"Researching old age is also researching society," says Marja Jylhä, professor of gerontology.

Researcher profile:

A person begins to grow old before birth

Gerontologist Marja Jylhä knows that old age is merely one stage in the life course.

Text: Anne Kauranen
Photo: Jonne Renvall
Translation: Virginia Mattila

For Marja Jylhä, a gerontologist, old age is a relative concept.

"Old people are not other people.  I have sought to combat the conception of age as otherness because one day everyone who does not die too early will  be old," Marja Jylhä points out.

Professor Jylhä is also of the opinion that the changes accompanying old age should be recognised.

"There is a great deal of talk about old age being only an attitude. I find it strange. When growing old something also happens to people."

At the School of Public Health, Professor Jylhä uses interdisciplinary methods in her research on growing old.  She did her doctorate in medical science but in her research she combines medical and social sciences approaches.  This means, for example, that she is interested not only in physical functioning ability but also in people's subjectively perceived state of health.

The many faces of old age

One of the research projects Professor Jylhä leads is intended to ascertain how and why people's own assessments of their health predict mortality and development of their state of health. The outcome of the study reveals that how a person evaluates her health is an excellent prognosis of how that health will progress and of how many years the person has left.

"This again indicates a connection between a person's biology and awareness. A person identifies vague sensations in her own body.  Such sensations about one's health are very useful, for example, for examining whether some treatment has had any effect.  So far doctors have not been very interested in the patient's own estimations," Professor Jylhä points out.

Another noteworthy observation of Professor Jylhä's is what a truly multifaceted process growing old is. This became particularly apparent in research on nonagenarians on the Vitality 90 Project (In Finnish: Tervaskanto 90+). The findings show that the oldest of the old are a highly heterogeneous group.

"It's no use asking in general what old people are like. In point of fact those over 90 are less similar to each other than those around 30.  As you might expect, there are those suffering from dementia among nonagenarians, but there are also people who go shopping by bicycle and do their own gardening," she explains.

A growing field of research

Professor Jylhä stresses that she does not do her research in isolation. She is surrounded by a closeknit research group which includes post docs and postgraduates. Through the group the most junior grow into multidisciplinary research.

Professor Jylhä also maintains active contacts with other top research groups in Finland and abroad. She is a regular visitor at the National Institute on Aging in the USA, meeting place for a worldwide researcher network. Her contacts inside Finland are intense.

"We have a joint project with the people in Jyväskylä under the auspices of the University Alliance. The purpose is to join forces to set up a research centre on growing old which, once it's up and running will be among the best in Europe."

Research that makes a difference

Research on old age, according to Professor Jylhä, is also research on society. However, her primary objective is a better understanding of things. Making a difference comes alongside.

"We consider it important in my research group to have an opportunity to provide input for the debate on old age.  That way we can justifiably cast doubt on the public image of growing old."

Professor Jylhä and her research group are also keen to present a more multifaceted picture of old age.

"There is a notion that a person is personally responsible for her state of health and that with healthy habits everyone will be OK.  Not so.  It is always good to quit smoking and take exercise, but on an individual level. Ultimately sickness is a matter of chance. Actually, many people simply have to realise that at some point they have less energy and everything takes more time."

So what age does the researcher call old?

"Old compared to what? A ballerina is considered old sooner than, for example, a university researcher. Growing old commences in some ways before we are born. There are some mornings when I already feel very old," says Professor Jylhä with a laugh.