Aging well in an aging society: Italy at the forefront of global aging and the Age-It Research Program.

Daniele Vignoli, Marco Albertini, Carlos Chiatti, Gianluca Aimaretti, Giovanna Boccuzzo, Vanna Boffo, Agar Brugiavini, Filippo Cavallo, Simone Cenci, Antonio Cherubini, Febo Cincotti, Fabrizio d'Adda di Fagagna, Carlo Ferrarese, Vincenzo Galasso, Elisabetta Galeotti, Andrea Graziani, Guido Iaccarino, Fabrizia Lattanzio, Claudio Lucifora, Mario Mezzanzanica, Giuseppe Passarino, Anna Paterno, Sabrina Prati, Raffaella I Rumiati, Marco Sandri, Cecilia Tomassini, Alexandra Torbica, Andrea Ungar, Alessandra Petrucci

Journal: The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences 2025;80(Supplement_2):S99-S109

PMID: 41442765

View on PubMed

Abstract

OBJECTIVES

Italy, one of the world's super-aged societies, faces profound demographic transformations amid relevant regional disparities in sociodemographic trends, institutional structures, and economic conditions. These features make it an ideal laboratory to study both the challenges and opportunities of population aging. This article introduces Age-It, a Research Program designed to leverage Italy's position at the forefront of global aging to advance transdisciplinary research and inform evidence-based policies and practices on aging.

METHODS

Age-It adopts a life course perspective encompassing individual, family, and societal levels. It conceptualizes "aging well" as the outcome of multi-agent, multi-context processes unfolding from early life through old age. Furthermore, Age-It moves beyond a multidisciplinary approach by fostering true cross-fertilization between biomedical, sociodemographic, and technological sciences. Structured as an umbrella initiative, the program brings together multiple interlinked projects that address diverse dimensions of aging through transdisciplinary and collaborative research.

RESULTS

The program addresses key limitations in Italy's current aging research and policy landscape: fragmented data, disciplinary silos, and weak connections between research and policymaking. By integrating biomedical, technological, and socioeconomic perspectives into structured, theory-driven research centers (Spokes), Age-It provides a coordinated and innovative platform for studying aging.

DISCUSSION

Leveraging Italy's unique demographic profile and internal heterogeneity, Age-It promotes sustainable aging by harnessing the opportunities embedded in demographic change. The program ranges from the biology of aging to mental and physical health prevention, long-term care, labor market dynamics, and social participation-ultimately aiming to reshape how aging is perceived and managed in aging societies.

Address: Department of Statistics, Computer Science, Applications, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.; Department of Political and Social Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.; Italian Ageing-Age-It Scarl, Florence, Italy.; Department of Translational Medicine, University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy.; Department of Statistical Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.; Department of Education, Languages, Intercultural Studies, Literatures, and Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.; Department of Economics, Ca' Foscari University of Venice, Venice, Italy.; Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.; University Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Milan, Italy.; IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Division Genetics and Cell Biology, Milan, Italy.; Department of Frailty, Post-Acute Care and Rehabilitation, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy.; Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy.; Department of Computer, Control and Management Engineering, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.; Neuroelectrical Imaging Lab, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.; Institute of Molecular Genetics (IGM), National Research Institute (CNR), Pavia, Italy.; IFOM ETS-The AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology, Milan, Italy.; Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.; Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo dei Tintori, Monza, Italy.; Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy.; Department of Humanities, University of Piemonte Orientale, Vercelli, Italy.; Department of Translational Medicine, University of Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy.; Molecular Biotechnology Center and Department of Molecular Biotechnologies and Health Science, University of Torino, Torino, Italy.; Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy.; Department of Frailty, Post-Acute Care and Rehabilitation, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy.; Department of Economics and Finance, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy.; Department of Statistics and Quantitative Methods, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.; Department of Biology, Ecology, and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Cosenza, Italy.; Department of Political Science, University of Bari, Bari, Italy.; Italian National Institute of Statistics (Istat), Italy.; Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, Trieste, Italy.; Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padova, Padova, Italy.; Department of Economics, University of Molise, Campobasso, Italy.; Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.

DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbaf219

MeSH Terms: Humans, Italy, Aging, Aged, Healthy Aging, Interdisciplinary Research