Table 1.
Mean values ± SEM of general characteristics in octogenarians (> 80 years) from an area of Sardinia that possesses a strikingly high number of long-living people (Old-HLZ); subjects (65–70 years) from the same zone (Young-HLZ) and octogenarians (> 80 years) from a different area with a distinctly lower level of longevity (Old-LLZ). (*MMSE: Mini–Mental State Examination (range from 0 to 30); #Score from 1 (very bad) to 5 (very good); HLZ High-Longevity Zone; LLZ Lower-Longevity Zone). To assess the statistical significance amongst groups we performed one-way ANOVA analysis. As for the LDL cholesterol, different letters indicate significant differences amongst groups (p≤0.05)
| Anthropometric characteristics | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Old-HLZ | Old-LLZ | Young-HLZ | ||||
| Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | Mean | SEM | |
| Age range (years) | ≥ 80 | ≥ 80 | 65–70 | |||
| Body mass index (kg/m2) | 26.3 | 5.0 | 26.4 | 5.2 | 27.1 | 6.8 |
| Nursing home | none | 13.6% | None | |||
| Standardized MMSE* | 19.7 | 6.5 | 22.7 | 8.1 | 27.5 | 7.8 |
| Self–reported health# | 3.4 | 0.6 | 4.2 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 0.8 |
| Total cholesterol, mg/dL | 201 | 43 | 215 | 43 | 220 | 44 |
| Triglycerides, mg/dL | 140 | 64 | 142 | 55 | 152 | 77 |
| HDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 42 | 12 | 50 | 14 | 49 | 10 |
| LDL cholesterol, mg/dL | 129 | 37a | 140 | 40a,b | 148 | 34c |
| N of subjects | 42 | 22 | 21 | |||