At 121 years old completed in March, Deolira Glicéria Pedro da Silva, a resident of Itaperuna, in the Northwest of the state of Rio de Janeiro, was officially recognized as the longest-lived woman in Brazil through a certificate issued by Rank Brasil, a national record certification system.
Geriatrician Juair de Abreu Pereira is the doctor who follows the elderly woman and has been working to gather documents that prove her age. Pereira believes this achievement may pave the way for Deolira to be recognized by Guinness World Records as the oldest person in the world, a title that currently belongs to British Ethel Caterham, 116 years old. According to the doctor, the Guinness process is stalled, but the Brazilian certification may help unlock it.
The main difficulty faced by the family to prove Deolira's age is related to the loss of original documents during floods she experienced when living in Porciúncula, a city in the region where she was born and lived until moving five years ago.
