Australian Ageing Research Agenda Priorities and Challenges

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Australian Ageing Research AgendaPriorities and
Challenges

• David Le Couteur
• Professor of Geriatric Medicine
• Centre for Education and Research on Ageing
• University of Sydney

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UNITED NATIONShttp//www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing
/ageimpl.htm

• Demographers note a demographic revolution,
  wherein the proportions of the young and the old
  will undergo a historic crossover...This portrait
  of change in the world's population parallels the
  magnitude of the industrial revolution -
  traditionally considered the most significant
  social and economic breakthrough in the history
  of humankind since the Neolithic period.

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Old age is the main risk factor for disease and
disability after 28 yrs(Harman 2001)1 in 5
hospital days are gt 80yrs
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Evidence for healthcare

• little evidence for efficacy
• gt4 of RCT are older people
• efficacy often absent
• adverse outcomes greater

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Future predictions

• Baby boomers graduate to retirement in 2011
• Intergenerational Report, costs associated with
  ageing will amount to 84 billion within 40 years
• Health care - 15.5 billion
• Pharmaceuticals - 46.5 billion
• Aged care and pensions - 22 billion

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Evidence for health policy (AHR, Lowe Kasap,
2002)

• New ways of doing things in health care are
  usually introduced with little or no scientific
  evaluation Political and economic imperatives,
  often seeming to be based on little other than
  the whim of State or Commonwealth ministers
  results in management directives to rationalize
  reformulate and change tried and tested
  systems...

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Where is ageing research in Australia?

• NATIONAL RESEARCH PRIORITY AREAS
• 17 areas covering defence, environment,
  technology and health
• Ageing well, ageing productively

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NHMRC Scoping Study(CERA, NARI consortium)

• designated ageing/geriatric research poorly
  funded
• minor NHMRC representation
• productive in terms of publications
• performed by non-ageing researchers

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NHMRC Project Grants 2000
Includes 8 grants on dementia
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NHMRC Australian Biomedical Research 1998 Butler,
Biglia and Bourke
Geriatrics was the lowest of all categories
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PubMed citations 1996-2000
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Survey of Australian ageing researchers

• N79
• average age 45
• 42 research degree
• 49 hospitals, 25 university, 20 institute
• 61 medical, 25 science, 14 other

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The conclusions of the report

• Infrastructure needs
• career development
• ageing animals
• longitudinal studies

• Ageing research
• primary focus on ageing
• multidisciplinary
• interface with health care

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• Ageing research will succeed if
• targeted funding and seeding
• area of extraordinary need vs current orphan
  status
• primary focus on ageing
• not disease, gene or methodology
• multidisciplinary
• ageing is complex therefore solutions will be
  multifaceted