Patterns in the Population – how epidemiology can answer key questions on healthy ageing
Talk by Professor Daniel Davis – UCL.
Healthy ageing is a universal aspiration. Compression of morbidity means living longer while staying healthy for most of one’s life, with a minimum time toward the end spent in ill health and disability. Is there evidence this is happening in the UK? Or are health inequalities widening such that good outcomes are only available to a few?
This talk will explore some of the demographic trends that underpin health in later life. Focusing on UK data, this talk highlights population studies examining health across the life course. Changes in socioeconomic and geographic patterns all have an impact. At the same time, advances in our knowledge of the biology of ageing could yield insights into possible future public health interventions.
Professor Daniel Davis is a clinical academic in geriatric medicine and epidemiology at University College London (UCL). His research focuses on the health and cognitive outcomes of ageing populations, with a particular interest in how acute medical events, such as delirium, affect long-term trajectories of brain health. He previously held a senior research role at the MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, and leads cohort studies including the Delirium and Population Health Informatics Cohort (DELPHIC) and the Cognitive Function and Ageing Studies (CFAS).