Health New Health & Lifestyle Maps of Europe

[bigsnake49]

My father will be 98 in August. He has had high blood pressure since his 40s and has been maybe 20 lbs overweight since his 40s. His diet has been the typical Greek diet with more vegetables including pasta, bread and potatoes than meat. I think the fact that nothing bothers him and he does not stress about things might be the secret to his longevity.

 

[bigsnake49]

Is the longevity of Italians increasing or decreasing? Can it be attributed to better medical care?

 

[Angela]

Is the longevity of Italians increasing or decreasing? Can it be attributed to better medical care?

I've been wondering about the relative importance of better medical care too. I'm sure it's a factor, but it's definitely not the only factor. Denmark and big parts of Germany have a projected longevity of around 81. Southern Italy, which has worse health care than Northern Italy, is still around 82-83. Northern Italy is around 84, 85.

There does seem to be a slight drop in longevity in some data from 2017, but it's about 3 months, and unfortunately most of the drop stems from decreases in the south. Again, I think that can be attributed in part to a lower standard of living and worse health care.
https://www.thelocal.it/20170411/life-expectancy-in-italy-has-fallen

I personally think that it's probable that if incomes and health care in the south were better, their life expectancy would equal or exceed that of the North, mostly, I think, because their diet falls more within the parameters of the "Mediterranean" diet, and their family units are even stronger and more supportive than what I see in certain parts of the north. The people of my own Emilia Romagna, for example, have a diet very heavy in butter and cheese and consume more meat than the Southerners. They don't call Bologna "La Grassa" or fat for nothing, and yes, with age the people tend to become a bit "portly", although genetics could be a factor too.

Oh, as for the really old, "The number of centenarians, or people that are over the age of 100, has tripled in Italy over the last 15 years."

 

[bigsnake49]

I've been wondering about the relative importance of better medical care too. I'm sure it's a factor, but it's definitely not the only factor. Denmark and big parts of Germany have a projected longevity of around 81. Southern Italy, which has worse health care than Northern Italy, is still around 82-83. Northern Italy is around 84, 85.

There does seem to be a slight drop in longevity in some data from 2017, but it's about 3 months, and unfortunately most of the drop stems from decreases in the south. Again, I think that can be attributed in part to a lower standard of living and worse health care.
https://www.thelocal.it/20170411/life-expectancy-in-italy-has-fallen

I personally think that it's probable that if incomes and health care in the south were better, their life expectancy would equal or exceed that of the North, mostly, I think, because their diet falls more within the parameters of the "Mediterranean" diet, and their family units are even stronger and more supportive than what I see in certain parts of the north. The people of my own Emilia Romagna, for example, have a diet very heavy in butter and cheese and consume more meat than the Southerners. They don't call Bologna "La Grassa" or fat for nothing, and yes, with age the people tend to become a bit "portly", although genetics could be a factor too.

Oh, as for the really old, "The number of centenarians, or people that are over the age of 100, has tripled in Italy over the last 15 years."

The reason I am asking is that in the cities of the North, an ambulance is 15-20 minutes away and the hospital also pretty close. In the mountains of Sicily or Calabria it might be farther away. If you're having a heart attack those 10-15 minutes it might be the difference between life and death.

 

[Angela]

The reason I am asking is that in the cities of the North, an ambulance is 15-20 minutes away and the hospital also pretty close. In the mountains of Sicily or Calabria it might be farther away. If you're having a heart attack those 10-15 minutes it might be the difference between life and death.

Distance from health care does matter, but I don't know if there's much of a difference between the percentage of people living in remote mountain areas in the north versus the south. We have the Apennines too, and then there's the Alps, of course.

Plus, in a lot of places in both areas the small, remote villages are virtually empty of people. The only signs of life in most of those villages is during the summer when people return from wherever they've settled for work. That's true of my father's and my mother's villages (well, frazione, in the case of my mother), and those of my husband's family as well. That's why mayors in both the north and the south started a program a couple of years ago to sell houses in those villages for one dollar or some other minimal amount.

It's a tragedy, imo, but there it is.

Also, I noticed that Campania has some pretty bad numbers, relatively speaking. How much of that might be due to the fact that the Camorra was dumping toxic waste there, and other atrocities? They should all get the death penalty; if anyone deserves it, they do.

I don't think it's anything "genetic" despite the genetic cline in Italy, because close to half the population in certain northern cities like Torino and Milano is of southern Italian origin. It's different outside of those cities, but still, if genetics were the cause you'd see an impact at least in those areas, I would think.