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A terracotta-tiled village in the mountains of Sardinia may offer researchers a rare opportunity to uncover the secrets of exceptional longevity.

A new study co-authored by S. Jay Olshansky, professor emeritus of epidemiology at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health, found that women in the village of Bolotana, on the Italian island of Sardinia, who reach age 70 are nearly four times as likely to reach age 100 as women in the United States. The findings suggest the community could represent a newly identified "blue zone," an area where people live unusually long lives.

The study, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined demographic records from the village of about 2,300 residents and found a favorable pattern of survival among older adults, particularly women. Researchers estimated that 13.8% of women in Bolotana who reach age 70 will live to 100, compared with approximately 3.5% of women in Italy and 3.6% of women in the United States.

"What makes Bolotana extraordinary is that it has an incredible historical record that allows us to definitively evaluate ages at birth and death," Olshansky said. "The municipal and baptismal records date back centuries and allowed us to independently verify ages."

The concept of blue zones originated from studies of communities where residents routinely outlive people in surrounding regions. Other blue zones that have been singled out and confirmed by researchers include Okinawa, Japan, and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica.

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