A Population Where Men Live As Long As Women: Villagrande Strisaili, Sardinia

Usually women live longer than men and female centenarians largely outnumber male centenarians. The findings of previous studies identifying a population with a femininity ratio close to 1.0 among centenarians in the mountainous region of Sardinia was the starting point of an in-depth investigation in order to compare mortality trajectories between men and women in that population. The exceptional survival of men compared to women emerges from the comparison with similar Italian data. Age exaggeration for men has been strictly excluded as a result of the age validation procedure. The discussion suggests that besides biological/genetic factors, the behavioral factors including life style, demographic behavior, family support, and community characteristics may play an important role. No single explanation is likely to account for such an exceptional situation and a fully integrated multidisciplinary approach is urgently needed

The Impact of the First Covid-19 Wave on Migrant Workers: The Case of Romanians in Italy

The Covid-19 pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on health systems, on many economic sectors and on the labour market. This critical situation is also accompanied by social destabilisation, which has exacerbated inequalities and severely affected the most disadvantaged population groups, such as migrant workers. This study provides insights into the consequences of the first wave and the lockdown period in Spring 2020 of the Covid-19 pandemic on Romanians living in Italy, using data collected by the International Association Italy-Romania ‘Cuore Romeno’, within a project financed by the Romanian Department for Di-aspora and developed to support actions while strengthening the link with Romanian institutions during the pandemic. Findings show that, during the lockdown, two opposite situations occurred among Romanians. Workers in the ‘key sector’ become indispensable and experienced only small changes, while others lost their job or experienced a worsening of working conditions, with lower wages or an increase in working hours. Most workers chose to stay in Italy, relying on their savings or the support of the Italian government. Job losses, not having new employment, and having limited savings all influenced the decision of a smaller group to return to Romania. In conclusion, the analysis suggests that measures adopted should take into consider-ation that the Covid-19 pandemic might disproportionally hit population groups such as migrants, women, young people and temporary and unprotected workers, particularly those employed in trade, hospitality and agriculture

Examining mortality differential between a long-living community in Sardinia and the Italian population: a longitudinal analysis

Progressive gains in life expectancy have brought increasing aging of developed countries’ populations and stimulated researches with respect to the limit of lifespan, the increasing presence of centenarians and the possible determinants of their “successful” ageing. In the international framework the population of the region of Sardinia was characterized by exceptional longevity. Through the comparison of life tables’ rates and life expectancy estimates of birth cohorts born in the period 1872-1910, this paper reports analyses of differences in overall mortality between Italy and the long-living community of Sardinia. The adoption of a longitudinal approach allows us to explore whether the previously detected differences at advanced ages are also observable in other age groups. In addition, the study focuses on the occurrence of mortality crossover as an indicator of significant mortality differences between populations. Results show that differences between the two populations are not limited to oldest old ages. Crossover points in mortality rates are observed in the first years of life and at age 50 years. Both intersections represent the points where differences in life expectancy are the highest. At age 5 years differences are of 1.8 years for females and 3.6 years for males, while at age 50 years they are respectively 1.5 years for females and 3.7 years for males. The observed differences suggest that possible explanations for differential mortality and crossover might be related to selection process timing and dynamics which could be determined by genetics, and specific causes of death, as well as by behavioural and environmental factors

Come è cambiato il profilo demografico

L’Italia detiene il primato di Paese più vecchio d’Europa: il 22,8 percento dei propri abitanti è un ultrasessantacinquenne. Inoltre, dal 2015 registra una perdita annua media di circa 100 mila abitanti, dimostrandosi incapace anche di crescere a livello demografico. L’eccezionale longevità della sua popolazione la pone ai primi posti nel panorama mondiale. Inoltre, superati i 65 anni, sia gli uomini sia le donne vivono sempre più in buona salute. Le problematiche legate all’invecchiamento sono una priorità condivisa da tutti i Paesi a sviluppo avanzato: in Europa la popolazione di 80 anni e più è passata dai 23,5 milioni nel 2010 ai 29,3 milioni nel 2019, registrando un incremento del 25 percento

Searching for longevity determinants : following survival of newborns in a in-land village in Sardinia (1866-2006)

The scientific debate on longevity and its determinants is lively and involves researchers from different disciplines. Finding a clear cut explanation for why some people live longer than others is not an easy task as longevity proves to be connected to more than one factor. Moreover, variables that are shown to be significant for longer survival in certain populations are not always relevant to individuals of other populations. Recently, researchers have identified in Sardinia the Blue Zone (BZ), thus denominated due to the significant number of cases of centenarians recorded as well as a low sex ratio value. This points to an exceptional favourable longevity of males when compared with the expected values in developed countries. A village located in this area was selected for the carrying out of a more detailed analysis at individual level and socio-demographic determinants of longevity were examined. A family reconstructed database was created using a multi-source approach, as this data collection strategy allowed for careful cross-checking of the data, thus guaranteeing data of high quality as well as an exceptionally high level of coverage of known survival. Historical data was therefore used to study today’s population, establishing a unique bridge between historical demography and the current level of longevity. The study focused on survival of newborns in the selected village during a period of 50 years – from 1866 to 1915 – and also took into consideration information on related family members. Each individual included in the database was followed from birth to death, as he/she went through marriage and family formation. Complete survival of all newborns was observed until the present. Based on careful review of the existing literature, the empirical model considered factors such as sex differential, the contribution of familial transmission both in terms of genes, biological, and shared environment, and the role played by environment operationalised considering early-life conditions. Concepts were organized into a life-course approach for survival analysis. The analysis of the data enabled to the estimation of mortality trajectories, which in turn confirmed the exceptional longevity of the population understudy and in particular of males. The investigation of differential survival among members of the same community brought to light the relevance of certain familial variables on survival, which are not exclusively genetic. The results achieved open the way to further studies.(DEMO 3) -- UCL, 200