Amerindian ancestry and extended longevity in Nicoya, Costa Rica

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this study was to address the hypothesis that Amerindian ancestry is associated with extended longevity in the admixed population of Nicoya, Costa Rica. The Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica has been considered a "longevity island," particularly for males. Methods:We estimated Amerindian ancestry using 464 ancestral informative markers in 20 old Nicoyans aged 99 years, and 20 younger Nicoyans (60-65 years). We used logistic regression to estimate odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of the association of Amerindian ancestry and longevity.Results: Older Nicoyans had higher Amerindian ancestry compared to younger Nicoyans (43.3% vs 36.0%, P 5 .04). Each 10% increase of Amerindian ancestry was associated with more than twice the odds of being long-lived (OR 5 2.32, 95% CI 5 1.03-5.25).Conclusions and Implications: To our knowledge, this is the first time that ancestry is implicated as a likely determinant of extended longevity. Amerindian-specific alleles may protect against early mortality. The identification of these protective alleles should be the focus of future studies.

High‐resolution HLA allele and haplotype frequencies in majority and minority populations of Costa Rica and Nicaragua: Differential admixture proportions in neighboring countries

“…The use of this knowledge applied to fous‐locus haplotypes and coupled with assessment of B~C linkages, gives robustness to our strategy for admixture proportion approximation. Indeed, our admixture proportion estimations resemble the major patterns obtained with other genetic markers for the Central Valley of Costa Rica, Guanacaste, and Nicaragua . Another study using HLA‐based admixture proportion estimation applied to Mexican Mestizos also showed congruent results between HLA‐B allele frequency‐based and non‐HLA short tandem repeat‐based admixture estimates .…”

Dietary Habits, Anthropometric Features and Daily Performance in Two Independent Long-Lived Populations from Nicoya peninsula (Costa Rica) and Ogliastra (Sardinia)

“…The social profile detected in the population of Nicoya was in agreement with a report by Madrigal-Leer et al [ 21 ] and somewhat similar for the Ogliastra community [ 5 ]. Both are poor rural populations characterized by a remarkable history of long-standing isolation, not only in geographical terms but also genetic and cultural terms, which have been well documented in the literature (for Nicoya see [ 36 , 37 ], for Ogliastra, see [ 38 ]), although a discussion on the potential relationship between their genetic makeup and longevity is beyond the scope of this work. Although both areas are considered low-income regions compared to the rest of their respective countries, there is a difference of –56% in the average per capita income between Nicoya and Ogliastra.…”

The Metabolization Profile of the CYP2D6 Gene in Amerindian Populations: A Review

“…In 2011, the population of Costa Rica was 4,301,712. This population is the result of admixture initiated during colonial times, which has blended Mesoamerican and European (primarily Spanish) genes with those from sub-Saharan African [17]. Approximately 2% of this population self-identified as Amerindian, distributed in different provinces all around the country, with distinct dialects and customs, including some individuals that do not belong to a tribe, but live in rural or urban areas [18].…”