Great interest when participants in long-term study SNAC-K met researchers

SNAC - The Swedish National Study on Aging and Care - is a national longitudinal study of aging and the care society and welfare of the elderly, where SNAC-K stands for the Stockholm part of the study (Kungsholmen)

On October 17, 2018, the “Proband day” was held in Aula Medica. The Proband day is held every three years as an opportunity for participants in the study and their relatives to take part of results and listen to current findings by some of the leading researchers in the field of aging research.

The meeting was moderated by Åsa Hedberg Rundgren, PhD, director of the Stockholm Gerontology Research Center.

Anders Wimo, MD, professor and national coordinator of SNAC, gave a background to SNAC-K, which is the Kungsholm-part of the study. He also talked about the important care given by relatives. Old people with cognitive impairments that still lives at home, receive twice as much care from their relatives as from society.

Professor Laura Fratiglioni, MD, project manager told us that we live longer with better health, but that we can do a lot to improve health further at older age by promoting a healthy lifestyle and live an active, committed life.

Linnea Sjöberg, PhD, spoke about depression at older age and how the risk of developing depression can be reduced.

Anna-Karin Welmer, physiotherapist, associate professor and deputy project manager, talked about fall risks in older adults and how to prevent this by balance training.

Johan Fastbom, MD and professor, informed about his research on drug use and that drug treatment of dementia in older adults above 81 years has increased over the last 20 years.

Erika Jonsson Laukka, psychologist and associate professor, told us how the sense of smell changes in aging and its close association with emotions.

During the brake, audience and researchers from Aging Research Center (KI), SNAC-K, the Stockholm Gerontology Research Center and the Swedish Dementia Centre had the opportunity to meet.

^{Participants in the study speak with Gunilla Svanhagen from the Stockholm Gerontology Research Center. Poto: Maria Yohuang}

Facts about the study

SNAC (the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care) is a national long-term studie in aging that started 2001. It takes place in four geographic areas: Nordanstig, Kungsholmen and the Essinge islands (Essingeöarna), Karlskrona, and in the region of Skåne (where the participating municipalities are Eslöv, Hässleholm, Malmö, Osby, and Ystad). SNAC is supported by the Swedish Ministry of Health and Social Affairs and by the municipalities, county councils, and universities in the four areas. Read more at www.snac.org.

Proband - what does it mean?

Proba'nd (Latin proba'ndus 'to be investigated', from pro'bo 'try', 'review', 'examine')
Proband is a terminology used in genealogy, and is the designation of the person from which a pedigree is based. When used in medical genetics, the term refers to the individual in which a certain genetic change is detected.