RESEARCH LINE 2

Clinical and translational research on healthy ageing and diseases in the elderly: from multimorbidity to geriatric syndromes and disability

Head: Prof. Antonio Cherubini

This line of research aims to produce new knowledge on the epidemiology, diagnosis and management of acute and chronic diseases, multimorbidity, geriatric syndromes and disability, in order to provide clinicians with adequate knowledge to promote healthy ageing, understood as maintaining the best possible level of functional, physical and cognitive autonomy. The line will investigate the biological and socio-economic determinants that influence health status and clinical and functional trajectories in the elderly population, also employing a gender perspective.

A more in-depth understanding of the main acute and chronic diseases associated with ageing and geriatric syndromes, multimorbidity and their repercussions on the health and autonomy of individual elderly people can enable the development of personalised diagnostic, preventive and management interventions. The analysis of biological, clinical and socio-economic determinants in databases that collect prospective data on large real-world populations of elderly patients, evaluated using advanced statistical techniques and examining outcomes by cross-referencing them with administrative databases, can provide fundamental data for understanding clinical and functional trajectories in order to promote true precision medicine in elderly individuals.

OBJECTIVES

• Study of the main acute and chronic diseases, multimorbidity, geriatric syndromes (delirium, falls, sarcopenia and frailty) and disability through the use of multidimensional assessment and analysis of real-world data.
   
• Study of biological, clinical and socio-economic factors, including from a gender perspective, which influence healthy ageing in terms of physical and cognitive performance and functional autonomy.
   
• Application of advanced predictive models and artificial intelligence in collaboration with other lines of research focused on the study of complex systems.