Beiträge zu Netzwerken / Network Contributions
KORA-Age
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding interdisciplinary research collaborations on the topic "Health in Old Age". The six scientific collaborations funded by the BMBF are dealing with central and specific issues which are important in maintaining good health in old age but have not been sufficiently addressed so far. Their focus is therefore not on individual syndromes but on the specific aspects of multimorbidity and the promotion of health resources and autonomy in old age. The six collaborations will altogether receive up to €15 million in BMBF funding until 2010; it is planned to provide a similar amount during a subsequent three-year funding phase.
One of these consortia is KORA-AGE. The research consortium consisting of clinicians, epidemiologists, and social scientists has the objective to assess the determinants and consequences of multi-morbidity in the aged based on the KORA study (Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg). The specific objectives of the project are:
Objective 1: To determine the prevalence of multi-morbidity, functioning and successful aging at age 65 years or older in a large cohort of randomly selected inhabitants of the region of Augsburg, Germany.
Objective 2: To identify determinants for multi-morbidity, functioning and successful aging and mortality based on risk factor profiles at cohort entry.
Objective 3: To identify factors associated with multi-morbidity, functioning and successful aging at older age in a random sub-sample of the cohort.
Objective 4: To evaluate the potential of case management support by trained nurses to prevent re-hospitalisation in patients with myocardial infarction.
Three study designs were selected: (A) Mortality follow-up of approximately 8800 subjects of the KORA-cohort age 65 to 94 years in 2008 and morbidity follow-up by means of a telephone interview of all living subjects, approximately 5000 of the KORA-cohort (objectives 1 and 2). (B) Examinations in a random sample of the cohort, namely of 500 men and 500 women age 65 to 89 years assessing intermediate phenotypes of diseases and aging, functioning and disability, mental health and cognitive impairment, social support and attachment (objective 3). (C) An intervention study with myocardial infarction survivors aged 75 years and older (objective 4).
Shedding light on the complex interplay of disease, treatment, functioning and mental health will help designing strategies for maintaining independency in as many people as possible and for as long as possible.
The IGM contributes to the KORA AGE consortium by co-leadership of the randomized intervention study and by sharing organizational and data management tasks with the group of Annette Peters (EPI institute).
