Comparative total mortality in 25 years in Italian and Greek middle aged rural men.

Study Objective: Mortality over 25 years has been low in the Italian and very low in the Greek cohorts of the Seven Countries Study; factors responsible for this particularity were studied in detail.

Participants And Settings: 1712 Italian and 1215 Greek men, aged 40-59 years, cohorts of the Seven Countries Study, representing over 95% of the populations in designated rural areas.

Design: Entry (1960-61) data included age, systolic blood pressure (SBP), smoking habits, total serum cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), arm circumference, vital capacity (VC), and forced expiratory volume in 3/4 seconds (FEV); the same data were obtained 10 years later.

Mechanisms of renal tubular defects in old age.

The mechanisms of renal tubular dysfunction in old age have been examined in twenty-eight clinically healthy elderly subjects without infection, and in fourteen subjects of similar age with laboratory evidence of intrarenal infection. The data were compared with those from thirteen clinically healthy young subjects. Studied were: proximal tubular (Tm(PAH)) and distal tubular (CH2O) activity, minimal and maximal osmolal U/P ratios, maximal osmolal excretion in hydropenia, and GFR levels under standard hydration and under water-loading.