Life expectancy had seen a constant increase across the globe, both in lower-income countries, as a result of a general reduction in mortality at younger ages, and in high-income nations, mainly due to the rise in life expectancy of the elderly population. Coupled with the falling fertility rates around the world, the increase in life expectancy will lead to a rapid aging of world populations, especially in high-income nations such as those of Europe and North America.
Non-communicable (or chronic) diseases represent the leading cause of morbidity, disability and mortality in Europe; in the elderly population, the main cause of overall mortality is represented by circulatory diseases, followed by cancer and respiratory diseases. Mental and neurological disorders characterized by cognitive impairment, while having a relatively lower impact on mortality than the previously mentioned categories, are responsible for a very high proportion of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in the elderly population.
The main objective of this project is using large-scale cohort studies to develop a novel AI tool for identifying lifetime, environmental and occupational determinants of healthy aging. Existing large-scale cohort data relative to elderly subjects from different European and non-European countries will be combined, updated and analyzed to produce novel evidence, on characteristics related to aging and to aging-related chronic diseases.
