WELCOME! The Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) has been supported by NIA/NIH grants R01 AG023627-01 (PI: Zeng Yi) (Grant name: Demographic Analysis of Healthy Longevity in China) and P01 AG 008761 (PI: Zeng Yi; Program Project Director: James W. Vaupel), awarded to Duke University, with Chinese matching support for personnel costs and some local expenses. UNFPA and the China Social Sciences Foundation provided additional support for expanding the 2002 CLHLS survey. The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research has provided support for international training since the CLHLS 1998 baseline survey. Finally, in December 2004 the China Natural Sciences Foundation and the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (RGC) partnered with NIA/NIH, providing grants to partially support the CLHLS project.

Until present, the CLHLS conducted face-to-face interviews with 8,959, 11,161, 20,428, 18,549 and 20,366, 10,188, and 7,192individuals in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2008-09, 2011-12, and 2014, respectively, using internationally compatible questionnaires. Among the 96,843interviews conducted in the sevenwaves, 16,547were with centenarians, 22,232with nonagenarians, 25,719with octogenarians, 19,884with younger elders aged 65-79, and 11,461 with middle-age adults aged 35-64. At each wave, survivors were re-interviewed, and deceased interviewees were replaced with new participants. Data on mortality and health status before dying for the 26,236elders aged 65-110 who died between waves were collected in interviews with a close family member of the deceased.

The CLHLS has the largest sample of centenarians in the world according to a report in Science (see the report). Our general goal is to shed new light on a better understanding of the determinants of healthy longevity of human beings. We are compiling extensive data on a much larger population of the oldest-old aged 80-112 than has previously been studied, with a comparison group of younger elders aged 65-79. We propose to use innovative demographic and statistical methods to analyze longitudinal survey data. Our goal is to determine which factors, out of a large set of social, behavioral, biological, and environmental risk factors, play an important role in healthy longevity. The large population size, the focus on healthy longevity (rather than on a specific disease or disorder), the simultaneous consideration of various risk factors, and the use of analytical strategies based on demographic concepts make this an innovative demographic data collection and research project.

Our specific objectives are as follows:

The organizational framework of the CLHLS is summarized as follows:

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Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS ...