A study on centenarians in Bolotana, a mountain village in Sardinia, suggests it could be a new 'blue zone', a geographic area with a high concentration of centenarians. Researchers from Sardinia's University of Sassari and the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that 13.8% of women in the village who reach the age of 70 will live to 100. This places Bolotana second globally for female longevity, after Hong Kong.
Sardinia was first recognised for longevity in 1999, with a cluster of villages classified as a blue zone, particularly for long-lived men. Bolotana, located about 70 miles from the original Sardinian blue zone, is now emerging as a potential new candidate, with its trend driven by women.
The study, published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Aging, analysed records of individuals born in Bolotana between 1900 and 1925. It found that 38 of these individuals lived beyond 100, indicating a longevity rate 57% higher than the Italian national average.
As of last year, Bolotana, with a population of 2,266, had 12 centenarians, which is approximately 12 times the Sardinian average. Six of these have since died, with the remaining six all being women.