Answers to your questions from Gianni Pes, doctor and longevity researcher:
"How old is the oldest person living in Nicoya, Costa Rica?"
Answer from Gianni: "The oldest person living in the Nicoya region is Candida Jimenez Jimenez. She was born on July 30, 1902 in Nicoya Center and now she lives in Rio Grande, Nicoya."
"Does gender has anything to do with longevity?"
Answer from Gianni: "Usually in developed countries women live longer than men. There is a gender gap in life expectancy that gives rise to a sex ratio at age 100
varying between 1:5 and 1:7 in favor of women. The causes of this gender gap
are still unknown but it may be linked to an advantage for women or a
disadvantage for men. It has been suggested that both genetic and lifestyle
factors may play a role. As for genetics, there is some evidence of the role
played by genetic variants that are transmitted in a sex-dependent manner
(such as mitochondrial DNA or X chromosome). Also the role of some hormones,
such as estrogens, cannot be excluded as there is evidence that they
maintain tissue health and may also prevent the cognitive decline that
sometimes comes with aging. Alternatively, it is possible that even some
environmental or cultural factors determine a higher mortality in older men as compared to women."
"How has the community of Nicoya changed over the last hundred years?"
Answer from Gianni: "Compared to Costa Rica as a whole, the population living in the Nicoya peninsula underwent a huge transformation in the past fifty years. However, some traditions still persist here more than elsewhere in Costa Rica. Even though most of the homes in this rural area now have access to electricity
and a piped water supply, the rural population of Nicoya still exists on
organic agricultural foods and follows a diet that is not at all like the
US or European situation. Moreover, the level of daily physical exercise in
this rural population in the past seems to have been higher than the average
in Costa Rica."
If you have a question for the team or about the Quest, email us at
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We'll add some of the questions and answers we receive in this new feature. Although we appreciate all the questions we receive, we are sorry that we can only post a sampling.
