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Different antioxidant profiles in Italian centenarians: the Sardinian peculiarity

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 61, pages 922–924 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

In this study, 153 Italian centenarians from four different geographical areas, including Modena (northern Italy), Ancona (central Italy), Perugia (central Italy) and Sardinia island (AKEA Project) were enrolled. Plasma levels of vitamin C, uric acid, vitamin A and vitamin E as well as the activities of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were measured. Subjects were compared to a younger control population of the same areas, divided into three age groups: ⩽60; 61–80 and 81–99 years. The main result of this study is that, whereas in Italian population elevated levels of plasma vitamins A and E seem to be important for longevity, this do not apply to centenarians from Sardinia, in which probably other factors play a more important role.

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Acknowledgements

LD was funded for the ‘AKEA Project’ by Regione Autonoma della Sardegna, MIUR Italy, the US National Institute on Aging, Duke University no. 03-SC-NIH-1027 (USA), Max-Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR).

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Author notes

  1. M C Polidori and E Mariani: These authors contributed equally to this work

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology I, Heinrich-Heine Universität Düsseldorf, Germany

    M C Polidori

  2. Institute of Gerontology and Geriatrics, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy

    E Mariani, R Cecchetti, U Senin & P Mecocci

  3. Internal Medicine Unit, Azienda Ospedale-Università di Padova, Italy

    G Baggio

  4. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Chair of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Sassari, Italy

    L Deiana, C Carru & G M Pes

  5. Department of Experimental Pathology and C.I.G., University of Bologna, Italy

    C Franceschi

Authors
  1. M C Polidori
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  2. E Mariani
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  3. G Baggio
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  4. L Deiana
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  5. C Carru
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  6. G M Pes
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  7. R Cecchetti
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  8. C Franceschi
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  9. U Senin
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  10. P Mecocci
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to P Mecocci.

Additional information

Contributors: MCP, EM and PM supervised the conduct of the study and drafted the manuscript. MCP and EM did all study assessment. LD and CC obtained the samples. RC and PM analysed study samples. GB, GMP, CF and US were involved in study design and obtaining funding. EM and PM did sample size estimates and the statistical analyses. All contributors reviewed the manuscript.

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Polidori, M., Mariani, E., Baggio, G. et al. Different antioxidant profiles in Italian centenarians: the Sardinian peculiarity. Eur J Clin Nutr 61, 922–924 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602596

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602596

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