Biodemography of Aging

This summary of a full decade’s intensive research connecting individual age-related physiology to broader health trends features statistical analysis of unique longitudinal data sets and enlightening discussion of a wide range of key topics in the field.

Introduction: 1: Introduction: The Biodemography of Complex Relationships among Aging, Health, and Longevity.- Part I: Informational on Aging, Health, and Longevity from Available Data.: 2: Age Trajectories of Physiological Indices: Which Factors Influence Them?.- 3: Health Effects and Medicare Trajectories: Population-Based Analysis of Morbidity and Mortality Patterns.- 4: Evidence for Dependence among Diseases.- 5: Factors that May Increase Vulnerability to Cancer and Longevity in Modern Human Populations.- 6: Medical Cost Trajectories and Onsets of Age-Associated Diseases.- 7: Indices of Cumulative Deficits.- 8: Dynamic Characteristics of Aging-related Changes as Predictors of Longevity and Healthy Lifespan.- 9: The Complex Role of Genes in Diseases and Traits in Late Life: An Example of the Apolipoprotein E Polymorphism.- 10: Conclusions Regarding Empirical Patterns of Aging, Health, and Longevity.- Part II: Statistical Modeling of Aging, Health, and Longevity.- 11: Approaches to Statistical Analysis of longitudinal Data on Aging, Health, and Longevity: Biodemographic Perspectives.- 12: Stochastic Process Models of Mortality and Aging.- 13: The Latent Class Stochastic Process Model for Evaluation of Hidden Heterogeneity in Longitudinal Data.- 14: How Biodemographic Approaches Can Improve Statistical Power in Genetic Analyses of Longitudinal Data on Aging, Health, and Longevity.- 15: Integrative Mortality Models with Parameters that Have Biological Interpretations.- 16: Integrative Mortality Models for the Study of Aging, Health, and Longevity: Benefits of Combining Data.- 17: Analysis of the Natural History of Dementia Using Longitudinal Grade of Membership Models.- 18: Linear Latent Structure Analysis: Modeling High-Dimensional Survey Data.- 19: Conclusions Regarding Statistical Modeling of Aging, Health, and Longevity.- Part III: Conclusions: Continuing the Search for Determinants of Healthy Life Span and Longevity.