Research on aging in Iceland: future potentials

• Published in: Mechanisms of Ageing and Development
• Main Author: Gudmundsson, Adalsteinn
• Other Authors: Hrafnista Nursing Homes, Reykjavik, Iceland. [e-mail]
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Science Ireland 2008
• Subjects: Aged; Aging; Geriatrics; Humans; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/32562; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2003.11.009

To access publisher full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field Iceland is a small but prototypic western society strategically located between mainland Europe and North America. Through private and public funding, Iceland is a model in the making for opportunities in research on aging. Its ethnically and socioeconomically homogenous population served by an advanced health care system has historically been exceptionally supportive and willing to participate in both trans-sectional and cohort studies. Interdisciplinary geriatric care is well established and Iceland was on of the first countries to adapt from the US, the resident assessment instrument (RAI), which makes comparison of long-term care between countries very feasible. Among a number of biotech companies recently established in Iceland is Deocode, a leading company in the field of linking genetic variation to diseases. A major population study on interactions between age, genes and environment (AGES) was launched by the Icelandic Heart Association in 2002 through support from the NIA and the Icelandic government. Ultimately, one may expect that a cutting edge aging research in Iceland will contribute to our understanding of how to maintain a better health, independence and active participation in later life.