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‘Proactive aging’ is a new research approach for a new era

Nature Aging volume 3, pages 755–756 (2023)Cite this article

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Population aging and the resulting societal challenges require holistic approaches at the local, national and global levels. However, policymakers, health care, social services and industry are lagging in addressing the consequences of the demographic shift with new science and technology. Although policies proclaim the quest for health promotion and prevention in general terms, little progress in such directions is seen; the uptake of research evidence is low and slow. In addition, people are reluctant to envision themselves as aging. Perceptions of old age as a period of decline result in ageism and a denial of the future self among younger generations1.

Technical advances to monitor biological aging and diagnose and ultimately treat aging-related diseases have the potential to bridge basic science with health care and create substantial benefit globally2. However, because aging research is predominantly focused on today’s older adults (using 65 or older age criteria for inclusion), major knowledge gaps exist that bar us from developing proactive approaches to welfare services and societal planning overall. Taking examples from diverse research fields, knowledge about the adoption of digital technology in the context of aging from a multigenerational perspective is scarce; further, there is insufficient knowledge about the early pathogenesis of cognitive and musculoskeletal diseases, for which, ultimately, earlier detection and novel treatments and lifestyle alterations could lessen the individual and societal burden of these highly prevalent conditions. It is therefore imperative to focus on younger age strata too — from midlife on or even earlier.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Tomas Deierborg, Johannes K. Ehinger, Oskar Hansson, Hanna Isaksson.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Susanne Iwarsson

  2. School of Social Work, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Håkan Jönson

  3. Experimental Neuroinflammation Laboratory, Department of Experimental Medical Science, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Tomas Deierborg

  4. Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Johannes K. Ehinger

  5. Mitochondrial Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Johannes K. Ehinger

  6. Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden

    Johannes K. Ehinger

  7. Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden

    Oskar Hansson

  8. Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital, Malmö, Sweden

    Oskar Hansson

  9. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Hanna Isaksson

  10. Clinical Epidemiology Unit, Orthopedics, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Martin Englund

  11. Orthopedics, Skåne University Hospital, Lund, Sweden

    Martin Englund

Authors
  1. Susanne Iwarsson
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  2. Håkan Jönson
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  3. Tomas Deierborg
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  4. Johannes K. Ehinger
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  5. Oskar Hansson
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  6. Hanna Isaksson
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  7. Martin Englund
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Susanne Iwarsson.

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Competing interests

The authors constitute the steering group: coordinated by S.I., they jointly lead the profile area of proactive ageing at Lund University, Sweden.

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Iwarsson, S., Jönson, H., Deierborg, T. et al. ‘Proactive aging’ is a new research approach for a new era. Nat Aging 3, 755–756 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-023-00438-6

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