In a significant development for the study of healthy ageing, the Universities of Witwatersrand and Cape Town in South Africa have been awarded a substantial grant of US$27 million from the National Institute on Aging in the United States. This funding will provide critical support for an extensive research project that focuses on studying healthy ageing in South Africa.
The long-term study, conducted in collaboration with Harvard University, has been ongoing since 2013 and aims to investigate the impact of increased life expectancy on South Africa's ageing population. Specifically, the research will delve into chronic non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular and metabolic disorders, as well as dementia.
Led by Lisa Berkman, Thomas D. Cabot Professor of Public Policy and of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Director of HCPDS, and Thomas Gaziano, Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, the initiative, known as the Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study in South Africa (HAALSI), is a collaborative effort aimed at addressing the challenges associated with healthy ageing in the country.
Stephen Tollman from the University of Witwatersrand and Murray Leibbrandt from the University of Cape Town will join Berkman and Gaziano for the launch of the HAALSI national survey. The research team intends to work closely with policymakers and public health researchers in South Africa to gain insights into healthy ageing and develop strategies to tackle associated health issues.
By combining specific data about ageing in South Africa with information from global ageing studies, such as the Health and Retirement Study, the HAALSI project offers a unique opportunity to compare the biological, social, and economic factors influencing chronic diseases and their effects on functional and health outcomes in ageing populations worldwide. This comparative approach will help shed light on health inequities shaped by social and economic factors.
The newly funded phase of the HAALSI study will expand its focus to include cognitive ageing and dementia. The research team plans to conduct in-depth cognitive assessments on a sub-sample of HAALSI participants using the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP). The resulting data will not only provide valuable insights into ageing in a region where it is not well understood but also contribute to the global understanding of dementia and ageing when harmonized with other relevant studies.
This substantial grant not only provides crucial funding for the research but also fosters a collaborative environment that allows for an in-depth exploration of the changing landscape of healthy ageing in Africa. The findings and insights derived from this study will contribute to policy development and shape interventions aimed at promoting the well-being of ageing populations, not only in South Africa but also worldwide. The outcomes have the potential to drive significant advancements in the field of healthy ageing and have a lasting impact on global healthcare strategies.
Article by RB Correspodent
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