During 8 years authors examined 98 persons of the age ranging from 90 to 99 years. The results of the longevity phenomenon analysis suggest its relationship to hereditary factor, female sex, occupation in agriculture and absence of the life shortening diseases in anamnesis. Clinical diagnoses of all the longaged have been analyzed to confirm the multimorbidity and the so called senile polypathy which is frequent in this age. All the longaged were divided into 3 groups according to their vitality degree. Erythrocyte sedimentation, basic biochemical and haematological tests were carried out and the values obtained were analyzed following the 3 vitality degrees mentioned. The authors' aim is to point out some problems especially the difficulty of interpretation of some laboratory tests results in this longaged patient category and thus contribute to a certain extent to the description of the longevity phenomenon from the modern clinical gerontology viewpoint.

Abteilung für Innere Krankheiten Universitätskrankenhauses Brno Bohunice CSSR