National E-Infrastructure for Aging Research in Sweden
The scientific objectives of NEAR are to: (1) provide high-quality database resources for investigating public-health-related issues in aging, such as the national burden, time trends, and determinants (e.g. social, environmental, and biological/genetic determinants) of common diseases (e.g. cardiovascular disease, stroke, and dementia) and health conditions (e.g. multimorbidity, frailty, and functional dependence) in older people; (2) provide data resources for assessing and planning health care for older people; (3) provide information for identifying intervention strategies to improve health, medical and social care, and quality of life for elderly people; and (4) provide reliable data resources for addressing the issues of social inequality in aging and health.
The dramatic demographic transition towards an older population in the past half century poses tremendous long-term societal challenges globally, especially in developed countries such as Sweden. This underscores the urgent need to identify effective and sustainable strategies for better health and care of elderly populations. Enhancing our knowledge of social and behavioral factors and discovering the pathways by which they relate to later life cognitive and physical functioning are of utmost importance when we aim to promote compression of disability and morbidity in an aging society.
NEAR includes 13 individual Swedish databases. The databases were selected on the basis of four criteria: (1) population-based prospective study design; (2) age of cohorts over 50 years, although people younger than 50 years could be part of the cohort; (3) approval by ethical committees; and (4) high-quality data that have already contributed to increasing our understanding of aging, health, and care of older adults
For more information about NEAR, see the webpage.