Complexity Medicine for Healthy Longevity (COMPMED)

Group Leader: Prof. Dr. med. Edouard Battegay

Overview

People worldwide live longer but not necessarily better. Little data is available from clinical studies on how to manage patients beyond the age of 60. The WHO has predicted that by 2030, 1 in 6 people worldwide will be aged 60 years or more. However, the proportion of life spent in good health has not improved much, implying that the additional years lived are spent in poor health.  

Our research aims to evaluate:

1. Whether and how current clinical treatment guidelines address age-related operational aspects of somatic-somatic or somatic-mental multimorbidity (Disease-Disease Interactions: DDI’s) and complexity in medical care, and
2. To determine which DDI’s warrant further research for better operational guidance by physicians in caring for aging patients to preserve fully functional lifestyles, and
3. To initiate guided self help and kindness activities to tackle mental comorbidities such as depression and anxiety disorders cooccurring in somatic conditions.

Applied Research and Innovation Potential

Research on aging aims to identify factors that modulate it and find ways of acting on them to increase the years of life in good health. Our group aims first to identify which specific aspects of aging patient management require further guidance. To achieve this objective, the group carries out systematic reviews of relevant clinical practice guidelines pertaining to factors that are known to modulate aging when optimally managed. For example, our current work has identified gaps in recommendations on the management of depression in patients with cardiovascular disease that need to be addressed to improve patient outcomes. If depression in a patient with cardiovascular disease is optimally addressed, the patient will more likely be prepared to invest themselves in improving their own health and improving their lifestyle.

Data Access and Exchange

All our research is available on MEDLINE.