Health Monitoring Programme of DGSANCO

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• Health Monitoring Programme of DG-SANCO

EPIC-Elderly Network on Ageing and Health
Working Party on Information on Lifestyle,
Specific and Deprived Population
Groups Luxembourg,19 April 2007
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The role of diet on the longevity of elderly
Europeans A study in the context of the
European Prospective Investigation into Cancer
and Nutrition
End of project 31st March 2005
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EPIC-Elderly Network on Ageing and
HealthDG SANCODirectorate C Public Health
and Risk AssessmentGrant Agreement no 2004126

• Date of initiation May 1st 2005
  
• Duration 36
  months

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Partners
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EPIC-Elderly NAH project

• Overall aim
• To assess healthy ageing of elderly Europeans
  and identify associated environmental predictors
  by using baseline and follow-up data on
  environmental parameters, self-reported morbidity
  and cause specific mortality
• Specific objectives
• To expand the existing databank on European
  elders (EPIC-Elderly) with standardised follow up
  data on environmental parameters, morbidity and
  cause-specific mortality
• To create an information database on potential
  predictors of healthy ageing (an expert panel
  will deliver systematic reviews of the relevant
  literature)

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EPIC-Elderly NAH project

• Specific objectives
• To investigate the associations of available
  environmental data, including potential
  interactions, with morbidity and mortality in
  different age groups of elderly, as well as, with
  changes in morbidity.
• To prepare public health reports focussing on the
  determinants of healthy ageing for European
  elders
• To disseminate the results of the study to
  interested bodies.

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List of age-related medical conditions
(inverse indicators of healthy ageing)

• Myocardial infarction
• Stroke
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Weight
• Depression
• Neurological diseases
• Osteoporosis
• Fractures
• Technical Annex and Decisions from the Plenary
  Meetings

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Documentation of available data Tasks completed

• Recording of instruments (and methods) used to
  collect and ascertain (where relevant) the data
• Detailed recording of the exact questions used to
  collect relevant data in each center (active
  follow-up)
• Detailed recording of the coding of possible
  answers used in each centre
• Choose and recommend the variables needed to be
  send in order to contain the relevant information
  in a standardized way across the centres
• Specification of file requirements for data
  transfer
• Coordination of data transfer from the
  participating countries to the coordinating
  centre (Athens)

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EPIC-Elderly NAH

• Finalization of a Document for all morbid
  conditions of interest
• Documentation of data and guidelines for the
  creation of the relevant variables requested from
  the eight participating centres with respect to a
  series of morbid conditions

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Current Data File Status by participating
centre/country and date when data trasfer was
completed. The EPIC-Elderly NAH DATABANK
OK refers to the data
available in the country level
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Current Data File Status by participating
centre/country and CONDITION
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Definition of the cases

• Case definition refers mainly to our effort to
  use information that contain, some level of
  confirmation/ascertainment. Thus, in order to use
  and take advantage of the information available,
  case definition will be considered separately for
  each condition (both at baseline and follow-up)
• Different sources of information may be
  considered as the minimum required in order to
  define cases e.g, hospital discharge diagnosis
  (for MI and stroke)
• Self-reported morbidity The usage of drugs will
  serve as an useful indicator for the validity of
  the self-reported information of a specific
  medical condition
• Decisions from the 2nd and 3rd plenary
  meeting

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Actions undertaken

• Expert panel was set- Review on healthy aging has
  been completed (http//www.nut.uoa.gr/english/)?
• Conclusion the EPIC-Elderly NAH presents an
  ideal setting of investigating the issue of
  health aging at the EUROPEAN level
• Data transfer completed
• Identification of problems in data transfer -
  communications with centres
• Data cleaning completed
• Some preliminary statistical analysis started
  (descriptive)

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Indicative papers emerging from the EPIC-Elderly
NAH

• A major review on healthy ageing
• Life expectancy among 60 and among 65 in
  relation to major factors such as smoking, diet,
  physical activity, obesity and social class
  
• Weight changes in relation to mortality

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FP 7

• To be discussed
• in the 4th EPIC ELDERLY NAH
• plenary meeting
• in Milan on the 25th of January

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• FP 7 Food, Agriculture and Biotechnology
• KBBE-2007-2-2-02 Impact of diet on ageing
• Call KBBE-2007-1
• The objective of this topic is to address
  nutritional issues that affect the ageing process
  in the hope of improving the health and quality
  of life of the ageing population. Existing
  epidemiological data from different population
  groups (elderly with different diets) will be
  compared and new data will be provided in view of
  developing European dietary recommendation and
  nutritional policies for the elderly.
• Expected impact To advance the state of the art
  in the field of food and the ageing process.
  Enhancement of the cooperation and excellence in
  the relevant area between researchers in Europe
  To provide sound scientific data to substantiate
  health and nutrition claims and to contribute to
  the DG SANCO policy in this area.

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• FP7 HEALTH
• Health of the ageing population
• A special emphasis will be made also on research
  on the health of the ageing population.
• Whenever appropriate, the projects funded under
  this Theme should take into consideration the
  research aspects related to prevention,
  diagnostics and treatment of age-related diseases
  and the impact on quality of life of older
  people.
• Final calls to appear in CORDIS on the 22nd of
  December

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• Thank you for your attention