Volume 19 - Article 50 | Pages 1749–1758  

Biodemography: Research prospects and directions

By James R. Carey

Abstract

The purpose of this opinion report is to outline what I consider to be the most promising areas for future biodemographic research and to suggest ways in which the field can be moved forward. I discuss five major themes: i) biodemography of disability; ii) ecological, developmental, behavioral and evolutionary biodemography; iii) biodemography of sociality; iv) genomic and genetic biodemography; and v) biodemographic modeling and analysis. I consider the last two areas (genomics/genetics; modeling/analysis) as both stand-alone topics and cross-cutting concepts. At the end of the paper I present ideas for charting the future course including strengthening and expanding infrastructure, database and website development, organizing conferences, submitting new training grants, and integrating biodemography into teaching programs.

Author’s Affiliation

• James R. Carey - University of California, Davis, United States of America EMAIL

Other articles by the same author/authors in Demographic Research

Interdisciplinary Research on Healthy Aging: Introduction
Volume 38 - Article 10

Most recent similar articles in Demographic Research

The impact of population heterogeneity on the age trajectory of neonatal mortality: A study of US births 2008–2014
Volume 53 - Article 7    | Keywords: frailty, heterogeneity, heterogeneity, infant mortality, mortality, mortality selection, mortality selection, neonatal mortality, United States of America

A comprehensive database of estimates and forecasts of Spanish sex–age death rates by climate area, income level, and habitat size (2010–2050)
Volume 52 - Article 1    | Keywords: georeferenced predictions, life tables, longevity, mortality trends, risk factors

On the relationship between life expectancy, modal age at death, and the threshold age of the life table entropy
Volume 51 - Article 24    | Keywords: Gompertz law, life expectancy, lifespan variation, longevity, mode, mortality

Ageing and diversity: Inequalities in longevity and health in low-mortality countries
Volume 50 - Article 12    | Keywords: aging, health, lifespan inequality, longevity, old-age threshold, regional differences, socioeconomic status

Longevity à la mode: A discretized derivative tests method for accurate estimation of the adult modal age at death
Volume 50 - Article 11    | Keywords: longevity, mathematical demography, modal age at death