Center for Disability and Disabling Disorders

The objective of the Yale Center on Disability and Disabling Disorders is to address fundamental issues related to the epidemiology and prevention of disability, a problem of immense importance to older persons, their families and society. Under the leadership of Dr. Thomas Gill (Director), the Center conducts longitudinal studies and clinical trials to enhance the scientific knowledge base of the disablement process and to rigorously evaluate promising intervention strategies.

The Center includes clinical investigators and trainees across disciplines, who are pursuing aging research related to disability and disabling disorders. This includes functional assessment in general as well as the functional consequences of highly prevalent disease-specific conditions such as arthritis, heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, stroke, depression, and dementia.

The Center works closely with the superb Resource Cores of the Program on Aging (Biostatistics and Operations) and has access to data from several large NIH-sponsored studies, including

• Precipitating Events Project (PEP Study): Publications List
  
• National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS)
• STRIDE Study

Formal postdoctoral training in Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology and Aging-Related Research, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, and in the Epidemiology of Aging and Disability, sponsored by the Center.