Project Lead: Dr Rachel Duncan

 

Project Team: Professor Barbara Hanratty, Dr Andrew Kingston, Professor Louise Robinson, Professor Carol Jagger, Professor Stuart Parker

 

The Newcastle 85+ study (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/85plus/) was established in 2006 and is the largest study in the UK conducted in the very old. It has successfully generated information about an age group where information is lacking. However, few studies include representative numbers of 95 year olds, particularly those in residential care, despite their numbers rising. Rethinking how we manage multimorbidity and frailty in this age group is important, but first we need to document how health, functioning and the use of health and social care is changing. Extending follow up of the Newcastle 85+ cohort from 5 to 10 years will increase the precision of our estimates of health transitions and enable better differentiation between possible patterns of disability, as well as the association of all of these with underlying biological, medical and social factors. This further assessment will also ascertain the burden on informal and formal care of these differing trajectories and is key for developing and planning appropriate services.

 

Specific research questions and objectives include:

Confirming trajectories of disability and estimating years spent with disability and frailty between age 85 and 95.

Identifying predictors of “healthy” ageing to age 95.

Establishing how health and social care resources change between the ninth and tenth decade, particularly regarding informal care.

Determining late life factors influencing frailty, in particular cognition.

Exploring the levels of participation and loneliness.

 

 

Yadegarfar ME, Jagger C, Duncan R, Fouweather T, Hanratty B, Parker S, Robinson L.  Use of primary care and other healthcare services by the very old; findings from the Newcastle 85+ study.  BMJ Open August 2017

  

Duncan R, Robinson L, Kingston A, Hanratty B, Parker S, Jagger C– Determinants and burden of differing health trajectories in the very old – the Newcastle 85+ study. School for Primary Care Research NIHR Ten Year Anniversary, 22nd November 2016, Wellcome Trust, London.

 

 

Robinson L – The Newcastle 85+ study: health care use by the very old increase as they age – true or false?  SAPC ASM July 2017.  Winner of senior award: distinguished paper slot and free registration.