US period<unk>  table for 2003, showing considerable acceleration rather than<unk>  In gerontology,<unk>  is the disputed theory that hazard rate increases at a decreasing rate in<unk> <unk>  rather than increasing exponentially as in the Gompertz law.<unk>  is a well-established phenomenon in insects, which often spend much of their lives in a constant hazard rate region, but it is much more controversial in mammals. Rodent studies have found varying conclusions, with some finding short-term periods of<unk><unk>  in mice, others not finding such. Baboon studies show no<unk><unk> . An analogous<unk>  occurs in the failure rate of manufactured products; this analogy is elaborated in the reliability theory of aging and longevity.<unk>  was first proposed as occurring in human aging in (which also introduced the Gompertz law), and observed as occurring in humans in , and has since become one of the pillars of the biodemography of human longevity – see history; here "late<unk> " is typically "after 85 years of age". However, a recent paper, , concludes that<unk><unk>  is negligible up to the age of 106 in the population studied (beyond this point, reliable data were unavailable) and that the Gompertz law is a good fit, with previous observations of<unk>  being spurious, with various causes, including bad data and methodological problems – see criticism. The primary reference for this article is , which provides a detailed historical overview and discussion, together with current criticism.
Late-life mortality deceleration
Fall prevention
Suicide prevention
Sex differences in stroke care
Sexually active life expectancy
Prevention of mental disorders
Therapeutic effect
Longevity