10 There are more and more centenarians. In Catalonia alone, there are more than three thousand; and it is estimated that, in about twenty years, the figure will triple. For some reason, the region of Spain with the fewest people of that age—so 'respectable'—is the Balearic Islands. Since there is no longer so much "calm," say the doctors, we islanders no longer reach a century. But the trend is general in the West; it is increasingly likely to go beyond the average life expectancy, which has been steadily rising for some time. Access to universal healthcare, medical and pharmacological advances, and greater vaccination, hygiene, less tobacco and alcohol abuse, and above all, social and community support, have a decisive impact in helping us live longer and longer.

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