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A study in Frontiers in Aging found unusually high late-life survival among women in Bolotana, Sardinia, using civil and church records to validate ages. Researchers say the village may be a newly identified blue zone, but the study does not establish why residents live so long.
A study published in Frontiers in Aging estimates that 13.8% of women in Bolotana, Sardinia, who reach age 70 live to 100, a rate higher than the researchers’ estimates for Italy and the United States. The findings suggest the village may be a newly identified blue zone, though they do not explain what drives its residents’ longevity.
The researchers examined demographic records for the Sardinian village, which has about 2,300 residents, and reconstructed life histories for people born there between 1900 and 1925. They documented 38 centenarians among 3,060 people born in that period. Municipal records and church archives, including baptismal documents, were matched to check ages against multiple sources.
For women who reached 70, the team estimated a 13.8% probability of reaching 100. The corresponding estimates were about 3.5% for women in Italy and 3.6% for women in the United States. The study also estimated that Bolotana women reaching 70 had nearly 21 additional years of life expectancy. These figures describe the researchers’ estimates for the populations and measures they analyzed.
Bolotana drew attention after six residents aged 100 or older were living there in 2024, a prevalence the researchers estimated to be roughly 11 times the U.S. rate. The new paper extends that observation by examining historical survival, rather than relying only on the number of centenarians alive at a particular time. Its authors say the archival checks strengthen confidence in recorded ages; they do not establish that any particular lifestyle or biological factor caused the survival pattern.
Why Bolotana’s Records Matter
The findings give aging researchers a small community in which to investigate survival into very old age using long-running local records. Age verification matters because estimates of extreme longevity can be distorted by errors in birth dates or identity records. Co-author S. Jay Olshansky said Bolotana’s municipal and baptismal archives made it possible to check ages independently.
The results also add a different pattern to Sardinia’s reputation in longevity research. The island’s previously identified blue zone has been associated with unusually high male longevity, while women stood out in Bolotana. The study estimates that Bolotana women rank second only to Hong Kong on two international measures: life expectancy at 70 and the likelihood of surviving from 70 to 100.
That ranking is a finding within the study’s comparisons, not proof that Bolotana is the world’s longest-lived population. Further work could help clarify whether the pattern reflects local habits, family and social ties, genetics, or a combination. For readers, the distinction is important: the results identify a population worth studying, but do not yet offer a tested formula for living longer.
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How Bolotana Entered Blue-Zone Research
Blue zones are communities identified by researchers for unusually long lives compared with surrounding populations. Okinawa in Japan and Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula are among the areas cited in the source report. Sardinia’s original blue zone was identified more than two decades ago and became known for a pattern of high male longevity.
The Bolotana study, by Giovanni Mario Pes and colleagues, appeared in Frontiers in Aging in 2026. Its researchers used civil records and church archives to reconstruct residents’ life histories across more than a century. The analysis considered life expectancy at age 70 and the chance of reaching 100 after reaching 70, allowing the team to compare late-life survival rather than simply count how many centenarians were alive in one year.
“What makes Bolotana extraordinary is that it has an incredible historical record that allows us to definitively evaluate ages at birth and death.”
— S. Jay Olshansky, study co-author and professor emeritus of epidemiology at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health
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What the Survival Pattern Cannot Explain
The study identifies unusually high late-life survival in the records it analyzed, but it does not show why Bolotana women live so long. The authors and source report point to possible influences such as locally produced food, walking, close family ties, social connection, and genetics. Those are possible clues, not causes demonstrated by this analysis.
The estimates also concern defined historical cohorts and comparisons. The report does not provide enough detail to determine how the pattern may differ across other birth cohorts or how it has changed in recent years. Nor does the finding that the village may qualify as a blue zone establish that every resident, or every person who adopts a practice associated with Bolotana, will experience longer life.
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Further Study of Local Factors
The next step is to investigate the possible contributors to the survival pattern, including activity, diet, social relationships, family support, and genetics. Researchers would need further evidence to distinguish among these factors and assess how they may interact.
Olshansky said that identifying characteristics behind longevity could help people elsewhere understand practices found in communities like Bolotana. The study itself does not report a follow-up timetable or a specific intervention. For now, the village’s validated historical records and the observed survival rates provide a basis for further research, while the reasons for the pattern remain open.
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Key Questions
What did the Bolotana study find?
Researchers estimated that 13.8% of women who reach 70 in Bolotana live to 100. Their estimates were about 3.5% for women in Italy and 3.6% for women in the United States.
Does the study prove Bolotana is a blue zone?
No. The findings suggest Bolotana may be a newly identified blue zone, a community associated with unusually long lives. The report presents it as a possibility for researchers to investigate.
How did researchers check residents’ ages?
They matched municipal, birth, death, and baptismal records to reconstruct life histories and validate reported ages, including those of centenarians.
Why are Bolotana residents living longer?
The study does not answer that question. The report names walking, local food, family support, social connection, and genetics as possible factors, but none was established as the cause.
Source: rss
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