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A study published in Frontiers in Aging reports unusually high late-life survival among women in Bolotana, Sardinia. Researchers estimate that 13.8% of women who reach 70 there live to 100, but the study identifies a pattern, not its cause; diet, activity, social ties and genetics need further investigation.
A study of historical records from Bolotana, Sardinia, estimates that women who reach age 70 in the village are nearly four times as likely to live to 100 as women in the United States. Published in Frontiers in Aging, the findings point to unusually high late-life survival and raise the possibility that Bolotana is a newly identified longevity hotspot, though they do not explain why residents live so long.
The researchers examined demographic records for the village, which has about 2,300 residents, and reconstructed life histories using civil records and church archives. Their analysis documented 38 centenarians among 3,060 people born in Bolotana between 1900 and 1925. The team matched birth, death and baptism records to check ages, a step intended to address concerns that extreme-age reports can result from inaccurate records.
The study estimates that 13.8% of Bolotana women who reach 70 live to 100. The comparable estimates were about 3.5% for women in Italy and 3.6% for women in the United States. Women in Bolotana who reached 70 were estimated to have nearly 21 additional years of life expectancy. The paper says the village ranked second only to Hong Kong in international comparisons of life expectancy at 70 and the chance of reaching 100.
The report also noted that six people aged 100 or older were living in Bolotana in 2024. Researchers estimated this concentration of centenarians to be roughly 11 times the U.S. prevalence. That figure is a snapshot for that year, while the study’s survival estimates draw on historical population records; the two measures describe related but different aspects of longevity.
What Bolotana Adds to Longevity Research
The findings may give aging researchers a well-documented community in which to investigate survival in later life. Bolotana’s archival records offer a way to verify ages across multiple sources, making its population useful for research into exceptional longevity and for comparison with communities already studied as blue zones.
The results matter beyond the village if further research can distinguish which features of daily life are linked with longer survival. The report points to walking, locally produced food, close family networks and social connection as possible areas to examine. These are potential explanations, not tested conclusions from this demographic analysis. The study does not show that adopting any one practice will make people live longer.
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Sardinia’s Existing Longevity Record
Sardinia has been studied for decades as a place with unusually long lives. The island’s previously identified blue-zone area drew attention in part for its high male longevity. Bolotana stands out in the new analysis for a different pattern: women showed especially strong survival from age 70 to 100.
The researchers assessed two measures: life expectancy at age 70 and the probability that a person reaching 70 would survive to 100. Bolotana’s historical archives were central to the work. According to co-author S. Jay Olshansky, professor emeritus of epidemiology at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health, municipal and baptismal records extend back centuries and helped researchers independently check residents’ ages.
Blue zones are communities identified in research for unusually long lifespans compared with surrounding areas. Okinawa, Japan, and Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula are among the other places cited in the report. Whether Bolotana should be treated as a newly established blue zone depends on how the findings are assessed and confirmed by further work.
“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
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The Causes Remain Unresolved
The study establishes an unusual survival pattern in the records it examined, but it does not identify the mechanisms behind it. Researchers say diet, physical activity, family support, social connection and genetics may all play a role. The relative contribution of each factor is not established, and the findings do not show that any single feature causes longevity.
The estimates also relate to particular birth cohorts and historical records, rather than a controlled test of how lifestyle affects lifespan. The supplied report does not detail the uncertainty ranges around the estimates or establish how representative Bolotana’s historical population is of residents today. Further research would be needed to test whether the pattern persists and to compare possible explanations with other populations.
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Further Work on Longevity Factors
The study, by Giovanni Mario Pes and co-authors, was published in Frontiers in Aging in 2026. Researchers can build on its record-based analysis by examining how residents’ living conditions, family and social ties, diet, activity and inherited traits relate to survival. Comparisons with other communities could help separate features specific to Bolotana from factors shared by populations with long lifespans.
No follow-up study or timetable is specified in the report. For now, the main development is the identification of a strong late-life survival pattern, not a confirmed account of how to reproduce it elsewhere. The reasons behind Bolotana’s results remain a subject for further investigation.
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Key Questions
What did the Bolotana study find?
It estimated that 13.8% of women who reach age 70 in Bolotana live to 100. The reported 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?
The study suggests Bolotana may qualify as a new longevity hotspot, but its findings are evidence of unusually high survival rather than proof of the reasons for it. The report describes blue zones as communities where people live unusually long lives.
Why did researchers check historical records?
They used civil and church records, including birth, death and baptismal documents, to verify residents’ ages. This was intended to make the centenarian counts and survival analysis more reliable.
What might explain the longevity pattern?
Researchers named diet, walking and other physical activity, family support, social connection and genetics as possible factors. The study does not establish which, if any, caused the results.
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