What is the key to a long and happy life? Money, fame or something else? There are many factors, including social factors, that contribute to an extended human lifespan.  Interesting observations came from an important study that took place not too long ago in a town in Eastern Pennsylvania – Roseto. The town, with a population of around 1,600, was settled by immigrants from southern Italy in the 1880s. 

The study found striking differences in mortality from myocardial infarction (commonly known as a heart attack) between Rosetans – the homogeneous Italian-American community in Pennsylvania, the United States – and other nearby towns between 1955 and 1965. These differences gradually disappeared as they became more "Americanised."