The blue zones: Areas of exceptional longevity around the world
The blue zones: Areas of exceptional longevity around the world
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DOI：
10.1553/populationyearbook2013s005
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发表时间：
2012
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
M. Poulain;A. Herm;G. Pes
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
M. Poulain;A. Herm;G. Pes
这项研究的目的是比较人口长寿的水平和四个地理区域的特点，异常高比例的长寿的个人已经观察到。这些地区（撒丁岛的Ogliastra、日本的冲绳、哥斯达黎加的尼科亚半岛和希腊的伊卡里亚岛）。这些地区的“蓝色区域”（BZ）一词被定义为一个有限的区域，其中人口拥有共同的生活方式和环境，并且其非凡的寿命已得到准确验证。本文讨论了使用不同的指标来衡量人口的寿命。作为我们调查的初步结果，我们确认了撒丁岛BZ的男性长寿和冲绳的男性和女性长寿的特殊水平。考虑到可能的解释，我们观察到BZ人口在地理上和/或历史上是孤立的（岛屿和山区）。这些人成功地保持了传统的生活方式，这意味着80岁以上的人都要参加高强度的体育活动，减少压力，加强家庭和社区对老年奥尔兹的支持，以及消费当地生产的食品。这可能促进了能够限制对大多数西方人口健康产生负面影响的因素的理想条件的积累。这些人在相对较近的时间里经历了流行病的转变及其影响，他们在衰老过程中非常好的健康状况可能是传统生活方式和现代生活方式（财富增加，医疗保健改善）之间微妙平衡的结果。所有这些因素都可以促进在种群水平上出现长寿表型的理想环境。
The aim of this study was to compare the level of population longevity and the characteristics of four geographic areas where unusually high proportions of longlived individuals have been observed. For these areas (Ogliastra in Sardinia, Okinawa in Japan, the Nicoya peninsula in Costa Rica and the island of Ikaria in Greece). The term of ‘blue zone’ (BZ) given to these areas is defined as a limited region where the population shares a common lifestyle and environment and whose exceptional longevity has been accurately verified. This paper discusses the use of different indexes to measure the longevity of a population. As a preliminary result of our investigations we confirm the exceptional level of male longevity in the Sardinian BZ and both male and female longevity in Okinawa. Considering possible explanations, we observed that BZ populations are geographically and/or historically isolated (islands and mountainous regions). These populations succeeded in maintaining a traditional lifestyle implying an intense physical activity that extends beyond the age of 80, a reduced level of stress and intensive family and community support for their oldest olds as well as the consumption of locally produced food. This is likely to have facilitated the accumulation of ideal conditions capable of limiting the factors that negatively impact on health in most Western populations. These people experienced the epidemiological transition—and its implications—in relative recent times, and their remarkably good health status during ageing could be the result of a delicate balance between the benefits of the traditional lifestyle and those of modernity (increased wealth, better medical care). All these factors could have promoted an ideal milieu for the emergence of long-lived phenotypes at the population level.