Supercentenarian and remarkable age records exhibit patterns indicative of clerical errors and pension fraud

The researchers studied records of supercentenarians, people reported to be at least 110 years old, and other extreme age claims. They compared these reports with birth and death records, population data, pension systems, and the quality of record-keeping in different places. They found unusual clusters of very old ages in areas where documents may be unreliable or where pension fraud has been reported. They say this pattern could reflect incorrect ages, paperwork mistakes, or people falsely claiming benefits, rather than unusually long lives.

What this means for you: This study raises doubts about some extreme age records, but it does not show that every person claiming to be over 110 is lying. It is not a reason to buy an anti-aging product, and it does not change the value of ordinary healthy habits.