Almost 25 years have passed since the Demography of Aging (1994) was published by the National Research Council. Future Directions for the Demography of Aging is, in many ways, the successor to that original volume. The Division of Behavioral and Social Research at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to produce an authoritative guide to new directions in demography of aging. The papers published in this report were originally presented and discussed at a public workshop held in Washington, D.C., August 17-18, 2017.


The workshop discussion made evident that major new advances had been made in the last two decades, but also that new trends and research directions have emerged that call for innovative conceptual, design, and measurement approaches. The report reviews these recent trends and also discusses future directions for research on a range of topics that are central to current research in the demography of aging. Looking back over the past two decades of demography of aging research shows remarkable advances in our understanding of the health and well-being of the older population. Equally exciting is that this report sets the stage for the next two decades of innovative research–a period of rapid growth in the older American population.

Table of Contents


Front Matter
PART I: Health Trends and Disparities
1 Trends in Mortality, Disease, and Physiological Status in the Older Population - Eileen Crimmins
2 Racial/Ethnic and Nativity Disparities in the Health of Older U.S. Men and Women - Robert A. Hummer and Iliya Gutin
3 Socioeconomic Status, Health, and Mortality in Aging Populations - Angela M. O'Rand and Scott M. Lynch
PART II: Social and Environmental Contexts Shaping Aging and Health
4 Social Well-Being and Health in the Older Population: Moving beyond Social Relationships - Linda J. Waite
5 Place, Aging, and Health - Kathleen A. Cagney and Erin York Cornwell
PART III: Families and Intergenerational Transfers
6 Demography of Aging and the Family - Emily M. Agree
7 Intergenerational Transfers and the Older Population - Andrew Mason and Ronald Lee
PART IV: Work and Retirement in the Older Population
8 The Demography of Retirement - Courtney Coile
PART V: Disability and Cognitive Health of the Older Population
9 Cognitive Aging, Dementia, and the Future of an Aging Population - Kenneth M. Langa
10 The Demography of Late-Life Disability - Vicki A. Freedman
PART VI: The Demography of Aging on a Global Scale
11 The Demography of Aging in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Chronological versus Functional Perspectives - Nikkil Sudharsanan and David E. Bloom
12 Health, Economic Status, and Aging in High-Income Countries - Jinkook Lee and James P. Smith
PART VII: New Approaches in Measurement
13 New Measures and New Designs in Demography of Aging Research - David R. Weir, Linda J. Waite, Rebeca Wong, and Vicki A. Freedman