Dietary Habits and Lifestyle of Nonagenarians and Centenarians in the Italian Abruzzo Region

November 28, 2023 updated by: Mauro Serafini, University of Teramo
The "CenTEnari" study is a cross-sectional study aiming at suveying the dietary and lifestyle habits of nonagenarians and centenarianss of citizens of the Abruzzo region, Italy.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Several epidemiological studies indicates that diet and physical activity are two pivotal pillars for the maintenance the of the health status and for longevity. These two last factors seem to be strictly linked between them, as demonstrated by some studies on the so called "Blue zones", particular lands in the planet where longevity rate - in terms of nonagenarians and centenarians - is particularly high. In these studies, it has been pointed out that, other than genetics, individuals following dietary regimens with lower consumption of available carbohydrates and processed foods, higher consumption of fruit, vegetables, cereals and pulses and moderate intake of meat, fish and dairy foods live longer and in a healthier status.

The Abruzzo region is characterized by a great gastronomical variability, due also to the particular geographical characterization, with a few kilometer distance between sea and mountains. However, most of these dietary habits tend to stick in a valuable way to Mediterranean Diet, a dietary regimen listed in 2010 in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. Intriguingly, the Mediterranean Diet is based on the intake of the above mentioned food groups, plus a recognized key role of the physical activity and conviviality in the meal consumption.

Particularly, in the internal and mountainous part of the Abruzzo region, it has been found that the local citizens followed/follows a typical "dietary practice" called "sdijuno", which in local dialect means "to break the fasting of the night". In fact, "sdijuno" was the first abundant meal of the day - usually at mid-morning, based on the local vegetable-based foods - following the previous frugal dinner and breakfast meals. Thus, it can be hypothesized of 14-16 hours of almost fasting period. This evidence falls into the most recent findings showing the importance to consume meals in the middle part of the day and limiting the caloric intake during evening time, when metabolism tends to decrease according to body circadian rhythm.

Based on these premises, the aim of the present study is to survey the dietary habits of nonagenarians and centenarians of the Abruzzo region - particularly focusing on their adherence to "sdijuno" practice - as well as physical activity and to collect personal data and health status information. Then, it will be investigated whether the adherence to the "sdijuno" dietary practice is relevant among the nonagenarians and centenarians and there is a link between this practice and the longevity of the volunteers. To do this, an ad hoc questionnaire has been set-up and will be administered to register food frequency and meal time, main recipes, physical activity habits, health status.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

200

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

      • Teramo, Italy, 64100
        • University of Teramo - Faculty of Bioscience and Agro-Food and Environmental Technology

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

90 years and older (Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Volunteers borned in the Abruzzo region and living in the Abruzzo region, or spent most of their life in the Abruzzo region.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥ 90 years old
  • Borned and living for most of their life in the Abruzzo region.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Age lower 80 years old.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
Nonagenarians and Centenarians
Nonagenarians and Centenarians borned and living for most of their life in the Abruzzo region.
Administration of an ad hoc questionnaire to register food frequency consumption and meal time, main recipes; phisical activity questionnaire and list of questions concerning the previous and actual health status of participants

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Frequency of intake of food groups
Time Frame: 1 year
Observed information regarding the frequency of the consumption different food groups during subejects' period of youth
1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Moderate or Vigorous Physical Activity Per Week
Time Frame: 1 Week
Self reported practice of moderate or vigorous physical activity per week during subejects' period of youth and old age (minutes-per-week)
1 Week
Mealtime
Time Frame: 1 Day
Self reported information regarding the daily mealtime during subejects' period of youth and old age (hour and minutes of meal eating)
1 Day
Body weight
Time Frame: 1 Day
Self reported body weight (kg)
1 Day
Body height
Time Frame: 1 Day
Self reported body height (m)
1 Day
Body Mass Index (BMI)
Time Frame: 1 Day
Weight and height will be combined to report BMI in kg/m^2
1 Day

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Collaborators

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

January 1, 2019

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2021

Study Completion (Actual)

March 31, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 10, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 8, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

April 12, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 29, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 28, 2023

Last Verified

November 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CenTEnari

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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