Background: The presence of major cardiovascular risk factors was investigated in a group of centenarians.
Methods: The following risk factors: sex, smoking, overweight, diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia were analysed in 93 centenarians and compared with data obtained from 90 individuals age 40-60 years.
Results: Smoking, overweight and hypercholesterolemia were found statistically more often in a younger population, whereas hypertension was diagnosed more frequently in centenarians. No or one risk factor were found in 55.4% of centenarians and in 14.2% of younger subjects.
Conclusions: Centenarians are characterized by a much better cardiovascular risk profile than middle-aged individuals. This indicates that longevity is related to low cardiovascular risk.