World's oldest siblings living in Sardinia: reports

August 21, 2012 in Health

The Melis siblings on the island of Sardinia are officially the world's oldest with nine brothers and sisters clocking up a total of 818 years between them, Italian newspapers reported on Tuesday.

The oldest sibling, Consolata, is 104 and has nine children, 24 grand-children and 25 great-grandchildren, the reports said, adding that the of the Melis had been recognised as a .

Consolata will turn 105 on Wednesday, the reports said, adding that the Guinness certification followed a seven-year review around the world.

The Melis are from the village of Perdasdefogu in the southeastern corner of the island, which has some of the oldest people in the world.

The next oldest are Claudia (99), Maria (97), Antonio (93), Concetta (91), Adolfo (89), Vitalio (86), Vitalia (81), and Mafalda (78).

Claudia still attends mass every week and Adolfo runs the local bar.

Luca Deiana, a professor of clinical biochemistry at the university of Sassari in Sardinia who has studied some 2,500 on the island since 1996 said the longevity of local inhabitants was due to various factors.

"On the one hand it is about genetics, about inherited longevity... but there is also the bounty of the land and the local fruit, particularly pears and prunes," he was quoted as saying by Corriere della Sera.

He also said strong local family traditions contributed to long life.

(c) 2012 AFP

2 /5 (1 vote)  

Rank 2 /5 (1 vote)
Related Stories
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Aggressive behavior linked specifically to secondhand smoke exposure in childhood

Children who are exposed to secondhand smoke in early childhood are more likely to grow up to physically aggressive and antisocial, regardless of whether they were exposed during pregnancy or their parents have a history ...

Health created 2 hours ago | popularity 1 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Most elite athletes believe doping substances are effective in improving performance

Most elite athletes consider doping substances "are effective" in improving performance, while recognising that they constitute cheating, can endanger health and entail the obvious risk of sanction. At the same time, the ...

Health created 3 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New rice contamination reported in China

Authorities are investigating rice mills in southern China following tests that found almost half of the staple grain in one of the country's largest cities was contaminated with a toxic metal.

Health created 6 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Warning images for cigarette packs do not make a strong enough emotional impact

The warning images Brussels proposes to include on tobacco packages in order to reduce consumption do not make the desired impact on smokers because they only find some of them really unpleasant. So, if the ...

Health created 7 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cancer and birth defects in Iraq: The nuclear legacy

Ten years after the Iraq war of 2003 a team of scientists based in Mosul, northern Iraq, have detected high levels of uranium contamination in soil samples at three sites in the province of Nineveh which, coupled with dramatically ...

Health created 7 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Drugs found to both prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease in mice

Researchers at USC have found that a class of pharmaceuticals can both prevent and treat Alzheimer's Disease in mice.

Genetic variation among patients with pulmonary fibrosis associated with improved survival

Variation in the gene MUC5B among patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis was associated with improved survival, according to a study published online by JAMA. The study is being released early online to coincide with i ...

Genetic risk for obesity found in many Mexican young adults

As many as 35 percent of Mexican young adults may have a genetic predisposition for obesity, said a University of Illinois scientist who conducted a study at the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosί.

Low radiation scans help identify cancer in earliest stages

A study of veterans at high risk for developing lung cancer shows that low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) can be highly effective in helping clinicians spot tiny lung nodules which, in a small number of patients, may indicate ...

Shorter duration steroid therapy may offer similar effectiveness in reducing COPD exacerbations

Among patients with acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) requiring hospital admission, a 5-day glucocorticoid treatment course was non-inferior (not worse than) to a 14-day course with regard ...

Race and gender influence diagnosis of COPD

African-Americans are less likely than whites and women are more likely than men to have had a prior diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) regardless of their current disease severity, according to a new ...