The present contribution investigated the relationship between individual height and survival at older ages among conscripts of Villagrande Strisaili: a village of in-land Sardinia. Survival information gathered from Villagrande Longevity Database (VILD) was linked to data collected from military matriculate registers. In this manner individual age at death was related to height measurement at military checks at age 20. A total of 377 conscripts born in the village between 1866 and 1915 that reached 70 years of age and over were selected for analysis. Differential longevity of conscripts at older ages was investigated through the comparison of age-specific mortality rates and life expectancy estimates. It emerged that short conscripts in general record higher survival estimates than their tall peers, which were expected to live at 70 years two years less than short ones. However, at more extreme ages (after 90 years old), taller conscripts recorded a reduced risk of death, meaning that specific age-related diseases might play a role in this change in mortality rates.
Height and survival at older ages: the case of Villagrande Strisaili conscripts, 1866-1915
SALARIS, LUISA
2007-01-01
Abstract
The present contribution investigated the relationship between individual height and survival at older ages among conscripts of Villagrande Strisaili: a village of in-land Sardinia. Survival information gathered from Villagrande Longevity Database (VILD) was linked to data collected from military matriculate registers. In this manner individual age at death was related to height measurement at military checks at age 20. A total of 377 conscripts born in the village between 1866 and 1915 that reached 70 years of age and over were selected for analysis. Differential longevity of conscripts at older ages was investigated through the comparison of age-specific mortality rates and life expectancy estimates. It emerged that short conscripts in general record higher survival estimates than their tall peers, which were expected to live at 70 years two years less than short ones. However, at more extreme ages (after 90 years old), taller conscripts recorded a reduced risk of death, meaning that specific age-related diseases might play a role in this change in mortality rates.
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