Current
- Research news: Thin as a baby, obese as an adult – a diabetic in old age?
- Researcher Mikaela von Bonsdorff: Small babies had significantly higher blood glucose and insulin levels and a higher risk of diabetes at the age of 75 and older.
- Academy of Finland: funding for postdoctoral research in gerontology
- The Academy of Finland’s Research Council for Health has awarded research funding for PhD Mikaela von Bonsdorff and PhD Elina Sillanpää
- Research news: Is there successful aging for nonagenarians?
- If successful aging is defined by using conventional criteria that emphasize absence of disease and disability, it is rare among nonagenarians.
- Research news: Nonagenerians are a very heterogeneous age group in terms of health and functional ability
- The latest postal survey conducted by the Vitality 90+ study showed that health and functional ability vary greatly in the nonagenarian age group.
- Research news: Several individual and environmental factors affect process of mobility decline in old age
- Mobility is important for community independence.
- Research news: Knee replacement leads to less pain, improved mobility and better performance also in patients aged 75 and older.
- Research group at GEREC awarded funding for a multinational research programme in the field of ageing
- A research group from the Gerontology Research Center, based at the University of Jyväskylä’s Department of Health Sciences, received a three-year research grant from the Academy of Finland in the call “Active and Healthy Ageing Across the Life Course” by ERA-AGE 2.
- Research news: Long-term care in sheltered housing has become general, but does not continue until the end of life
- Sheltered housing with 24-hour assistance has replaced long-term care in residential homes. Residential homes and specially sheltered housing units are not able to care for old people until the end of life, but people are moved to other place of care before death.
- GEREC’s International Scientific Advisory Board seminar Jan 11, 2013 01:30 PM
- GEREC’s first International Scientific Advisory Board seminar will be held in Tampere January, 15.
- Research news: Stress symptoms in midlife predict old-age disability
- The recently published prospective cohort study by Dr. Jenni Kulmala and co-workers provides strong evidence that perceived work-related stress in midlife predicts functional limitations and disability later in old age.
- Research news: Coronary calcium together with lower physical capacity multiply the risk of health decline
- High coronary artery calcium (CAC) together with slow walking speed multiplies the risk of mortality, reveals a new study published in the International Journal of Cardiology.
- Research news: Good functional performance decreases the risk of mortality also among nonagenarians
- The 9-year follow-up study in the Vitality 90+ Study showed that also in nonagenarians older age, male gender, the activities of daily living (ADL) disability and mobility disability, poor self-rated health and institutionalization increased the risk of mortality.
- Research news: Characterization of the role of distinct plasma cell-free DNA species in age-associated inflammation and frailty.
- Plasma cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) has recently emerged as a new biomarker of age-associated systemic inflammation and cell death.
- Research news: Circulating cell-free DNA is associated with mortality and inflammatory markers in nonagenarians: the Vitality 90+ Study.
- Advanced age is typically accompanied with low-grade inflammation – a phenomenon that has also been demonstrated to predict longevity in several studies.
- Post Doctoral researcher Elina Sillanpää was awarded in Young scientist competition by the Finnish Society of Sport Sciences
- Post Doctoral researcher Elina Sillanpää was awarded in Young scientist competition organized by the Finnish Society of Sport Sciences in Jyväskylä June 12, 2013.
- PhD student at GEREC, Linda Enroth was awarded the best masters thesis on Gerontology
- The title of the thesis is Socioeconomic differences in health of the oldest old. The award was given at the national congress of Gerontology June 7, 2013.
- Research news: Cytomegalovirus (CMV)-dependent and -independent changes in the aging of the human immune system: A transcriptomic analysis
- Ageing is associated with declining function of the immune system. Cytomegalovirus (CMV) has been associated with these changes.
- Research news: Transcriptional analysis reveals gender-specific changes in the ageing of the human immune system
- Ageing is associated with declining function of the immune system and on the other hand it is known that there are gender differences in the functions of the immune system. However, the interaction of ageing and gender has not been widely studied.
- Research news: Environmental facilitators decrease the risk for walking difficulty among older people
- A pleasant environment with parks, green areas and walking routes can promote mobility among older community-dwelling individuals found a study conducted at GEREC.
- Seminar on Occupational Gerontology: Aging and new technology
- 29th August, 2013, University of Tampere
- Research news: Socioeconomic status is associated with health inequalities also in the last years of life
- Socioeconomic status is associated with health and functioning also among the oldest old adults. The results came from the Vitality 90+ study, the School of Health Sciences and Gerontology Research center, University of Tampere.
- Research news: Mobility limitation due to a lack of balance confidence
- A fall and subsequent injury decreases a person’s balance confidence and increases his or her fear of falling, was found by postdoctoral researcher Erja Portegijs in a study performed at the Gerontology Research Center in collaboration with the Central Finland Health Care District.
- Research news: Physically and mentally straining job increases the need for hospital care in old age
- Mentally and particularly physically straining work in midlife increased the need for hospital care in older age, reveals a new study published in the Age and Ageing journal. This was confirmed in the Finnish Longitudinal Study on Municipal Employees (FLAME), a 28-year follow-up on middle-aged public sector employees.
- Research news: Physical function as wells as sense of autonomy determine life-space mobility in older people
- Physical function and sense of autonomy are independent determinants of life-space mobility in older people. This was found in a study conducted at the Gerontology Research Center of the University of Jyväskylä. In this project, 848 older men and women that lived independently in the Jyväskylä region in Central Finland were interviewed at their own home.
- Research news: Inverse Effects of Midlife Occupational and Leisure Time Physical Activity on Mobility Limitation in Old Age
- Strenuous occupational physical activity in midlife increases the risk of mobility limitation in old age, whereas leisure-time physical activity decreases the risk. This is found in a study which followed up 5,200 public sector employees for 28 years. The study was conducted at the Gerontology Research Center in Finland and the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health.
- Gerontology Research Center joins a new COST-action
- GEREC has joined an EU-funded COST-action network
- Postdoctoral research funding from Academy of Finland for Leena Forma
- PhD Leena Forma is studying the effects of age and closeness of death on use and costs of hospital and long-term care.
- Research news: Poor hearing confines older adults to their homes
- Vision and hearing problems reduce the active participation of older people in various events and activities. This was observed in two studies carried out by the Gerontology Research Center.
- Research news: Nonmanual workers and high educated live longer even at the age of 90 years
- Nonmanual workers and high educated live longer than manual workers and lower educated even at the age of 90 years or over. A doctoral student Linda Enroth at the Gerontology Research Center and School of Health Sciences in the University of Tampere reported the finding.
- Research news: Older women abandon many of their personal goals
- Older people have many kinds of goals in their lives, most commonly related to health, independent living, close relationships, and different activities. However, based on a study conducted at the Gerontology Research Center of the University of Jyväskylä, older women abandon many of their goals with increasing age.
- German Vontobel prize for ageing research
- Visiting scientist MD, PhD Timo Hinrichs has won the Vontobel prize for ageing research awarded by the University of Zürich for his research paper “Inverse effects of midlife occupational and leisure time physical activity on mobility limitation in old age – a 28-year prospective follow-up study” which was written in collaboration with researchers from GEREC.
- Ilkka Pietilä to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Ageing Studies
- Ilkka Pietilä has been invited to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Ageing Studies.
- Research news: Is the length of work careers determined in utero?
- Low weight at birth increased the risk of disability pension among men, reveals a new Finnish study published in the PLoS One. Around 20% of the cohort members born in 1934–44 retired on a disability pension between 1971 and 2011.
- Academy of Finland’s Research Council for Health funding to Marja Jylhä and Riku Nikander
- The Academy of Finlands´Rezsearch Council for Health has granted funding for two research project in GEREC for years 2015-2019
- Sari Stenholm appointed as a new Academy Research Fellow
- The Academy of Finland’s Research Council for Health has decided to fund ten new research posts as Academy Research Fellow and one of them is Sari Stenholm acting professor of gerontology from University of Tampere.
- Ilkka Pietilä appointed to Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Social Research
- The Rector of the University of Tampere has appointed Ilkka Pietilä for two-year fixed-term Fellowship (Senior Research Fellow) at the Institute for Advanced Social Research.
- Deadline for symposia proposals for 23NKG is September 30, 2015
- The Scientific Committee welcomes symposia from all fields in ageing research. We particularly encourage cross-disciplinary research and sessions co-organized by research groups from different countries.
- A position of university lecturer in gerontology
- Research news: New knowledge on factors predicting survival in older adults
- A Nordic comparative study indicates that of the Finnish men born in the middle of 1910´s only 24 % survived to the age of 75, whereas among the Swedish and Danish men the corresponding proportions were 49 and 42 percent. Similarly of the Finnish women only 47 percent survived to the age of 75 compared to the corresponding proportions, 67 and 61 percent, among the Swedish and Danish women.
- You can find GEREC in Facebook
- The direct address is https://www.facebook.com/gerontologiantutkimuskeskus/.Please visit the page and like it, remember to invite you colleagues and those interested in ageing research to like the page as well.
- GEREC and COST Action Ageism
- GEREC reserachers participate in the work of COST Action Ageism.
- Research news: The high-educated have better functioning and less cardiometabolic risk factors also in very old age.
- The research conducted at the School of Health Sciences and the Gerontology Research Center in the University of Tampere found that the high-educated have better functioning and less cardiometabolic risk factors than people with low education. Educational differences in inflammatory biomarkers were not found.
- Pirjo Nikander starts as associate editor in the International Journal of Ageing and Later Life 1.1.2016.
- The International Journal of Ageing and Later Life (IJAL) serves an audience interested in social and cultural aspects of ageing and later life development
- Job vacancies
- Professor Sarianna Sipilä from GEREC, University of Jyvaskyla is a partner in the PANINI network which received a Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant. There will be a total of 11 available PhD studentships in the PANINI network across European Partners.
- Research news: Out-of-home activity supports independence in old age
- Life-space mobility reflects an individual’s opportunities to participate in society. A recent study conducted at the Gerontology Research Center of the University of Jyväskylä demonstrates that older individuals with more restricted life-space mobility had higher chances of becoming dependent on help in basic daily activities.
- ERC Advanced Grant Funding for Professor Taina Rantanen
- 2.04 M€ for aging research to the University of Jyväskylä
- Research news: Hearing problems reduce the quality of life of older people
- A study published by the University of Jyväskylä, Gerontology Research Center found that hearing loss has wide-ranging impacts not only on older people’s ability to communicate, but also on their ability to move about and participate in different hobbies and activities.
- ASUVA – New housing options in old age
- The project receives funding from Prime Minister’s Office (VN-TEAS, tietokayttoon.fi), 248.000€. Duration of the project is 6/2016 – 2/2017.
- Costs for antidementia medicine purchases and SII reimbursements increased between the years 2000 and 2013
- Call for applications for the International Doctoral Programme in Epidemiology, IPPE 2017-2018 cohort now open!
- The IPPE programme is currently open for applications: http://www.uta.fi/hes/en/doctoralstudies/ippe/admission/call.html IPPE is an exciting doctoral training and research opportunity for epidemiologists, researchers and public health personnel worldwide. The School of Health Sciences in the University of Tampere, Finland is now inviting applications from qualified candidates to its International Doctoral Programme in Epidemiology (IPPE).
- Dissertation: 17.2.2017 Walking, physical activity, and life-space mobility among older people (Tsai)
- TtM Li-Tang Tsain defends her doctoral dissertation in Gerontology and Public Health ”Walking, physical activity and life-space mobility among older people”. Opponent, Adjunct Professor, Academy Researcher Sari Stenholm (University of Turku) and custos Professor Taina Rantanen (University of Jyväskylä).
- Research news: Home neighborhood motivates older people to physical activity
- A recent study, conducted at the Gerontology Research Center of the University of Jyväskylä, shows that walk-friendly environmental design may provide opportunities for physical activity in old age. However, especially when mobility function starts to decline, it is important that older adults are aware of attractive environmental factors in their neighborhood.
- Long-term care is increasingly concentrated in the last years of life
- Very old people often need round-the-clock long-term care (LTC) in the last phase of life. As longevity is becoming more common, more people live the last years of life at very old age. The association of this change with use of round-the-clock LTC was studied at the University of Tampere.
- Research news: Obesity does not predict decline in physical functioning in 90-year-old people
- General or abdominal obesity does not predict the development of mobility disability or activities of daily living disbaility in nonagenarians, i.e., in 90-year-old people. This was found in a study published by the University of Tampere and the Gerontology Research Center.
- Research news: Understanding functional ability: Perspectives of nurses and older people living in long-term care
- A new research shows that accounts of functioning differ between long- term care nurses and older people living in long-term care.
- Research news: Menopause and estrogen affect muscle function
- According to a research conducted at the University of Jyväskylä, estrogen acts as a regulator of muscle energy metabolism and muscle cell viability. Menopause leads to the cessation of ovarian estrogen production concurrent to the deterioration of muscle function. After menopause, the risk of metabolic diseases also increases. Although a healthy lifestyle does not increase the amount of estrogen in circulation, it reduces risks.
- Research news: A new assessment method for active ageing
- Researchers at the University of Jyväskylä in Finland have developed a new indicator for assessing active aging. The indicator is called the University of Jyväskylä Active Ageing Scale (UJACAS). Active ageing refers to having initiative and doing things the aging person considers important.
- Research news: Access to water and diverse terrain in the neighbourhood encourage elderly in physical activity
- A recently published study, conducted at the Gerontology Research Center of the University of Jyväskylä, found associations between features of natural environment in the home neighborhood and physical activity of older people.
- Research news: A majority of middle-aged people show a high level of mental well-being
- A recent study at the University of Jyväskylä has found a surprisingly high level of mental well-being among middle-aged individuals.
- Dissertation 16.2.2018: Aging and microRNA messaging: Associations with systemic estrogen levels and physical performance
- M.A. Reeta Kangas defended her doctoral dissertation in Gerontology and Public Health ”Aging and microRNA messaging: Associations with systemic estrogen levels and physical performance”. The opponent was Professor Carolyn M. Klinge (University of Louisville) and custos Academy Researcher Eija Laakkonen (University of Jyväskylä).
- Research news: Diabetes did not increase early retirement
- A Finnish study examined diabetes and work loss due to early retirement during the work careers of approximately 13,000 people.
- The 2018 winner of the Sohlberg prize – the most prestigious Nordic Prize in Gerontology is Professor Taina Rantanen
- Dissertation 25.5.2018: Successful aging among the oldest old
- MSc Lily Nosraty defends her doctoral dissertation in Gerontology ”Successful aging among the oldest old”. The opponent is Professor Timo Strandberg (University of Helsinki). Professor Marja Jylhä acts as the custos. The language of the dissertation defence is English.
- Dissertation 8.6.2018: Midlife work exposures and musculoskeletal diseases, mobility limitations and disability in old age
- MSc (Public Health) Prakash K.C. defends his doctoral dissertation in Occupational Health ”Midlife work exposures and musculoskeletal diseases, mobility limitations and disability in old age: A 28-year follow up of Finnish municipal employees” at the University of Tampere on Friday 8 June. The opponent is Professor Andreas Holtermann (National Research Centre for the Working Environment, Denmark). Professor Clas-Håkan Nygård acts as the custos. The language of the dissertation defence is English.
- Research news: Leucocyte amount proportions associate with menopausal stage
- Researchers in the multidisciplinary ERMA study at the University of Jyväskylä have found that total leucocyte amount together with their subtype proportions differ significantly between women at different menopausal stages.
- Research news: Resistance training and exercise-motivation go hand-in-hand
- A recent study conducted in the University of Jyväskylä suggests that resistance training improves exercise motivation and contributes to making exercise planning among older adults. Exercise motivation and exercise self-efficacy are key factors in continuing resistance training.