Epidemiology of Aging

Training in this area emphasizes rigorous epidemiological designs to address major methodological challenges in studying aging and age-related conditions.  

Epidemiology of aging focuses on population aging and age-related diseases and health conditions in older adults, with the goal of understanding their causes and burdens, developing preventive strategies, improving health care for older adults, and promoting healthy aging.   

As populations around the world are living longer and the proportion of older adults is rapidly increasing, the study of the epidemiology of aging has become increasingly important for public health, healthcare planning, and policy development. 

Key focus areas include common age-related chronic diseases (e.g.,   neurodegenerative disease, cardiovascular disease and cancer), functional decline and disability, complex health status in older adults (e.g., multimorbidity, frailty, polypharmacy), determinants of healthy aging and longevity, and health services and utilization. 

Highlights from our program include:

• Core courses focus on the epidemiologic aspects of the study of aging, including descriptive and analytical epidemiologic methods to examine health conditions in older adults; major age-related diseases and their determinants; special issues related to frailty, and emerging topics in the field.  
• Primary faculty conduct research on issues such as cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, stroke, Parkinson’s disease, depression, musculoskeletal disorders, frailty, and successful aging, notably through several Harvard-based large prospective cohorts and close national and international collaborations.
• Faculty members contributing to teaching, mentoring, and research in this field are drawn from the highly collaborative and multidisciplinary research and healthcare communities at Harvard and in the Boston area, such as Mass General Brigham, the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and VA Boston Healthcare. These resources provide superb research opportunities for students and fellows.  

Learn more about our faculty below: