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. 2022 Jun;34(6):1247-1258.
doi: 10.1007/s40520-021-02059-8. Epub 2022 Jan 15.

Determinants of longevity and age at death in a practically extinct cohort of middle-aged men followed-up for 61 years

Alessandro Menotti  1 , Paolo Emilio Puddu  2   3 , Giovina Catasta  4
Affiliations

Determinants of longevity and age at death in a practically extinct cohort of middle-aged men followed-up for 61 years

Alessandro Menotti et al. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2022 Jun.

Abstract

Objectives: To explore possible determinants of longevity as a function of many personal characteristics in a cohort of middle-aged men followed-up until practical extinction.

Materials and methods: In the Italian Rural Area of the Seven Countries Study, 1712 men aged 40-59 were examined in 1960 and 35 personal characteristics were measured. The subsequent follow-up for life status was of 61 years when only 3 men survived. A Kaplan-Meier curve was computed. A Cox model was solved with all-cause mortality as end-point and 35 potential determinants as covariates. A Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) model was also solved with the same covariates and age at death (AD) as end-point.

Results: After 61 years, 99.8% of men had died and median age at death was 75. Beneficial risk factors for both models (p < 0.05) were: never smoker, vigorous physical activity, prudent and Mediterranean diets, arm circumference, subscapular skinfold, and vital capacity. Adverse risk factors (p < 0.05) were: mother early death, laterality/linearity index, systolic blood pressure, serum cholesterol, corneal arcus, xanthelasma, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, diabetes, and chronic bronchitis. Some arbitrary combinations of selected risk factors were used to estimate AD as a function of coefficients of the MLR, showing large differences up to 10 years or more.

Conclusions: Several personal characteristics of anthropometric, behavioral, biophysical, biochemical, and clinical nature are strongly associated with longevity when measured in middle-aged men and then followed up until extinction.

Keywords: Follow-up until extinction; Lifestyle behavior; Longevity; Risk factors.

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References

    1. Heshmati H (2021) Centenarians. In: Amornyotin S (ed) Up-date in geriatrics. IntechOpen Publ, London, pp 1–21
    1. Menotti A, Puddu PE (2020) How the seven countries study contributed to the launch and development of cardiovascular epidemiology in Italy. A historical perspective. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 30:368–383 - DOI
    1. Menotti A, Puddu PE, Maiani G et al (2018) Age at death as a useful indicator of healthy aging at population level: a 50-year follow-up of the Italian rural areas of the seven countries study. Aging Exp Clin Res 30:901–911 - DOI
    1. Menotti A, Puddu PE, Lanti M et al (2014) Lifestyle habits and mortality from all and specific causes of death: 40-year follow-up in the Italian Rural Areas of the Seven Countries Study. J Nutr Health Aging 18:314–321 - DOI
    1. Menotti A, Seccareccia F (1985) Physical activity at work and job responsibility as risk factors for fatal coronary heart disease and other causes of death. J Epidemiol Commun Health 39:325–329 - DOI

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