Skip to content

113 year old Woman

Pipestone Flyer

 

 

The search continues for the mysterious 113-year old Saskatchewan woman that has been making headlines recently across North America. Numerous news organizations were reporting last week that this woman is being sought by American gerontology experts hoping to interview her. The existence of this woman was revealed by a study of Saskatchewan health care records and so her name is protected by medical privacy laws. The records indicate the woman was born July 1, 1899. To have lived a life that spanned three centuries puts the lady into a group known as “Super-centenarians.”

The researchers would like to talk to the woman regarding her family history, eating and other habits to add to their database to see if there are any commonalities between these uber-oldsters.  So far the strongest causal link that has been revealed is genetics but there are also a number of personality traits associated with longer life. The list was compiled by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Yeshiva University and published in the highly regarding journal “Aging”. These traits include laughing easily, having strong social relationships, being optimistic, exhibiting general happiness, being conscientious, and having the personality of an extrovert.  

It should, perhaps, come as no surprise that the 113 year-old woman the researchers are seeking is from Saskatchewan. Information gleaned regarding this woman’s case shows our provincial neighbor is home to more people who have passed the century mark than any other province. However, according to Statistics Canada’s latest life expectancy figures, by province, British Columbia has the longest life expectancy with an age of 82 for both genders on average. Here is the breakdown by province, by gender, with figures used from 2007 to 2009 with the male metric listed first.

Canadian Average 79/83 

Newfoundland & Lab. 77/81 

Prince Edward Island 78/83 

Nova Scotia 78/82 

New Brunswick 78/83 

Quebec 79/83 

Ontario 79/84 

Manitoba 77/82 

Saskatchewan 77/82 

Alberta 79/83 

British Columbia 80/84

According to “The World Fact Book” which is produced by America’s Central Intelligence Agency, a Canadian’s life expectancy estimated for 2012 is 81.18 which puts us 12th in the world in longevity. The top honour, usually reported in most media as Japan, was actually Monaco, boasting an astounding life span of 89.68. Macau was second on the list at 84.43 while Japan was third with 83.91. Rounding out the top ten were Singapore, 83.75, San Marino, 83.07, Andorra, 82.50, Guernsey, 82.24, Hong Kong, 82.12, Australia, 81.90 and Italy 81.86.

The Unites States is ranked in the 50th position with a life expectancy of 78.49. China is 96th at 74.84.

The list, however, gets rather saddening towards the bottom. The country in the 221st position was Chad with a meager average life expectancy of just 48.69. Only four other countries have an average below 50 and they are Guinea-Bissau, 49.11, South Africa, 49.41, Swaziland, 49.42, Afghanistan, 49.72.