ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Aging
Sec. Healthy Longevity
This article is part of the Research TopicThe Role of Physical Activity in Healthy Aging: Mechanisms and InterventionsView all 28 articles
Effects of Physical physical disability and widowhood on the influence survival in widowedof centenarians: a 7-year follow-up of CHCCS centenarians
Provisionally accepted
- 1Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Soochow, China
- 2Hainan Hospital of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Sanya, China
- 3The Second Naval Hospital of Southern Theater Command of People’s Liberation Army, Sanya, China
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Background: Centenarians, being at the end of their life span, are particularly vulnerable to various health risks. Multiple factors can influence their survival and targeted intervention on these factors may promote healthy aging. Purpose This study aims to explore the influenceeffect of physical healthdisability and and social factors widowhood on the survival of centenarians. Methods: Based on the China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study (CHCCS), this study followed 787 centenarians for 7 years. Data were collected using formal designed questionnaire, physical examination and experimental tests. Questionnaire contains information including geographical data, cognitive and physical function. All the participants were followed-up annually. The endpoint of the follow-up was death or the end of the study. Cox regression analysis was conducted to identify survival-related factors, followed by stratified analysis according to their marital status. Results: Out of the 787 centenarians, only 382 survived after 7 years, resulting in a mortality rate of 51.46%. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that marital status (HR = 0.599, 95% CI: 0.370-0.968, P=0.037) and activities of daily living (ADL) (for ADL<60 vs. ADL≥90: HR = 1.984933, 95% CI: 1.370411-2.872648, Pp<0.001; for 60≤ADL<90 vs. ADL≥90: HR = 1.416438, 95% CI: 1.022084-1.964907, Pp=0.037012) were was significant factors affecting survival. Stratified analysis based on marital status showed that physical disability was an influence independent factor of survival in widowed (for ADL<60 vs. ADL≥90, HR = 2.093020, 95% CI: 1.417450-3.0922.814, Pp<0.001; for 60≤ADL<90 vs. ADL≥90, HR=1.477493, 95% CI: 1.048108-2.082011, Pp=0.026008) centenarians. Conclusions: Physical disability and widowhood were important predictors of significantly impacts the survival of among centenarians, especially those without spouses. Therefore, more Adequate external assistance should be provided to the disabled and widowed centenarians to enhance their quality of life and survival prospects.
Keywords: Activity of daily life, centenarian, physical disability, Survival, widow
Received: 09 Dec 2025; Accepted: 09 Feb 2026.
Copyright: © 2026 Han, Zhao, Wu, Hua and Shen. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Fei Hua
Mingzhi Shen
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