Abstract
Health indicators are increasingly being used in clinical and research settings and while these hold the promise of improving clinical decision-making, it is difficult to judge their true utility in delivering care for older persons.
Considering the importance of prevention in nowadays ageing population, this thesis strives to critically evaluate how well various health indicators ranging from genetics, organ functions, physical capabilities, diseases, biomarkers, psychosocial, socioeconomics, and lifestyle for their ability to accurately predict outcomes, specifically mortality, in old age. Further, the thesis explores whether amongst older persons of similar age and sex, is it worth knowing something about their overall state of health? If it is worth knowing, then what should be known and to what end? In other words, do health indicators that sufficiently capture inter-individual variations exist?
To do so, a series of studies involving prospective cohort studies on pan-European populations and systematic review of existing literature were conducted.
Considering the importance of prevention in nowadays ageing population, this thesis strives to critically evaluate how well various health indicators ranging from genetics, organ functions, physical capabilities, diseases, biomarkers, psychosocial, socioeconomics, and lifestyle for their ability to accurately predict outcomes, specifically mortality, in old age. Further, the thesis explores whether amongst older persons of similar age and sex, is it worth knowing something about their overall state of health? If it is worth knowing, then what should be known and to what end? In other words, do health indicators that sufficiently capture inter-individual variations exist?
To do so, a series of studies involving prospective cohort studies on pan-European populations and systematic review of existing literature were conducted.
| Original language | English |
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| Number of pages | 153 |
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| ISBN (Print) | 978-87-971073-0-0 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 978-87-971073-0-0 |
| Publication status | Published - 22 Oct 2018 |