Brazil has 14 people over 110 years old – 10/01/2024 – Balance

Supercentenarians are those elderly people who are over 110 years old. According to world rankings, Brazil has at least 14 people alive in this age group — worldwide, there are 310, according to the GRG (Gerontology Research Group, or Gerontology Research Group, in Portuguese),

The second oldest person currently alive is the Brazilian nun Inah Canabarro Lucas, aged 116, born in São Francisco de Assis, in Rio Grande do Sul. The first is also a woman, the Japanese Tomiko Itooka, born less than a month earlier of Inah.

Granddaughter of Noemia Vieira de Souza, a Brazilian supercentenarian who lived to be 111 years old and died in 2023, Iara Souza began to become interested in researching the country’s oldest people. Today she is a volunteer at LongeviQuest, an international institute that validates who the oldest people in the world are.

“As it was necessary to send some documents that we did not have, I did the research work, which revealed to us the true age of our matriarch (111 years old), leading her to be recognized, at the time, as the longest-living person in the state of Rio de Janeiro and the fifth in Brazil”, reports Souza.

Currently, the LongeviQuest list includes 14 Brazilian supercentenarians, the majority of whom are women.

Waclaw Jan Kroczek, GRG director of the supercentenarians research division, says that in addition to verifying, validating and registering supercentenarians, the group also works in various fields of geriatrics, human longevity, public health and demography.

In the GRG world list, of the five oldest people alive today, only one is a man. According to Kroczek, this happens because women tend to live longer than men for a combination of biological, social and lifestyle reasons.

“A key factor is that women generally have a lower risk of heart disease earlier in life due to hormonal differences, especially the protective effects of estrogen,” says Kroczek.

Women also tend to have more health-conscious behaviors, such as regular visits to the doctor and healthy eating, which can contribute to their longevity, according to the researcher.

“Supercentenarians often lead relatively active and engaged lives. Many have balanced lifestyles that include healthy eating habits, regular physical activity, and strong social connections. Maintaining a positive attitude and dealing effectively with stress are also common traits. However, there are no a unique lifestyle formula that guarantees reaching that age.”

Doctor and vice-president of SBGG (Brazilian Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology), Leonardo Oliva explains that to become a supercentenarian and, in addition, live well, it is essential to have a healthy diet, practice physical activity regularly, not smoke and not consume large amounts of alcohol, control illnesses that may arise — for example, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol —, control stress and sleep well.

“These points we extract from people who live in ‘bluezones’ [ou zonas azuis, em português, que são as regiões onde é mais comum encontrar alta proporção de pessoas centenárias]. They practice a lot of physical activity, not necessarily sports, but working in the fields, for example,” says Oliva.

In these regions, generally far from large cities, people tend to have a healthier diet based on natural foods, without the consumption of ultra-processed and industrialized foods. In Brazil, one of the regions studied to be considered a “bluezone” is the city of Vernanópolis, in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul.

According to Oliva, the human body depends on three factors to age well: 20% of the environment in which we live, 20% of genetics and 60% of the choices made throughout life. However, when talking about the super elderly, especially those over 100 years old, genetics starts to have a very large influence.

“The people we know of who are over a hundred years old generally come from very long-lived families, so this is an important aspect”, says Oliva.

For Kroczek, the argument is the same. He further adds that genetic factors may protect against age-related diseases and contribute to slower aging processes, although research to understand this aspect is still ongoing.

Meet ten living Brazilian supercentenarians

Inah Canabarro Lucas, 116 years old

The nun is the second oldest person in the world. Born in June 1908, in São Francisco de Assis (RS), she attended boarding school and, in 1928, moved to Uruguay, where she became a nun. He returned to Brazil in 1930 and taught Portuguese and mathematics in Rio de Janeiro.

Today she lives in Porto Alegre and is also verified as the oldest ecclesiastic of all time and the oldest person in South America and Latin America since 2022.

Yolanda Beltrão de Azevedo, 113 years old

From Coruripe (AL), Yolanda was born on January 13, 1911 and is the oldest of 15 children.

When she was vaccinated against Covid, in January 2021, she became one of the oldest people to receive the vaccine in Brazil. Today he is the oldest known person in the state of Alagoas.

Maria Paschoalina de Castro, 113 years old

Born on May 2, 1911, in the municipality of Conceição do Rio Verde (MG), Maria Paschoalina is a descendant of native peoples and her parents and grandparents were freed ex-slaves.

She is the mother of 13 children and, until she was 107, five of them were still alive. Today she is the grandmother of 22 grandchildren and an unspecified number of great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.

Toshi Arashino, 112

Born in Okinawa (one of the world’s current “bluezones”), in Japan, Toshi Arashiro was born on July 6, 1912. It is not specified exactly when she moved to Brazil, where she currently lives.

Maria Alaíde Menezes, 112

From Sergipe, today he is the oldest person in the northeastern state. Maria was born on July 5, 1912. Throughout her life she married, had three children and taught for more than 30 years. Today she is retired.

In 1933, he read the emancipation letter of the city of Ribeirópolis (SE). Fifty-six years later, a school in the city was named after him.

Josino Levino Ferreira, 111

The oldest living Brazilian and South American man, Josino Ferreira was born in Paraíba on April 3, 1913. He worked as a farmer throughout his life, got married, had children and moved to Rio Grande do Norte, where he currently lives.

He lost his wife in 2001, at the age of 87. Today he has three living children, 11 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren and 5 great-great-grandchildren.

In June this year, Josino Ferreira also became the second oldest living man in the world.

Maria Liesse Callou Duarte, 110

Born in the rural area of ​​Ceará, Maria Liesse was born on January 2, 1914. Throughout her life she married and had eight children — of which seven are alive and one of them is a former senator and another is a retired judge.

In the 1950s and 1960s she was the first lady of the city of Barbalha (CE).

In January 2021, she was vaccinated against Covid and, during isolation, she maintained many of her hobbies, such as completing crosswords and watching television.

Cousin Olivieri, 110

Born in São Paulo on March 7, 1914. Son of Italian parents, he worked as an aviation mechanic, contributed to the maintenance of planes during the Second World War and received a medal of honor for his services from the FAB (Brazilian Air Force).

In Brazil, he also worked on maintaining the engines that powered VASP flights.

Due to many years of working in the aeronautics sector without access to protective devices, Olivieri has faced hearing problems for many years.

Welcome Ferreira de Oliveira, 110

From Minas Gerais, Benvindo de Oliveira was born on August 10, 1914. Throughout his life, he married and became a widower twice. In total, he had 24 children.

For many years he lived on the farm and owned a small bar. During periods of his life he lived in Paraná and São Paulo.

Today he has seven living children, 47 grandchildren, 86 great-grandchildren and 24 great-great-grandchildren.

Jandyra Faria dos Santos, 110

Born in Ibiraçu (ES), Jandyra dos Santos was born on August 23, 1914. At the age of six, she went with her parents to Vitória and at 18 she graduated as a teacher.

In the state capital she became a clerk until reaching a leadership position at INPS (National Institute of Social Security, the current INSS). At 41, he got married and had a daughter. Today Jandyra has one grandson, one great-grandson and five living siblings.

A fan of Botafogo, he likes to play crosswords, go to church and watch football games.