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A study in Frontiers in Aging examined historical records from Bolotana, Sardinia, and estimated that 13.8% of women who reach age 70 there will live to 100. The researchers say the survival pattern may qualify the village as a blue zone, but the study does not establish why residents live so long.
A study of historical records from Bolotana, Sardinia, estimates that 13.8% of women who reach age 70 in the village will live to 100, a higher share than the researchers estimated for Italy or the United States. The findings, published in Frontiers in Aging, identify Bolotana as a possible new longevity hotspot, while leaving the causes of its older residents’ survival unresolved.
The researchers reconstructed residents’ life histories using municipal records and church archives, including birth, death and baptismal documents. They report that the cross-checks allowed them to validate the ages of centenarians in the records. The study documented 38 people who reached 100 among 3,060 people born in Bolotana from 1900 through 1925.
The estimated chance of surviving from age 70 to 100 was 13.8% for Bolotana women, compared with about 3.5% for women in Italy and 3.6% for women in the United States. These are study estimates for the stated population and comparison groups; they do not establish that an individual woman’s lifespan will follow that pattern.
The study also estimated that women in Bolotana who reached 70 had nearly 21 additional years of life expectancy. The researchers used survival at age 70 and the likelihood of reaching 100 to assess whether the village fits the pattern associated with a blue zone.
Bolotana’s Female Survival Pattern
The reported pattern gives researchers a specific community in which to investigate survival into very old age. Bolotana is notable within Sardinia, where earlier longevity research focused on an area associated with unusually long-lived men. In this study, women were the standout group, according to the authors.
The findings also bear on debates about how reliably extreme ages can be established. The research team says Bolotana’s multiple historical record sources let it verify centenarians’ ages. That provides a basis for studying the population, though strong records alone do not explain why people survived so long or show that the pattern applies elsewhere.
For readers, the village’s results are a research lead, not evidence that a particular diet or lifestyle will make people live to 100. The study identified an unusual survival profile; it did not test interventions or establish which characteristics, if any, caused it.
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How Bolotana Entered Longevity Research
Sardinia has been studied for exceptional longevity for more than two decades. The island’s previously identified blue zone was known for high male longevity. The Bolotana paper asks whether this village shows a distinct pattern, particularly among women, using records spanning more than a century.
The village first drew attention because six residents aged 100 or older were living there in 2024. The researchers estimated that this represented a prevalence roughly 11 times the U.S. rate. That figure refers to the researchers’ comparison of centenarian prevalence in 2024; it is separate from the study’s estimates of a person reaching 100 after age 70.
Other communities identified in longevity research include Okinawa in Japan and the Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica. The authors frame Bolotana as a possible addition. Its status as a confirmed blue zone depends on how the term is defined and on further research beyond identifying an unusual demographic pattern.
“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 and professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health
What the Records Cannot Explain
The study reports unusually favorable late-life survival but does not determine what caused it. Olshansky pointed to walking, locally produced food, family proximity, social connection and genetics as possible factors for future investigation. Their individual contributions, and whether any can be separated from one another, remain unclear.
The findings concern a specific village and historical cohorts. The supplied report does not establish whether the same pattern continues among current residents or whether it can be generalized to other places. The authors’ suggestion that Bolotana may be a blue zone is a research interpretation, not proof of a single explanation for longevity.
Further Study of Local Life
Researchers can use Bolotana’s validated records as a starting point to examine possible influences on survival, including activity, diet, social ties and genetics. The study does not specify a next research milestone or report that a follow-up investigation is underway.
Any future work would need to test these proposed explanations rather than infer them from the village’s survival figures alone. For now, the confirmed development is a documented pattern in historical data; the reasons behind it remain open.
Key Questions
What did the Bolotana study find?
Researchers estimated that 13.8% of women who reach age 70 in Bolotana will live to 100. They compared that with estimates of about 3.5% for women in Italy and 3.6% in the United States.
Does the study confirm Bolotana is a blue zone?
No. The findings suggest Bolotana may represent a new blue zone, but the study presents it as a possible addition to longevity research, not a settled designation.
Why do researchers trust the ages in the records?
The team compared municipal and church records, including birth, death and baptismal documents, to validate ages. The authors say they could verify the centenarians included in their analysis.
What explains the long lives?
The study does not answer that question. Walking, local food, close family ties, social connection and genetics were suggested as possible factors for further investigation, not established causes.
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