Successful aging and advanced longevity

Abstract

Starting from a realistic yet positive analysis of the challenges and repercussions of population aging, this review aims to explore the paradigms of active, healthy, and successful aging and their applicability to the very old. To this end, it draws on studies that focused on very advanced stages of life, with particular emphasis on research conducted with individuals aged 80 years and older within the framework of the DIA Project: From Disability to Activity, as well as on the “successful” cases of the PT100 – Porto Centenarians Study, both carried out at the Unidade de Investigação e Formação sobre Adultos e Idosos (UNIFAI-ICBAS.PT). Alternative domains of successful aging are also presented, together with the importance of individual resources, particularly psychological ones, as key elements for understanding the process of adaptation to advanced longevity.