USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health

A synergistic research environment for the integration and translation of research findings from a variety of disciplines to understand population health.

[PAA @PopAssocAmerica]

Still reeling from #PAA2026?

Save the date: #PAA2027 heads to Seattle, March 31–April 3, 2027.
Call for Papers opens July 2026.

Have ideas? Submit session suggestions for the Program Committee to consider. https://t.co/XgqnnyiqV3

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

Cognitive impairment prevalence increased 1%/year until age 91.2, then accelerated to 6%/year.

If you are interested in aging research , visit us at https://t.co/5asXANkvD0 to learn more about related research, upcoming workshops, or CBPH activities.

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

New study using HRS data on 7,237 adults 70+, followed for nearly 30 years, finds that centenarians preserve physical and cognitive function longer than any other group, but experience the steepest decline once deterioration begins. https://t.co/d62Jy6ZMgN

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

The study used joinpoint regression to identify inflection points across four health domains: physical functioning, cognition, chronic disease burden, and depression. Prior to acceleration, ADL limitations increased ~0.04 points/year; after age 93 , that rate rose to 0.34/year.

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

If you are interested in research on biodemographic approaches to population health and aging visit us at https://t.co/5asXANkvD0 to learn more information on related research, upcoming workshops, or CBPH activities.

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

New study using UK Biobank data on ~500,000 adults, ages 37–84 finds sleep duration is associated with biological aging across multiple organ systems, including brain, lungs, liver, immune system, and skin. DOI: https://t.co/0AxITjX8f1

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

Long sleep duration may accelerate biological aging through organ-level aging clocks, while short sleep appears to have a more direct pathway to disease, suggesting these are distinct biological processes.

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

GDF15 also predicts functional limitations and cognitive dysfunction across both datasets, suggesting it captures meaningful variation in health trajectories among older adults.

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

🧵During #REVES2026, Center Affiliate Eric Klopack and colleagues examined GDF15 as a practical #biomarker of #aging in large population studies.

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

Preliminary results using data from the Health and Retirement Study (@hrsisr) and The Irish Longitudinal Study (@tilda_tcd ), Klopack and colleagues find that higher GDF15 levels predict mortality, with odds ratios above 1.5 for TILDA and 2.0 for HRS both cohorts.

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

This work was supported by seed grant funding from the Center for Aging, Context, & Health (NIA R61AG086854) and USC | UCLA Center on Biodemography and Population Health (NIA P30 AG017625).

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

🧵Can extreme heat increase your biological age? New work from Center Affiliate Eun Young Choi presented at the first day of #REVES2026 :

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

This research is important because as extreme heat events become more frequent, older adults, especially those in under-resourced communities without AC, may be bear the heaviest biological burden . #HealthDisparities

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

🚨Paper🚨
Research finds that shingles vaccination is associated with slower biological aging across epigenetic, transcriptomic, immune, and inflammatory markers in older adults.
🔗 https://t.co/lj2uad8zU7
@USC_CBPH
#HealthyAging #Vaccines #PopulationHealth

[USC Center for Biodemography and Population Health @biodemcenter]

🚨New Paper🚨in Nature Communications identifies gene expression composite scores of cellular senescence that predict aging health outcomes in the HRS cohort.
🔗 https://t.co/8TIuk9XEjb
#AgingResearch #SocialGenomics