years of 1980 (N=1, 349) and 2000 (N=17, 740) prepared by the Ministry of Health and Welfare to investigate various factors such as medical climatology and geography on healthy aging. The data were plotted on a map of Japan classified into various living environments, such as coastal areas, forests, and mountainous areas. In addition, we investigated universal elements and transforming elements through year-by-year comparisons over a period of 20 years. Japan was divided into nine climatic districts Hokkaido, the Japan Sea area, the Pacific Ocean area, the Sanriku district, the Tokai district, the inland district, the Seto Inland Sea district, the Northern Kyushu district, the Nankai district, and the South-western Islands.
Consequently, we found a common trend that relatively warm climates and climates in coastal areas are favorable for longevity. However, the following trends were also recognized as transforming elements that cannot be ignored: 1. A remarkable improvements in the rate (number of long-lived people per 100, 000 population) in cold climate regions, i.e., the Japan sea area, inland area, and Hokkaido; 2. A remarkable shift of higher rates from coastal areas, which are contaminated by industrial plants, to inland flat areas.
As a result, it has become clear that research on factors of healthy aging, especially in cold climate regions, have to be made in the future.