Diet and longevity in the Blue Zones: A set-and-forget issue?

Pes, Giovanni Mario; Dore, Maria Pina; Tsofliou, Fotini; Poulain, Michel

doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2022.06.004

Cited by 22 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 87 publications

(121 reference statements)

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“…A subset of participants from two separate studies, one in the Ikaria Blue Zone in Greece and one in the Sardinia Blue Zone in Italy, were selected for DNAm analysis ( Pes et al, 2020 ; Foscolou et al, 2021 ) ( Table 1 ). Given that these regions are in relatively close proximity geographically when compared to the other Blue Zones in Costa Rica and Japan, have relatively similar climates, diets, and cultures, and the same male survival phenomenon is observed, we combined the Sardinian and Ikarian Blue Zone residents into one cohort to represent the Mediterranean Blue Zones ( Poulain et al, 2021 ; Pes et al, 2022 ). Venous blood was collected from participants with informed consent from both Blue Zone regions as part of each study.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in epigenetic age in Mediterranean high longevity regions

et al. 2022

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Sex differences in aging manifest in disparities in disease prevalence, physical health, and lifespan, where women tend to have greater longevity relative to men. However, in the Mediterranean Blue Zones of Sardinia (Italy) and Ikaria (Greece) are regions of centenarian abundance, male-female centenarian ratios are approximately one, diverging from the typical trend and making these useful regions in which to study sex differences of the oldest old. Additionally, these regions can be investigated as examples of healthy aging relative to other populations. DNA methylation (DNAm)-based predictors have been developed to assess various health biomarkers, including biological age, Pace of Aging, serum interleukin-6 (IL-6), and telomere length. Epigenetic clocks are biological age predictors whose deviation from chronological age has been indicative of relative health differences between individuals, making these useful tools for interrogating these differences in aging. We assessed sex differences between the Horvath, Hannum, GrimAge, PhenoAge, Skin and Blood, and Pace of Aging predictors from individuals in two Mediterranean Blue Zones and found that men displayed positive epigenetic age acceleration (EAA) compared to women according to all clocks, with significantly greater rates according to GrimAge (β = 3.55; p = 1.22 × 10−12), Horvath (β = 1.07; p = 0.00378) and the Pace of Aging (β = 0.0344; p = 1.77 × 10−08). Other DNAm-based biomarkers findings indicated that men had lower DNAm-predicted serum IL-6 scores (β = -0.00301, p = 2.84 × 10−12), while women displayed higher DNAm-predicted proportions of regulatory T cells than men from the Blue Zone (p = 0.0150, 95% Confidence Interval [0.00131, 0.0117], Cohen’s d = 0.517). All clocks showed better correlations with chronological age in women from the Blue Zones than men, but all clocks showed large mean absolute errors (MAE >30 years) in both sexes, except for PhenoAge (MAE <5 years). Thus, despite their equal survival to older ages in these Mediterranean Blue Zones, men in these regions remain biologically older by most measured DNAm-derived metrics than women, with the exception of the IL-6 score and proportion of regulatory T cells.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex differences in epigenetic age in Mediterranean high longevity regions

et al. 2022

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“…According to a recent review by Santa and colleagues, a Mediterranean diet and a traditional Japanese diet, both characterized by low fat, sugar, and red meat intake, were negatively associated with MetS development [15]. This outcome was also supported by the results of the Longevity Blue Zone (LBZ) project revealing that populations from Ikaria, Greece [16,17] and Okinawa, Japan [18] have exceptional longevity and reduced incidents of chronic diseases.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 91%

The Interplay between Metabolic Syndrome and Religious Fasting in Postmenopausal Women

et al. 2023

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Religious fasting that involves abstinence from specific food(s) is part of many religions worldwide and has been gaining attention by the research community during the last years. The study aimed to investigate whether the periodic Christian Orthodox fasting mitigates the changes in body composition, dietary intake, and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in postmenopausal women. One hundred and thirty-four postmenopausal women aged 57.3 ± 6.7 years participated in this study. The Christian Orthodox fasting was followed by 68 postmenopausal women since their childhood, whereas 66 postmenopausal women were non-fasters. Data collection involved anthropometric, biochemical, clinical, and dietary information. Postmenopausal women who fasted according to Christian Orthodox Church recommendations had significantly higher mean fat free mass (45 vs. 44 kg, p = 0.002), hip circumference (104 vs. 99 cm, p = 0.001), and diastolic blood pressure (79 vs. 82 mmHg, p = 0.024). No other differences were found with regards to anthropometric data. Fasters also consumed significantly less fat (78 vs. 91 g, p = 0.006), as well as saturated (19 vs. 23 g, p = 0.015), monounsaturated (41 vs. 47 g, p = 0.018), and polyunsaturated fat (8.5 vs. 10 g, p = 0.023), trans fatty acids (0.5 vs. 2.3 g, p = 0.035), and cholesterol (132 vs. 176 g, p = 0.011). In terms of MetS features, non-fasters had more frequently elevated fasting blood glucose (11.8 vs. 24.2%, p = 0.039) and elevated blood pressure (13.2 vs. 36.4%, p = 0.041) compared with fasters. MetS was more common in non-fasters versus fasters with a marginal level of significance (30.3 vs. 23.5%, p = 0.052). Postmenopausal women who follow the Christian Orthodox fasting regime had lower fat intake, and no other difference in nutrient intake, compared with non-fasters. The latter were more likely to have MetS and some of its components. Overall, periodic abstinence from meat, dairy products, and eggs might play a protective role in postmenopausal women with regard to MetS.

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“…The probable involvement of numerous and complex factors with little effects are features that will produce many chance findings. In Bama, insufficient long-term follow-up of the population and the limited sample size of the survey population are common problems with the longevity study of Bama as well as other longevity studies worldwide [159][160][161]. Besides, in studies on longevity, observational research often emerges [162][163][164], but has disadvantages of subjective judgement [165].…”

Section: Summary and Perspectivesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Which Factors Influence Healthy Aging? A Lesson from the Longevity Village of Bama in China

Zhang¹,

Huang²,

Kang³

et al. 2023

Aging and disease

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A growing aging population is associated with increasing incidences of aging-related diseases and socioeconomic burdens. Hence, research into healthy longevity and aging is urgently needed. Longevity is an important phenomenon in healthy aging. The present review summarizes the characteristics of longevity in the elderly population in Bama, China, where the proportion of centenarians is 5.7-fold greater than the international standard. We examined the impact of genetic and environmental factors on longevity from multiple perspectives. We proposed that the phenomenon of longevity in this region is of high value for future investigations in healthy aging and aging-related disease and may provide guidance for fostering the establishment and maintenance of a healthy aging society.

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Diet and longevity in the Blue Zones: A set-and-forget issue?

Cited by 22 publications

References 87 publications

Sex differences in epigenetic age in Mediterranean high longevity regions

Sex differences in epigenetic age in Mediterranean high longevity regions

The Interplay between Metabolic Syndrome and Religious Fasting in Postmenopausal Women

Which Factors Influence Healthy Aging? A Lesson from the Longevity Village of Bama in China

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