Aging LMICs Research Network
China, India, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, Myanmar, South Africa, Malawi, Kenya, Egypt, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Iran, Kyrgyzstan
Embedded Files
Research Agenda Associated to PARC's Signature Themes
Global Aging and Health
Studies the sociocultural, economic, and environmental circumstances impacting the well-being of older individuals worldwide. Analyzes physical, mental, and cognitive aging trajectories in diverse populations across different socioeconomic development levels.
Health Disparities in Aging
Includes the analysis of socioeconomic, racial/ethnic, nativity, geographic, and gender inequalities in health and mortality, including period/cohort risks and their underlying social/biological causes. Focuses on variations in health outcomes by nativity and place of residence, and the social and biological mechanisms behind these disparities.
Early-Life Conditions and Older Adult Health, Behavior and Well-Being
Explores early developmental circumstances such as nutrition, infectious disease, social support, education, and gene-environment interactions that shape aging. Uses a life-course framework, linking early life decisions to later life health, behavior, and well-being.
Technovation - Information technology and people: Creating a better society for the ageing population (Deadline: March 20, 2026)
ILR Review - CALL FOR PAPERS - A Special Issue on Organizational Perspectives on an Aging Workforce (Deadline: January 31, 2026)
Gerontological Society of America (GSA) 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting (November 12-15, 2025, Boston, MA)
We invite submissions to a special issue of the ILR Review on the role of organizations in the aging workforce. We seek papers that assess the variety of age-related practices across employers, industries, and countries and assess individual, organizational, or policy outcomes that stem from organizational action regarding older workers. Given the rapid changes in digital technology, we are particularly interested in how implementation of various forms of technology shapes the work experience of older workers. We welcome empirical papers from all disciplines that are based on a strong theoretical framework or contribute to theoretical development in the field. Papers are not restricted to any one methodological approach but must clearly justify the methodology chosen. Interested contributors should first submit an extended abstract (2,000 words) via email to Peter Berg at bergp@msu.edu no later than January 31, 2026. Abstracts will be reviewed for participation in a virtual workshop in March 2026 before submission of full papers to the ILR Review special issue is considered.
International Journal of Population Data Science - Call for Papers - Focus: Linked Administrative Education and Health Data. Scoping International Collaborations (Deadline: September 30, 2025)
JMIR Aging - Call for Papers for New Theme Issue on Social and Cultural Drivers of Health in Aging Populations (Deadline: September 30, 2025)
2026 Annual Meeting of the Swiss Anthropological Association (SAA)：“Care, Maintenance, Decay: Ways of attending to vulnerability in a transforming world” (Deadline: September 15, 2025)
Building a Sustainable and Resilient Future: Addressing Demographic Challenges, Health and Gender Disparities, and Economic Inequality (Deadline: September 15, 2025)
Book Recommendations
Global Perspectives on Aging Series
Dempsey, C. G. (2025). A view from life’s edge: Discovering what really matters with older women across the globe. Rutgers University Press.
Huang, C. (2025). Dancing for their lives: The pursuit of meaningful aging in urban China. Rutgers University Press.
Golomski, C. (2024). God’s waiting room: Racial reckoning at life’s end. Rutgers University Press.
Douglas, C., & Whitehouse, A. (2024). More-than-human aging: Animals, robots, and care in later life. Rutgers University Press.
Amrith, M., Sakti, V. K., & Sampaio, D. (Eds.). (2023). Aspiring in later life: Movements across time, space, and generations. Rutgers University Press.
Coe, C. (2021). Changes in care: Aging, migration, and social class in West Africa. Rutgers University Press.
George, M. (2021). Aging in a changing world: Older New Zealanders and contemporary multiculturalism. Rutgers University Press.
Corwin, A. I. (2021). Embracing age: How Catholic nuns became models of aging well. Rutgers University Press.
Keimig, R. K. (2021). Growing old in a new China: Transitions in elder care. Rutgers University Press.
Robbins, J. C. (2020). Aging nationally in contemporary Poland: Memory, kinship, and personhood. Rutgers University Press.
Gamburd, M. R. (2020). Linked lives: Elder care, migration, and kinship in Sri Lanka. Rutgers University Press.
Tsuji, Y. (2020). Through Japanese eyes: Thirty years of studying aging in America. Rutgers University Press.
Lem, E. (2020). Gray matters: Finding meaning in the stories of later life. Rutgers University Press.
Gullette, M. M. (2017). Ending ageism, or how not to shoot old people. Rutgers University Press.
Lamb, S. (Ed.). (2017). Successful aging as a contemporary obsession: Global perspectives. Rutgers University Press.
Dossa, P., & Coe, C. (Eds.). (2017). Transnational aging and reconfigurations of kin work. Rutgers University Press.
Danely, J. (2015). Aging and loss: Mourning and maturity in contemporary Japan. Rutgers University Press.
Developing an Agenda for Population Aging and Social Research in LMICs
Identify research priorities related to the impacts of inequality, environmental exposure, and family changes on the health and well-being of older populations in LMICs, with an emphasis on how existing data resources may be leveraged to address these topics.
Discuss how country-specific research in LMICs can create a better understanding of how different social environments and public policies influence health outcomes related to aging; and how findings from country-specific LMIC research may be generalized to other settings, including the United States.
Identify new conceptual, theoretical, methodological, and/or data investments that are needed to move from purely descriptive cross-national analyses to more causal analyses that create a better understanding of how inequality, environmental exposures, and changing family structures impact health and well-being at older ages in LMICs.
Identify data (early-life prospective data or retrospective data from current older cohorts) that may be of interest for examining life-course trajectories of development and aging in LMICs.
References
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2024. Developing an Agenda for Population Aging and Social Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs): Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
Belachew, A., Cherbuin, N., Bagheri, N., & Burns, R. (2024). A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of the Socioeconomic, Lifestyle, and Environmental Factors Associated with Healthy Ageing in Low and Lower-Middle-Income Countries. Journal of Population Ageing, 1-23.
Goodman-Palmer, D., Ferriolli, E., Gordon, A. L., Greig, C., Hirschhorn, L. R., Ogunyemi, A. O., ... & Davies, J. (2023). Health and wellbeing of older people in LMICs: a call for research-informed decision making. The Lancet Global Health, 11(2), e191-e192.
Banerjee, A., Duflo, E., Grela, E., McKelway, M., Schilbach, F., Sharma, G., & Vaidyanathan, G. (2023). Depression and loneliness among the elderly in low-and middle-income countries. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 37(2), 179-202.
Mathews, C. (2024). Population Ageing in Lower-and Middle-income Countries. Celebrating 40 Years of HelpAge International. Journal of Population Ageing, 17(1), 1-4.
McGuire, J., Kaiser, C., & Bach-Mortensen, A. M. (2022). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the impact of cash transfers on subjective well-being and mental health in low-and middle-income countries. Nature Human Behaviour, 6(3), 359-370.
Tan, M. P. (2022). Healthcare for older people in lower and middle income countries. Age and Ageing, 51(4), afac016.
Saenz, J. L., Adar, S. D., Zhang, Y. S., Wilkens, J., Chattopadhyay, A., Lee, J., & Wong, R. (2021). Household use of polluting cooking fuels and late-life cognitive function: A harmonized analysis of India, Mexico, and China. Environment international, 156, 106722.
Seligman, B., Agarwal, A., & Bloom, D. E. (2023). Frailty and socioeconomic stratification in Brazil, India, and China. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 25, 100457.
Irshad, C. V., Dash, U., & Muraleedharan, V. R. (2023). Healthy ageing in low and middle-income countries; a systematic scoping review. Journal of Health Management, 25(2), 208–218.
Etzerodt Laustsen, C. (2022). Involving professionals in research. In the field of ageing and health (Doctoral dissertation, Lund University).
Data Source
The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) began in 1992 as a nationally representative, longitudinal, multidisciplinary survey of individuals over age 50 in the United States. Since then, it has been fielded every 2 years with periodic refresher samples to maintain a nationally representative sample over time. As population aging has progressed in every region of the world, the success of the HRS generated substantial interest in collecting similar data in a similar manner, leading to the development of a number of surveys designed to be comparable with the HRS.
The HRS family of studies share some common characteristics including being population representative of older adults, longitudinal, multidisciplinary, having coordinated survey instruments, enhanced economic data, and integrated biomarkers. All HRS family studies distribute their data to the research community.
References
Lee, J., Phillips, D., Wilkens, J., & Team, G. to G. A. D. (2021). Gateway to Global Aging Data: Resources for Cross-National Comparisons of Family, Social Environment, and Healthy Aging. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(Supplement_1), S5–S16.
Ailshire, J., & Carr, D. (2021). Cross-National Comparisons of Social and Economic Contexts of Aging. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, 76(Supplement_1), S1–S4.
Smith, J. P. (2020). The HRS Around the World Surveys—A Review. Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 18, 100295.
Ailshire, J., & Zhang, Y. (2021). Cross-National Perspectives on Health and Well-Being in Later Life. Innovation in Aging, 5(Supplement_1), 482–482.
Phillips, D. R., & Gyasi, R. M. (2020). Global aging in a comparative context. The Gerontologist, 61(3), 476–477.
Breen, C. F., & Feehan, D. M. (2024). New Data Sources for Demographic Research. Population and Development Review.
Degtiar, I., & Rose, S. (2023). A Review of Generalizability and Transportability. Annual Review of Statistics and Its Application, 10(1), 501–524.
The Biomarker Network
Led by Eileen Crimmins (USC) and Teresa Seeman (UCLA), The Biomarker Network is an inter-disciplinary group of scientists dedicated to improved measurement of biological risk in large population-representative field studies in the U.S. and globally.
Although adult health and ageing is increasingly attracting a substantial amount of attention, no comprehensive and internationally comparable survey data available in India, covering the entire range of topics necessary for understanding the economic, social, psychological, and health aspects of older adults and the aging process. The Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) is designed to fill this gap.
LASI focuses on the health, economic, and social well-being of India's elderly population. The concept of LASI is comparable to the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) in the United States and is appropriately harmonized with other health and retirement studies such as SHARE, ELSA & MHAS, including its sister surveys in Asia. The most recent are the Korean Longitudinal Study on Ageing (KLoSA), the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR), and the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). This comparability allows cross-country comparison of these surveys. Additionally, LASI considers the features that are unique to India, including its institutional and cultural characteristics. The LASI is India’s first and the largest longitudinal ageing survey in the world.
LASI is a national landmark in the scientific research, which facilitates an improved comprehension of India’s adult health problems and population ageing processes. This study provides sufficient statistical information required to test hypotheses in subpopulations of interest. LASI data can improve scientific knowledge and enlighten policymakers in India as well as around the world. The internationally harmonized data are useful for cross-national comparative research studies on aging.
The LASI is a full-scale national survey of scientific investigation of the health, economic, and social determinants and consequences of population aging in India. The LASI is a nationally representative survey over 73,000 older adults age 45 and above across all states and union territories of India. LASI is envisioned to be conducted every 5 years for the next 25 years. It is well-positioned to evaluate the effect of changing policies on the behavioural outcomes in India. The Wave 1 survey was conducted in 2017-18 and wave 2 survey will be undertaken in 2024-25 by the International Institute for population Sciences (IIPS).
References
Perianayagam, A., Bloom, D., Lee, J., Parasuraman, S., Sekher, T. V., Mohanty, S. K., Chattopadhyay, A., Govil, D., Pedgaonkar, S., Gupta, S., Agarwal, A., Posture, A., Weerman, A., & Pramanik, S. (2022). Cohort Profile: The Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI). International Journal of Epidemiology, 51(4), e167–e176.
Arokiasamy, P., Bloom, D., Lee, J., Feeney, K., & Ozolins, M. (2012). Longitudinal Aging Study in India: Vision, design, implementation, and preliminary findings. In J. Smith & M. Majmundar (Eds.), Aging in Asia: Findings from New and Emerging Data Initiatives. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
The Indian Study of Healthy Ageing (ISHA) is a prospective blood-based cohort study of 220,000 men and women recruited from towns and villages around Barshi in Maharashtra state between 2015 and 2019. The study’s principal investigator is Dr Rajesh Dikshit from the Centre for Cancer Epidemiology, based at the Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai.
ISHA was conceived, developed and is coordinated by the Centre for Cancer Epidemiology, and was established with the aim of examining environmental and genetic causes of cancer and other non-communicable diseases in a population with low baseline risk. The study also seeks to understand the relevance for disease risks of India’s recent and ongoing transitions in major lifestyle factors.
At recruitment, laptop-based questionnaires collect information on participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle factors (including tobacco smoking and chewing, alcohol drinking, diet and physical activity), personal and family medical history, sleep and mood. Physical measurements are recorded (including blood pressure and anthropometric measurements, pulmonary function tests and hand grip strength), nail clippings are collected (for assessment of exposure to pesticides) and blood samples are taken for long-term storage. Periodic resurveys will provide further enhancement of data collection, and contribute to understanding of India’s ongoing rapid development.
Participant follow-up for cause-specific morbidity and mortality is through active follow-up at three-yearly intervals and linkage to health-related datasets for death (supplemented by verbal autopsy), cancer and hospitalisation.
References
Mhatre, S. S., Bragg, F., Panse, N., Judge, P. K., Manjrekar, A., Burrett, J. A., Patil, S., Davey Smith, G., Kotkar, L., Relton, C. L., Doibale, P., Gadhave, B., Chaturvedi, P., Sherliker, P., Jha, P., Lewington, S., & Dikshit, R. (2024). Cohort profile: Indian study of healthy ageing (ISHA-barshi). International Journal of Epidemiology, 53(4), dyae079.
The Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program is a well-established initiative that provides high-quality data on population, health, and nutrition across developing countries. DHS surveys typically collect information on a range of topics, including fertility, mortality, family planning, reproductive health, maternal and child health, nutrition, and other indicators that are critical for policy development.
For India, the DHS data is available through the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), which is India's counterpart to the DHS program. The NFHS is conducted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) in collaboration with ICF International (which manages the DHS program globally).
References
The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSI-Brazil) collects data on a nationally representative sample of community-dwelling adults aged 50 years or older. The first wave of ELSI-Brazil was conducted in 2015-16 and the second wave in 2019-21. The third wave is planned to occur in 2023. The core cross-sectional data of the first two waves are available on this homepage for the research community after registration.
References
Lima-Costa, M. F., de Melo Mambrini, J. V., Bof de Andrade, F., de Souza, J., Paulo Roberto Borges, de Vasconcellos, M. T. L., Neri, A. L., Castro-Costa, E., Macinko, J., & de Oliveira, C. (2022). Cohort Profile: The Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSI-Brazil). International Journal of Epidemiology, 52(1), e57–e65.
Lima-Costa, M. F., de Andrade, F. B., Souza, P. R. B. D., Neri, A. L., Duarte, Y. A. D. O., Castro-Costa, E., & de Oliveira, C. (2018). The Brazilian longitudinal study of aging (ELSI-Brazil): objectives and design. American Journal of Epidemiology, 187(7), 1345-1353.
The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS) is a national longitudinal study of adults 50 years and older in Mexico. The baseline survey, with national and urban/rural representation of adults born in 1951 or earlier, was conducted in 2001 with follow-up interviews in 2003, 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2021. The MHAS (Mexican Health and Aging Study) is partly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging (grant number NIH R01AG018016) in the United States and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI) in Mexico.
References
Wong, R., Michaels-Obregon, A., & Palloni, A. (2015). Cohort Profile: The Mexican Health and Aging Study (MHAS). International Journal of Epidemiology, 46(2), e2–e2.
Samper-Ternent, R., Zazueta-Borboa, J. D., Michaels-Obregon, A., Reyes-Dumeyer, D., Barral, S., Tosto, G., & Wong, R. (2024). Mexican health and aging study biomarker and genetic data profile. The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 80(1), glae270.
Colombian Study of Aging (COSA)
The Colombian Study of Aging (COSA) is a collaborative research initiative led by the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana in Bogotá and the University of Southern California, designed to study the aging process among older adults in Colombia. As one of the first comprehensive surveys of its kind in the country, COSA examines how social, economic, health, and environmental factors—such as displacement, informal employment, and community networks—affect aging and wellbeing. The study integrates detailed survey data with biological and physiological measures and is harmonized with major international aging studies to enable cross-country comparisons. By focusing on a rapidly aging population in a middle-income, post-conflict context, COSA seeks to generate evidence that can inform policies and improve health and social outcomes for older Colombians.
References
MARS is a longitudinal study of people aged 40 and older, living in private households in Malaysia. Its main goal is to provide a data resource on aging and retirement for research and policy-making that is comparable to the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR). The survey elicits information about demographics, family support, health, healthcare utilization, cognition, employment, income and consumption, housing, and assets.
References
MELoR, in short, is a national research study conducted by University of Malaya to gain insight into the present issues that our elderly population face so the Government and relevant agencies can plan for a better future for our elderly community. MELoR was set up to assist in developing an effective action plan in preparation for the escalating number of our elderly population.
References
The Indonesia Longitudinal Aging Survey (ILAS) 2023 was conducted with the objectives of monitoring trends related to the aging population in Indonesia, instituting data-driven reforms to improve health and social security systems for older people, and assessing and monitoring the policy objectives and target indicators outlined in Presidential Regulation No. 88 of 2021 on the National Strategy for Aging. ILAS 2023 is a crucial milestone in the Indonesia’s ongoing effort towards broadening and deepening the knowledge base to better understand the process and consequences of population aging and the state of well-being of older persons. ILAS is expected to play a critical role in informing future social development policies in Indonesia. We invite policymakers, scholars, and other stakeholders to make active use of the ILAS dataset to meet these objectives.
References
The Health, Aging, and Retirement in Thailand (HART) project is a sister study of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) at the Institute for Social Research (ISR), University of Michigan (National Institute on Aging 2007) (See “Health and Retirement Study”). Since 2009, HART has been conducted through the collaborative efforts of researchers and faculty members from the Research Center, School of Applied Statistics, School of Development Economics, and School of Social Development, Intelligence and Information Center (NIDA IIC) under the Center for Aging Society Research (CASR), National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA). There were two pilot HART surveys in 2009 and 2011 with research grants from the National Research Commission of Thailand (NRCT) and the Commission of the Higher Education (CHE), respectively. The baseline (Wave 1) national HART project began in 2014 and Wave 2 began in 2016. Both projects were supported by research grants from NRCT. The data collected from the national surveys in 2015 (Wave 1), 2017 (Wave 2) and 2021 (Wave 3) are maintained in the data archive at the NIDA Intelligence and Information Center (NIDA IIC).
The primary objective of the HART project is to create a national longitudinal and household panel dataset on aging in Thailand that can be harmonized with the HRS (and its sister studies). In doing so, the HART data support research on the aging among Thai older adults from a multidisciplinary perspective and for advancing public policy to improve the quality of life and well-being of older adults in Thailand.
References
Anantanasuwong, D., Theerawanviwat, D., & Siripanich, P. (2019). Panel survey and study on health and aging, and retirement in Thailand. Encyclopedia of gerontology and population aging. Cham: Springer.
The VHAS is comprised of an international team of social science and health science researchers from North America and Asia. VHAS also engages and trains a team of graduate and undergraduate students in the U.S., Canada, Singapore and Vietnam. In addition to the named team members below, the VHAS recognizes the contribution of a team of 17 interviewers from the Fila-Bavi DSS and Institute of Family and Gender Studies, Vietnam, and several highly skilled biomarker data collection technicians from the Hanoi Medical University and the local commune health centers in our data collection sites.
Resources
Korinek, K., Teerawichitchainan, B., Zimmer, Z., Brindle, E., Nguyen, T. K. C., Nguyen, H. M., & Tran, K. T. (2019). Design and measurement in a study of war exposure, health, and aging: protocol for the Vietnam health and aging study. BMC public health, 19(1), 1-11.
The Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in Viet Nam (LSAHV) is the first multi-actor longitudinal study on ageing in Viet Nam with information collected from older Vietnamese people, their current and potential caregivers, and adult children. The 2018 baseline data provides comprehensive information on the health, economic status, and overall well-being of a nationally representative sample of older Vietnamese people aged 60 and above. These data will be a valuable resource for the crafting of evidence- based policies.
LSAHV is designed to (1) investigate the health status and well-being, as well as their correlates, of Vietnamese people aged 60 years and above; and (2) assess the determinants of health status and transitions in health status and overall well-being. The study is part of a comparative study of Viet Nam and the Philippines. LSAHV is funded by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia and implemented by the Institute of Population, Health and Development in Ha Noi.
References
The Longitudinal Study of Ageing and Health in the Philippines (LSAHP) is the first multi-actor longitudinal study on ageing in the Philippines with information coming from older Filipinos, their caregivers, and adult children. The 2018 baseline data provides comprehensive information on the health, economic status, and overall well-being of a nationally representative sample of older Filipinos aged 60 and older. These data will be a valuable resource for the crafting of evidence-based policies and programmes for this sector of the population.
LSAHP is designed to (1) investigate the health status and well-being, as well as their correlates, of Filipinos aged 60 years and over; and (2) assess the determinants of health status and transitions in health status and overall well-being. The study is part of a comparative study of the Philippines and Viet Nam. LSAHP is funded by the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia and implemented by the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, Inc.
References:
Cruz, G. T. C. (2025). Ageing and health in the Philippines: Wave 2 longitudinal study. Economic Research Institute for ASEAN & East Asia.
Cruz, G.T., C.J.P. Cruz and Y. Saito (eds.) (2019), Ageing and Health in the Philipines. Jakarta: Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA).
Healthy and Active Ageing in Myanmar (JAGES in Myanmar 2018)
As Myanmar undergoes rapid demographic transition, the proportion of older adults in the population is steadily increasing. This shift highlights the growing need to address the health, well-being, and social inclusion of the elderly. In response, the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study (JAGES) partnered with local stakeholders to conduct the JAGES in Myanmar 2018 survey—marking the first international expansion of the JAGES project.
The 2018 study aimed to assess the social and health conditions of older adults in urban and rural areas of Myanmar. Drawing from the methodology of the original JAGES in Japan, the survey focused on various aspects of ageing, including physical health, mental well-being, social participation, income security, and access to care services. It placed particular emphasis on social determinants of health and the role of community engagement in promoting healthy and active ageing.
Preliminary findings from the survey underscored the importance of social connections, access to healthcare, and supportive environments in maintaining functional ability among older persons. The results serve as a valuable baseline for policymakers and researchers aiming to promote age-friendly policies and interventions in Myanmar.
The JAGES in Myanmar 2018 project represents a key step towards building evidence-based strategies for active ageing in low- and middle-income countries.
References
Win, H. H., Nyunt, T. W., Lwin, K. T., Zin, P. E., Nozaki, I., Bo, T. Z., Sasaki, Y., Takagi, D., Nagamine, Y., & Shobugawa, Y. (2020). Cohort profile: Healthy and active ageing in Myanmar (JAGES in Myanmar 2018): A prospective population-based cohort study of the long-term care risks and health status of older adults in Myanmar. BMJ Open, 10(10).
Like many low- and middle-income countries, South Africa has experienced complex demographic and epidemiologic transitions in the last few decades, with uneven declines in mortality related to infectious (primarily HIV-related) and non-communicable diseases. Many adults in South Africa are now surviving to older ages and developing multiple chronic diseases. Of these diseases, some of the least understood are related to dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. By 2050, more than 75% of global dementia cases are projected to occur in low- and middle-income countries, yet to date, little is understood about the nature of aging in the region, and the biological, social, and economic factors that shape patterns of dementia risk and resilience.
The Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, in partnership with the MRC/Wits Rural Public Health and Health Transitions Research Unit (Agincourt) of the University of the Witwatersrand were awarded a P01 grant in 2013 from the National Institute on Aging to study the drivers and consequences of HIV and non-communicable diseases in an aging population in Agincourt, South Africa. The resulting study was called Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI). From 2014–2015, a first wave of interview and biomarker data were collected from a sample of men and women aged 40 and older in Agincourt. The grant was renewed in 2017 for a five-year period, and two additional waves of data collection took place in 2018 and 2021.
In 2023, the study investigators received renewed funding through 2028 from the National Institute on Aging, allowing the project to expand to the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Studies in South Africa (HAALSA) family of studies. HAALSA is conducted at several levels in South Africa:
HAALSA HARPS: Nationally representative survey (Health, Aging and Retirement Panel Study)
HAALSA SAPRIN: HAALSA survey administered at SAPRIN nodes
HAALSA Indepth: Community cohort in Agincourt (HAALSI)
This larger next phase of HAALSA includes the continuation of the decade-long community cohort study in Agincourt (HAALSA Indepth) for the 4th and 5th waves of data collection, while also expanding to conduct the first wave of a longitudinal nationally representative survey (HAALSA HARPS). The national survey will be led in collaboration with partners at the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit at the University of Cape Town. The team is engaging directly with policy-makers and public health researchers in South Africa including Statistics South Africa, the South African Medical Research Council, and the South African Population Research Infrastructure Network (SAPRIN), as the country takes on new challenges around ensuring the healthy aging of its population.
HAALSA is led by an interdisciplinary team of collaborators from:
HAALSA continues to explore aging in South Africa, with focal areas in cognitive health, cardiometabolic disease, HIV and HIV treatment, public policies, social determinants of health, and health inequalities. Research focuses on exploring the interrelationships between: Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias; physical and cognitive functioning; lifestyle risk factors; household income & expenditure; depression and mental health; social networks and family composition; HIV infection; and cardiometabolic disease.
The HAALSA study design is finely tuned to capture characteristics specific to the aging process in South Africa, as well as to harmonize with the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and sister studies in India, China, Brazil, the UK, Europe, and the U.S. Both the community and national surveys include an in-depth cognitive assessment on a sub-sample of participants using the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP). HAALSA-HCAP is an enriched subcohort that adds detailed neuropsychological testing, neuroimaging, and blood biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Our team has completed two waves of HAALSA-HCAP Indepth. As part of this renewal, we will add one additional wave of HAALSA-HCAP Indepth and conduct a new national survey: HAALSA-HCAP HARPS.
References
Bassil, D. T., Farrell, M. T., Wagner, R. G., Brickman, A. M., Glymour, M. M., Langa, K. M., Manly, J. J., Salinas, J., Tipping, B., Tollman, S., & Berkman, L. F. (2021). Cohort Profile Update: Cognition and dementia in the Health and Aging in Africa Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH community in South Africa (HAALSI dementia). International Journal of Epidemiology.
Gómez-Olivé, F. X., Montana, L., Wagner, R. G., Kabudula, C. W., Rohr, J. K., Kahn, K., Bärnighausen, T., Collinson, M., Canning, D., Gaziano, T., Salomon, J. A., Payne, C. F., Wade, A., Tollman, S. M., & Berkman, L. (2018). Cohort Profile: Health and Ageing in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI). International Journal of Epidemiology, 47(3), 689–690j.
Herl, C. R., Kabudula, C., Kahn, K., Tollman, S., & Canning, D. (2022). Pension exposure and health: Evidence from a longitudinal study in South Africa. The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 23, 100411.
Jock, J., Kobayashi, L., Chakraborty, R., Chen, X., Wing, C., Berkman, L., ... & Rosenberg, M. (2023). Effects of Pension Eligibility Expansion on Men’s Cognitive Function: Findings from Rural South Africa. Journal of Aging & Social Policy, 1-20.
The Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH) is one of very few long-standing publicly-available longitudinal cohort studies in a sub-Saharan African (SSA) context. It is a long-term collaboration between the University of Pennsylvania (Penn, USA), the Kamuzu University of Health Sciences (KUHeS, Malawi) and Compelling Works (CW, Malawi), and it provides a rare record of more than a quarter-century of demographic, socioeconomic and health conditions in one of the world’s poorest countries. The origins of the MLSFH are in studies of social networks and fertility decision, with initial data collection in 1998 being conducted under the pioneering Malawi Diffusion and Ideational Change project directed by Susan Watkins.
While this initial study population is still followed up, the scope of the project, the research team and the study population has expanded. In 2007, under the leadership of Hans-Peter Kohler, the project became the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH) to reflect the project's broad focus on social and contextual determinants of health across the lifecourse. Iliana Kohler spearheaded in 2012 the expansion of the MLSFH into aging and ADRD research, and Rachel Kidman was instrumental for establishing in 2016 the MLSFH adolescent cohort. Lauren Schmitz joined the MLSFH team in 2023 to develop a biosocial focus that includes the collection of genetic and epigenetic focus, and Philip Anglewicz initiated in 2007 the systematic follow-up of migrants as part of the MLSFH. Victor Mwapasa and James Mwera for many years have been the lead MLSFH collaborators in Malawi, having made invaluable contributions to the collection of complex MLSFH data, the building of strong Penn-Malawi collaborative ties, and the dissemination of MLSFH findings to study communities and stakeholders.
References
Kidman, R., Mwera, J., Rui, Y. (Tingting), Breton, E., Zulu, A., Behrman, J., & Kohler, H.-P. (2024). Cohort profile: The Adverse Childhood Experiences cohort of the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health. BMJ Open, 14(5), e079631.
Kohler, I. V., Bandawe, C., Ciancio, A., Kämpfen, F., Payne, C. F., Mwera, J., Mkandawire, J., & Kohler, H.-P. (2020). Cohort profile: The mature adults cohort of the Malawi longitudinal study of families and health (MLSFH-MAC). BMJ Open, 10(10).
Kohler, H.-P., Watkins, S. C., Behrman, J. R., Anglewicz, P., Kohler, I. V., Thornton, R. L., Mkandawire, J., Honde, H., Hawara, A., Chilima, B., Bandawe, C., Mwapasa, V., Fleming, P., & Kalilani-Phiri, L. (2014). Cohort Profile: The Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health (MLSFH). International Journal of Epidemiology, 44(2), 394–404.
The number of older adults in Kenya is growing rapidly and this trend will continue over the coming decades. The Longitudinal Study of Health and Ageing in Kenya (LOSHAK) aims to collect and disseminate national data to characterize and respond to economic and health-related challenges associated with an ageing population. Through informing public health and policy, LOSHAK aims to improve health, economic circumstances, and wellbeing, while serving as a model for studying population ageing in Sub-Saharan Africa.
LOSHAK is a joint collaboration between the Department of Population Health at Aga Khan University, Kenya and the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at University of Michigan, USA. It is modeled on the U.S.- based Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and its measures are harmonized with the HRS its family of studies in more than 45 countries across the globe.
References
Nagarajan, N., Burns, S. D., Riang’a, R. M., Mwangi, E. M., Sayed, S., Gichu, M., ... & Ehrlich, J. R. (2024). Development of the Longitudinal Study of Health and Ageing in Kenya (LOSHAK). Innovation in Aging, 8(4), igad111.
Akinrolie, O., Iwuagwu, A. O., Kalu, M. E., Rayner, D., Oyinlola, O., Ezulike, C. D., Okoh, A. C., Makanju, A. O., Ugwuodo, E. P., Ugwuja, I. A., John, M. O., Adeleke, D., Egbumike, C. J., Anieto, E. M., Anieto, I. B., Alumona, C. J., Onyeso, O. K., Ojembe, B., Omeje, C. A., … Professionals in Ageing, A. N. (2024). Longitudinal studies of aging in sub-saharan africa: Review, limitations, and recommendations in preparation of projected aging population. Innovation in Aging, 8(4), igae002.
Aboderin, I. (2016). An agenda for research on aging in sub-saharan africa. (2016). The Gerontologist, 56(Suppl_3), 123–123.
The Kenya Life Panel Survey (KLPS) is a longitudinal dataset of educational, health, demographic, socio-economic measures and other life outcomes for individuals who participated in human capital interventions as children, including the Primary School Deworming Project (PSDP) (which started in 1998, see Miguel and Kremer 2004) and the Girls’ Scholarship Program (GSP) (which started in 2001, see Kremer, Miguel and Thornton 2009). Launched in 2003, the KLPS is currently in its fifth round (2023-26), providing panel data covering over 25 years since the start of the earliest interventions. Michael Kremer and Edward Miguel were the pioneers leading the deworming project starting back in 1998, and together with co-authors they have published several long-run follow-ups of the original study.
References
AL-SEHA is an Egyptian initiative aiming at contributing to the global knowledge on the aging population by establishing an Egyptian health and retirement study modeled after the US Health and Retirement Surveys (HRS) and its sister Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). It aims to support responsive healthy aging policies by conducting a longitudinal study of older persons in Egypt that monitors the life journey of adult persons with its various dimensions, including health, access to health services, income, occupation, environment, and socioeconomic changes over a long period of time.
References
LSAHA is a survey study of a representative sample of 3,000 residents of Lebanon aged 60 years and above. Study staff administer a survey questionnaire to the participants with standardized questions about their personal, social, and economic background, about their cognitive, physical and mental health, and about their present and past life experiences. The study completed baseline data collection. We hope to re-contact all participants in the near future to ask them about changes in their personal, social and economic circumstances, and changes in their health and well-being. Explore below our pages for participants and researchers.
Aim 1: Build research capacity for the conduct of population-based, longitudinal survey studies in limited-resource settings.
Aim 2: Design and conduct a population-based study of Alzheimer’s and other related dementias (ADRD), caregiving needs and arrangements, and other relevant age-associated conditions in a sample of 3,000 adults aged > 60 years in Lebanon
Aim 3: Analyze baseline data to test associations between risk factors/correlates of ADRD, cognitive impairment, caregiving needs and arrangements, and other outcomes in this population.
The study has recruited 3,027 people from across Beirut and Zahle, with 2,123 getting their physical measurements (weight, height, blood pressure, etc.) taken and over 2,600 participating in the blood draw.
References
WHO's SAGE is a longitudinal study collecting data on adults aged 50 years and older, plus a smaller comparison sample of adults aged 18–49 years, from nationally representative samples in China, Ghana, India, Mexico, Russian Federation and South Africa. The map here also indicates, with dots, other country research collaborations and SAGE sub-studies. SAGE is supported by the US National Institute on Aging, Division of Behavioral and Social Research and national governments. WHO provides salary and in-kind support.
References
Kowal, P., Chatterji, S., Naidoo, N., Biritwum, R., Fan, W., Lopez Ridaura, R., Maximova, T., Arokiasamy, P., Phaswana-Mafuya, N., Williams, S., Snodgrass, J. J., Minicuci, N., D’Este, C., Peltzer, K., Boerma, J. T., & Collaborators, the S. (2012). Data Resource Profile: The World Health Organization Study on global AGEing and adult health (SAGE). International Journal of Epidemiology, 41(6), 1639–1649.
The India Human Development Survey (IHDS) is a nationally representative multi-topic panel survey of households conducted in 1503 villages and 971 urban neighborhoods across India. In IHDS-I (ICPSR 22626), two one-hour interviews in each household covered topics concerning health, education, employment, economic status, marriage, fertility, gender relations, and social capital. Children aged 8-11 completed short reading, writing, and arithmetic tests. IHDS-II (ICPSR 36151) data are mostly re-interviews of households interviewed for IHDS-I.
The IHDS is a collaborative research program between researchers from the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi and the University of Maryland. The goal of IHDS is to document changes in the daily lives of Indian households in an era of rapid transformation.
References
Samanta, T., Chen, F., & Vanneman, R. (2015). Living arrangements and health of older adults in India. Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 70(6), 937-947.
The Sri Lanka Health and Ageing Study (SLHAS) is the first longitudinal nationally representative study of health and ageing in Sri Lankan adults. This study of 6,665 adults in every district of Sri Lanka, aims to track ageing, changes in health and determinants of health in older adults, and link health with wider determinants and public policies.
IHP is an independent, non-partisan research centre based in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
References
Iranian Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IRLSA)
The Iranian Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IRLSA) is the first large-scale longitudinal cohort established to investigate the process of ageing among adults aged 50–95 in Iran. Initiated as part of the national PERSIAN Cohort, the study aims to examine physical, psychological, social, and environmental determinants of healthy ageing in a rapidly ageing society. The baseline survey, conducted between 2016 and 2018 in Neyshabur, included 7,462 participants and has expanded to additional regions such as Guilan, Tabriz, and Ardakan to capture Iran’s ethnic and geographic diversity. IRLSA collects comprehensive data covering demographics, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, physical and cognitive health, emotional well-being, and social networks, supplemented by biomarker and genetic samples from subsamples. Participants are followed every two years to monitor health transitions, disability, and mortality. Using internationally validated instruments, IRLSA allows for cross-national comparisons with global ageing studies such as LASI and CHARLS. As one of the most comprehensive ageing studies in the Middle East, IRLSA provides valuable evidence for understanding the multidimensional aspects of ageing in a middle-income country and supports policymaking aimed at improving health and social welfare for older adults.
References
Aminisani, N., Azimi-Nezhad, M., Shamshirgaran, S. M., Mirhafez, S. R., Borji, A., Poustchi, H., Sezavar, S. H., Ansarin, K., Kolahi, S., Javadpor, A., Rezaei, A., Hooshmand, E., Maroufi, N., Tabaei, S., Eghtesad, S., Hyde, M., Kenny, R. A., Raina, P., Stephens, C., & Malekzadeh, R. (2022). Cohort Profile: The IRanian Longitudinal Study on Ageing (IRLSA): the first comprehensive study on ageing in Iran. International Journal of Epidemiology, 51(4), e177–e188.
The ‘Life in Kyrgyzstan’ Study (LiK Study) is a research-based, open access, multi-topic longitudinal survey of households and individuals in Kyrgyzstan. It tracks the same 3,000 households and 8,000 individuals over time in all seven Kyrgyz regions (oblasts) and the two cities of Bishkek and Osh. The data are representative nationally and at the regional level (East, West, North, South).
The survey interviews all adult household members about household demographics, assets, expenditure, migration, employment, agricultural markets, shocks, social networks, subjective well-being, and many other topics. Some of these topics are addressed in each wave while other topics are only addressed in selected waves. All members of the households in 2010 are tracked for each wave and new household members are added to the survey and tracked as well.
The survey was first conducted in 2010 and it has been repeated five times in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016, and 2019. The last, sixth, wave of the LiK Study was conducted during November 2019-February 2020.
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