Health creates the Galician Registry of Centenarians for scientific purposes

The Department of Health has created the Galician Registry of Centenarians (Regace), a regional file of an administrative nature intended for the collection and analysis of data determining longevity. The measure is established by the Order of September 23, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of Galicia (DOG) number 188, of October 2, 2026, in section I, General Provisions. The regulation will enter into force twenty days after its publication.

The text signed by the counselor Antonio Gómez Caamaño consists of twelve articles, one additional provision, two final provisions, and an annex. The Xunta justifies the initiative based on the dimension of the phenomenon: in Spain there are nearly 15,000 centenarians and in Galicia the figure is estimated at more than 1,800, which represents 12.08% of the State’s centenarian population, while the Galician population represents 5.6% of the Spanish total. According to the Galician Institute of Statistics, life expectancy in Galicia in 2023 was 80.92 years for men and 86.89 for women, compared to 81.1 and 86.3 years for the State as a whole.

A unique registry attached to the Department of Health

Regace is unique for the entire Autonomous Community and is attached to the Department of Health, through the governing body with competencies in health planning, which will be responsible for carrying out the registrations. The registry is integrated as a specific system within the Galician Public Health Surveillance Network.

People who are one hundred years old or older, with public or private insurance, and who reside in Galician territory will be subject to registration. The system is defined as a source of sociodemographic, clinical-epidemiological, and statistical information; it is not public, is subject to the principle of confidentiality, and its data will form part of the electronic clinical history.

Purposes and intended uses

Among the purposes set out in Article 3 are:

• Providing epidemiological and statistical information on centenarians by age, sex, and geographical variables, and their evolution over time.
• Guiding health planning and management and evaluating care activities directed at this group.
• Identifying population groups with a higher probability of reaching centenarian status.
• Supporting the evaluation of public policies and the promotion of specialized care.
• Disseminating relevant information to health personnel and the population, and collaborating with Spanish, European, and international institutions.
• Promoting research and training on the determining factors of longevity.

The head of the general directorate competent in health planning and reform may authorize access to the registry’s information for Galician, state, or international organizations or institutions for strictly health or statistical use, as well as for professionals and research personnel conducting studies on longevity.

Obligations of health personnel and data protection

Health personnel from public and private centers in Galicia who diagnose, treat, or monitor centenarian patients must provide Regace with the data and information listed in the annex of the order, in accordance with Article 23 of Law 41/2002, of November 14. The contribution shall be made through the enabled computer programs; private centers that do not have access to them must adapt the information to the format and deadlines set by the health authority.

The processing of data will not require the consent of the interested persons, under Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and state and Galician health legislation. Responsibility lies with the department competent in health matters; the data will be included in the Record of Processing Activities and will be kept as long as the registry is operational, including those of centenarians who pass away. The rights of access, rectification, and erasure may be exercised before the Consellería de Sanidade, Edificio Administrativo San Lázaro, s/n, 15703 Santiago de Compostela, or by email.

What data does the annex collect

The minimum information of the registry includes:

• Identification: name, surnames, date of birth, sex, SNS code, CIP, and date of death.
• Address, province, municipality, and census status.
• Pharmaceutical information: user title and pharmaceutical contribution bracket.
• Health data: medical quota, health center, nursing group, and vaccinations (flu, pneumococcus, RSV, herpes zoster, and DTP/TD).
• Number of hospitalizations and ICU admissions.
• Chronic health problems, such as heart failure, ischemic heart disease, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, COPD, asthma, diabetes, osteoarthritis, or oncological disease.
• Chronic treatment and current treatment.

The order is inspired by the RENACE project (National Registry of Centenarians of Spain), promoted by the Sociedad Española de Médicos Generales y de Familia (SEMG), and the Xunta presents it as a pioneering project at the autonomous level. The sole additional provision guarantees that its implementation will not generate an increase in the budgetary allocations of the department nor of the Galician Health Service.

Source: Diario Oficial de Galicia (DOG), no. 188, October 2, 2026, section I, p. 51147 (official reference: ikoa7gg5-wcw2-cnq1-1nw2-6mpmx2wq7tr3).