Aging Societies – Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies

April 8, 2021

If this is to be the “Decade of Healthy Ageing,” treatments and support for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRDs) need to scale up now

The United Nations has declared that we are now in the “UN Decade of Healthy Ageing” (2021-2030) as a way to address the challenges that accompany increasing global life expectancy. Two researchers affiliated with the Harvard Pop Center (David Bloom and Benjamin Seligman) are among the authors of this piece published on voxeu.org that cites the rapidly developed COVID-19 vaccine as proof that complex health crises can be successfully tackled.…

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March 1, 2019

Study projections indicate that middle-income countries will need to significantly expand health care services to keep up with aging population

Recent Harvard Bell Fellow Nikkil Sudharsanan, PhD, and a colleague have authored a paper published in the journal Hypertension that estimates that by 2050 demographic changes alone will increase the number of adults in Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico and South Africa who will be in need of hypertension care by 319.7 million.

February 6, 2019

In China, the “oldest-old” urban dwellers are experiencing less disability and, for some, longer life expectancy

Collin F. Payne, PhD, a fellow in a recent cohort of our Bell Postdoctoral Fellows, is an author on a paper published in BMC Medicine that examines both life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy among those cohorts born 1919–1928 and 1909–1918 in China. The findings could be instrumental in helping shape policy and programs in this country, which is one of the most rapidly aging societies in the world. Photo: Rod…

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September 4, 2018

How can we evaluate how well a country is handling the demograhic shift to becoming an aging society?

A team of researchers, including collaborator and Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman, PhD, has developed a multidimensional index that measures how well a country is handling the transition to having an increasingly larger proportion of older adults by evaluating status across five domains. The results, published in PNAS, indicate that while the U.S. scored well in the areas of productivity and engagement, the country ranked near the bottom in equity.…

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July 28, 2017

In South Africa, when HIV testing is not always possible, is self-reported status a viable, reliable alternative?

An older South African man and a healthcare worker do an intake sitting outside in rural South Africa

A team of researchers affiliated with the Harvard Pop Center and the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) has found that the self-reported HIV status of older adults was accurate enough that it could be considered as a routine first step to establish HIV status when testing is not possible. The study was published in JIAS (Journal of the International Aids…

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October 13, 2016

HAALSI website focuses on health of aging population of South African community

In Sub-Saharan Africa, the overall gains in life expectancy due to socioeconomic and health improvements—as well as the scale-up of antiretroviral treatment (ART)—have meant that adults are now experiencing the onset of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases at unforeseen levels, with projections of rates to more than double over the next 20 years. Funded by a grant from the National Institute on Aging, the HAALSI (Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal…

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October 7, 2016

How can U.S. get ready for its aging population?

An expert paper, commissioned by The National Academy of Medicine’s Vital Directions for Health and Health Care Initiative and co-authored by Lisa Berkman, tackles this key topic as part of a series focused on 19 priority focal areas for U.S. health policy.

September 30, 2016

HIV prevention initiatives needed targeting those 40 years & older in rural South Africa

A study published in JAIDS (Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes) by a team of HAALSI (Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa) researchers examines whether older adults in rural South Africa have unmet needs for HIV prevention.

February 5, 2016

Lisa Berkman to discuss aging workforce on Harvard Chan School webcast The Forum

On Thursday, February 11 from 12:30 to 1:30 ET, Lisa Berkman, Director of the Harvard Pop Center, will discuss the challenges (and benefits) of an aging workforce as a panel member on The Forum, a live webcast at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Tune in to the live webcast, or watch the on-demand video later.

December 17, 2015

Lisa Berkman on challenges of aging societies at Harvard’s inaugural TEDx event

Harvard Pop Center Director Lisa Berkman, PhD, was a fitting speaker to kick off Harvard’s first TEDx event which explored the challenges posed as populations, influenced by both declining birth and death rates, change shape. Learn more in this Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s news item, and watch the video.