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The Centrality of Variability: How society shapes patterns of aging

Author

Listed:
  • Lisa F. Berkman

    (Harvard School of Public Health)

  • Maria Glymour

    (Harvard School of Public Health)

Abstract

Increasing variability is a hallmark of aging populations. Although demographic trends are often described in terms of average experiences, in this paper we argue that variability in the health experiences of older men and women is key to understanding aging. The variations in outcomes among older people are not merely nuisances obscuring the more salient averages and trends. The deviations from the mean are a central part of the story: the patterning of these variations reveals factors that influence health for everyone and indicates what sort of advances in healthy aging might be possible under optimal circumstances.

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa F. Berkman & Maria Glymour, 2005. "The Centrality of Variability: How society shapes patterns of aging," PGDA Working Papers 0405, Program on the Global Demography of Aging.
    • Handle: RePEc:gdm:wpaper:0405
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    File URL: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/pgda/WorkingPapers/2005/working_paper4.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mark Hayward & Bridget Gorman, 2004. "The long arm of childhood: The influence of early-life social conditions on men’s mortality," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 41(1), pages 87-107, February.
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    Aging; demography;

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