Module
Research in Epidemiology of Ageing: a lifecourse approach
Teaching conducted in English
This module will highlight the importance of a life course approach in health research on ageing. The demographic transition, due to increased life expectancy, poses the challenge of preserving individuals’ health and independence for as long as possible.
This module will introduce different perspectives on the epidemiology of ageing:
- Increased life expectancy and its impact on the health and quality of life of older people;
- Physical functioning and the concept of frailty;
- Cognitive functioning, Alzheimer‘s disease and other neurocognitive disorders;
- Disability and the concept of multimorbidity.
The module will present tools for measuring these different concepts in population cohorts through interactive exercises, as well as evidence from the literature on the risk factors associated with these issues of ageing. Emphasis will be placed on the importance of measuring both risk factors and markers of these health conditions from mid-life onwards. At the end of each session, a critical review of an article will be conducted to discuss potential biases that may affect studies on ageing.
Prerequisites: knowledge of epidemiology or public health.
Practical information
Teachings
Dates
Prices
Programme
Day 1
- Ageing population, healthy ageing and the importance of a life-course approach
- Epidemiology of cognitive ageing
Day 2
- Epidemiology of chronic diseases and multimorbidity
- Epidemiology of frailty and disability
Speakers
Séverine Sabia
Séverine Sabia is a research director at INSERM in epidemiology. She completed her postdoctoral studies between 2010 and 2014 at University College London (UCL) and was recruited by INSERM in 2015. Her main research focuses on the role of health behaviours in health outcomes during ageing, particularly dementia, disability and frailty. She set up the accelerometry study in the Whitehall II cohort in 2012 and has since led methodological research projects on the analysis of accelerometry data and others on the role of objectively measured physical activity and sleep on health during ageing. This has led to a project on circadian rhythm and dementia using data from a general population,
the Whitehall II cohort, and from patients in memory centres, the CIRCAME cohort.
Céline Ben Hassen
Céline Ben Hassen is a biologist, biostatistician and postdoctoral researcher. After completing a PhD in biology, she obtained a master’s degree in biostatistics and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Public Health, Epidemiology and Development (ISPED) in Bordeaux in 2020. She joined the EpiAgeing–CRESS team in 2021. Her research focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, with an approach based on the study of trajectories and associations throughout the lifespan. She is working on identifying risk factors and constructing a dementia risk score.
Benjamin Landré
Benjamin Landré is a postdoctoral researcher in epidemiology. He joined the CRESS EpiAgeing team in 2020 as a postdoctoral researcher. His main research interest is understanding the factors that contribute throughout life to the onset of limitations in activities of daily living in older people. His research focuses on physical function trajectories, understanding the factors contributing to their heterogeneity, such as frailty or multimorbidity, and identifying early markers of accelerated ageing.