A word from the new Director
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I am thrilled and honored to step into the role of Director at NEAR. Having been part of this infrastructure since 2018, as the Scientific Coordinator and Vice Director, I have witnessed its remarkable growth and contributed to its development. Taking on the Directorship feels like the logical next step, and I am eager to build on the strong foundation already established by Laura Fratiglioni.
My vision is to continue to foster world-class research by integrating new technologies, data sources, and developing statistical methods for multi-center data. In this newsletter, you can read more about our recent advancements in handling missing data across studies, when data pooling isn't feasible, by our guest writer, Robert Thiesmeier.
Speaking of impact, I'm especially proud that NEAR research has contributed to the foundation of the government's new national dementia strategy, "Every Day Counts: National Dementia Strategy 2025–2028". In this letter, you can also read more about other examples of recent NEAR data being used in public reports on the prevalence and costs of dementia in Sweden.
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Debora Rizzuto, Director, NEAR. Photo: Stefan Zimmerman
Strengthening our ties with Nordic research infrastructures is crucial for expanding NEAR’s impact and advancing aging research, regionally and internationally. As a natural progression, I'm very excited to announce that the yearly NEAR workshop will collaborate with REWHARD infrastructure this fall, focusing on non-response in cohort and survey studies. Don't miss this event!
But for now, I'm wishing you all a wonderful, relaxing summer. Let's recharge and come back ready to achieve even greater milestones together!
Read more about Debora's vision as the new Director of NEAR.
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Ongoing and upcoming data collection
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One important aspect of NEAR is its support for ongoing data collection across all included NEAR databases. By doing this, we can follow individuals over a longer period, investigate differences between birth cohorts, and keep our databases innovative and prepared to address future research and public health questions. Here is more detailed information about the ongoing and upcoming data collection efforts for the NEAR databases.
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The Swedish National study on Aging and Care (SNAC):
- SNAC-Kungsholmen (SNAC-K): Data collection for wave 8 is ongoing (around 21 years of follow-up), including new cohorts of 60-year-olds. Data collection for follow-ups of wave 9 (around 24 years of follow-up) and new cohorts of 81-year-olds starts in early fall 2025.
- SNAC-Nordanstig (SNAC-N): Data collection for wave 8 has been completed (around 21 years of follow-up), and data collection for wave 9 (around 24 years of follow-up), as well as new cohorts of 60- and 81-year-olds, are ongoing.
- SNAC-Skåne (SNAC-S/GÅS): Has completed wave 8 data collection (around 21 years of follow-up). Data collection for follow-ups of wave 9 (around 24 years of follow-up) and new cohorts of 60- and 81-year-olds is ongoing.
- SNAC-Blekinge (SNAC-B): Data collection for wave 8 has been complete (around 21 years of follow-up). Data collection for follow-ups of wave 9 (around 24 years of follow-up) and new cohorts of 60- and 81-year-olds started at the beginning of 2025.
The Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies: The baseline examination of 70-year-olds born in 1952-1954 has been finalized, and follow-ups of 80-year-olds born in 1944 are ongoing (around 10 years of follow-up).
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Pia Lundgren (nurse) during an interview for SNAC-K. Photo: Mai Engström
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New NEAR results: Public report on the prevalence and costs of dementia diseases
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In September 2024, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs requested updated data on the incidence, prevalence, and costs of dementia from Karolinska Institutet (KI). As a result, a working group was established under NEAR, and data from the Swedish National Study on Aging and Care (SNAC) was used.
"By using NEAR data, we could examine prevalence trends and costs of dementia across different geographical parts of Sweden", says the report's first author, Anders Wimo.
Based on this data, it was found that between 130,000 and 150,000 individuals had dementia in Sweden in 2023. Of these, approximately 65,000 lived in specialized housing. Demographic projections indicate that by 2050, approximately 230,000 to 270,000 persons will have dementia.
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Anders Wimo, Senior Professor and first author of the study. Photo: Christina Busck
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"Moreover, we found that the social costs associated with dementia were estimated to be between SEK 90 and 100 billion. Approximately 85 percent of these costs will be incurred by the municipal sector, with specialized care homes representing a significant portion of this expenditure.
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Title of the research project:
The number of people with dementia and the costs of dementia in Sweden in 2023.
Databases included:
1) The Swedish National study on Aging and Care – 1) Kungsholmen (SNAC-K), 2) Nordanstig (SNAC-N), 3) Skåne (SNAC-S), and 4) Blekinge (SNAC-B).
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Amaia Caldéron-Larrañaga, Associate Professor and last author of the study. Photo: Maria Yohuang
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Thus, the care of individuals with dementia poses significant challenges for municipalities both now and in the future", says Wimo.
Approximately 78 percent of the total costs were attributed to dementia diseases. However, researchers underline that significant methodological challenges exist and that further knowledge is essential.
“Larger studies with greater representation of older individuals living in specialized housing are necessary to clarify trends in dementia prevalence further”, says the report's last author, Amaia Calderón-Larrañaga.
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Anders's and Amaia's experience working with NEAR data:
The NEAR infrastructure provides unique opportunities to address key questions in aging research, while keeping a national perspective in mind. We look forward to continuing our work on prevalence trends, incorporating additional cohort studies from NEAR.
Publication:
Wimo A, Qiu C, Fratiglioni L, Liang Y, Grande G,
Sköldunger A, Sanmartin Berglund J, Elmståhl S, Jönsson L, Aye S, Frisell O, Calderón-Larrañaga A. Antalet demenssjuka och kostnader för demenssjukdomar i Sverige 2023. Aging Research Center (ARC) och Avdelningen för neurogeriatrik, Institutionen, Karolinska Institutet, Mars 2025. ISBN: 978-91-531-4372-7.
Read more about other NEAR results
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Anders Behrens is currently using NEAR data to explore how sleep affects cognition and how pain and medications can mediate this relationship.
Hello Anders, how is your project coming along?
Hi, I have just received the complete data set. It is a bit of a challenge to merge everything, but I am progressing at a steady pace. I have a clear path forward and no big problems so far.
Why are you using NEAR data?
I studied sleep as a predictor of future cognitive decline on our regional cohort SNAC-B, in Blekinge. I found some interesting associations that I wanted to follow up on and explore further. It was clear that I needed more power than using only our regional cohort, so getting a much larger sample from NEAR was a great opportunity.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using NEAR data? Pooling data from several cohorts gives good statistical power. Also, the multi-center study gives generalizable results.
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Title of the research project:
Sleep disturbances and cognitive decline: can pain or medications influence this relationship?
Databases included:
1) The Swedish National study on Aging and Care – Skåne (SNAC-S), 2) Kungsholmen (SNAC-K), 3) Blekinge (SNAC-B), and 4) Nordanstig (SNAC-N).
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Anders Behrens, Neurologist and postdoctoral researcher at Blekinge Tekniska Högskola (BTH) and the first author of the project. Photo: Private
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Being able to access longitudinal data with long follow-up times, as in my case, 18 years, is great. Such studies, of course, would not be possible for me to conduct on my own, and the longitudinal design allows exploring causal relationships, which are very much needed.
Best life hack:
I’m currently into the philosophy of Karl Popper. What I recently found interesting is his ideas about “problems”. It provided a good reframe for me. Humans thrive when problem-solving, and an unproblematic situation might not be even desirable. As researchers, we have the luxury of finding interesting problems that motivate us to get up in the morning.
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Bridging Scientific Gaps: Collaborative Research Across Infrastructures
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On 27 May, NEAR and REWHARD (RElations, Work and Health across the life-course - A Research Data Infrastructure) met at the Aging Research Center (ARC) to discuss potential research collaborations focused on the effects of retirement on health, quality of life, and work environment. A total of 20 participants joined, both onsite and online, to get to know each other better, present the infrastructures, and explore ways to utilize our data to address future research questions on retirement.
REWHARD includes the four datasets: 1) SLOSH; 2) IMAS; 3) STODS; and 4) LNU*. By integrating NEAR's detailed aging research data with REWHARD's extensive datasets, such as IMAS, which includes data on 14 million Swedish individuals, researchers can gain a wider perspective in understanding various factors affecting retirement, health, and well-being. The meeting was followed by an ARC seminar by the participating researcher, Brian Beach, who gave an interesting presentation about: “Working later: Sickness absence, disability, and cognitive health”.
There are many research gaps in the field of retirement. One question to further explore is whether extended working lives are positive or negative for one's health, and for which groups this may be beneficial. It's also essential to identify the circumstances under which longer working lives are suitable to design a labor market that promotes longer working lives with good health, productivity, and quality of life. Considering the rapid changes in retirement legislation in Sweden and other European countries, this topic requires further exploration. Are you interested in contributing to this vital research field by working with NEAR and REWHARD data? Contact us!
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* REWHARD databases: 1) SLOSH (Swedish Longitudinal Occupational Survey of Health): Focuses on the relationship between work and health over time; 2) IMAS (Insurance Medicine All Sweden): Contains data related to insurance medicine; 3) STODS (Swedish Twin project Of Disability pension and Sickness absence): Studies disability pensions and sickness absence using twin data; and 4) LNU (Level of Living Survey): Provides comprehensive data on living conditions in Sweden.
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Methodological advancements: Guest writer
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"We have developed cross-site imputation,
a novel approach that allows researchers to recover missing data without pooling
individual-level information"
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In the realm of scientific research, multisite studies are crucial for gathering comprehensive data. However, these collaborative efforts often face a significant challenge: some sites may not hold all key variables. Traditionally, researchers would use data from sites with recorded observations to fill these gaps, but this isn't always feasible due to logistical or legal constraints.
To address this issue, we developed cross-site imputation, a novel approach that allows researchers to recover missing data without pooling individual-level information. Thus, instead of sharing raw data, sites can share predicted regression coefficients and variances that contain the statistical relationship between variables. We successfully applied this method to recover missing data in studies across Swedish hospitals, ensuring that all sites can be included in the analysis. This innovative solution is particularly important when working with multi-center studies, such as NEAR, where privacy and data security are paramount. By extending multiple imputation techniques to these settings, researchers can maintain data privacy while still addressing missing data issues.
As collaborations within and between countries have become standard in observational research, cross-site imputation offers a practical and effective approach for handling missing data across studies, especially when data pooling isn't feasible due to logistical or legal constraints. If you want to use this method or know more, feel free to contact me at: robert.thiesmeier@ki.se
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24-26 September - NEAR will be present at the 21st EU-GMS congress in Reykjavik, Iceland.
- 25 September, 14:50-15:30; "Multimorbidity and polypharmacy in older people living with atrial fibrillation", Davide Vetrano.
- 25 September, 17:00-18:15; "Ethics in Ageing Medicine", Laura Fratiglioni.
26 November - NEAR seminar together with REWHARD: "Dealing with non-response in cohort and survey studies – Overcoming and tackling it", online and on-site. More info and registration will follow for all NEAR newsletter subscribers.
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NEAR was founded in 2018 and promotes and supports aging research by facilitating the use of longitudinal population-based data from various well-known Swedish studies on aging and health. It is based on a collaboration among seven Swedish universities, includes 15 databases with individual assessments, and cooperates with other national research infrastructures. NEAR provides a broad range of biomedical, clinical, social, and psychological health data from around 100,000 older adults followed for 12 to 52 years.
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