Dr. Cathal Mc Crory

Summary

Funding Agency

National Institutes of health / Science Foundation Ireland

Programme

US-Ireland partnership award

Summary

A consistent finding in the epidemiological literature is that health is socially patterned. On average, individuals from more disadvantaged social backgrounds will develop diseases earlier and will die earlier compared with their more advantaged peers. So ubiquitous is the association between health and wealth that it has been referred to as a "fundamental" cause of disease. But what is it about low socio-economic status (SES) that makes a person growing up disadvantaged more likely to experience disease, to experience earlier onset of disease, and more likely to suffer premature mortality? Understanding how social group-based differences in SES become biologically embedded in the tissues and organs of the body over the life course is the focus of this project. We will develop a measure for estimating the impact of life course stresses on the body and explore the extent to which this construct explains differences in longevity between different SES groups. It is anticipated that this project will lead to the identification of modifiable risk and resilience factors that contribute to accelerated ageing and will help inform societal approaches to reduce health inequalities and promote healthy ageing.

Funding Agency

Health Research Board

Programme

Emerging Investigator Award

Person Months

48

Summary

Provides the survey and administrative infrastructure for waves 5-6 of the TILDA study

Funding Agency

Health Research Board

Programme

Core funding

Summary

This secondary data analysis project using the Growing Up in Ireland 98 cohort will identify factors predicting onset and patterns of drug use among young people in Ireland and the impact of this drug use on young people in order to identify potential areas for intervention.

Funding Agency

Health Research Board

Programme

Single supplier framework agreement

Summary

The number of homeless adults in Ireland is rising. Homeless people have more chronic illnesses and a shorter life-expectancy than people who have somewhere secure to live. We have carried out a pilot study showing that homeless people have dementia, frailty and other diseases associated with ageing at a much younger age than expected. We will now carry out an in-depth study to see whether homeless people are ageing more rapidly. This will give those who provide accommodation and care for homeless people the information they need to plan what buildings, staff and healthcare they should provide in the future for homeless people. It will also give us a better understanding of what factors lead to premature or accelerated ageing in homeless people.

Funding Agency

Health Research Board

Programme

Applied Partnership Awards