Dilip Jeste, a leading expert in the field of aging, discussed his ongoing research on the criteria and determinants of successful aging on Jan. 27 as part of the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics Seminar Series.

The event was sponsored by the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics; the USC Edward R. Roybal Institute on Aging; the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development; the Titus Family Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Economics and Policy; and the USC School of Pharmacy.

Jeste, the director of the Sam and Rose Stein Institute for Research on Aging at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), is at the forefront of research efforts to develop a definition, as well as criteria for, successful aging.

He noted there was a time not long ago when successful aging was not taken seriously as an area of scientific research. "Some people have said 'successful aging' is an oxymoron," Jeste said.

These perceptions began to change in the 1980s when John Rowe and Robert Kahn started investigating aging in studies funded by the MacArthur Foundation, which dispelled widely held myths and assumptions about the aging process. Their work spawned the ground-breaking book, Succesful Aging, and jumpstarted research into what it means to age successfully.

Still, Jeste said that extant research on successful aging remains limited, and there is no consensus on what defines successful aging.

"There is less literature on successful aging than on the diseases of aging," Jeste said.

Interest in the topic of successful aging continues to grow among the gerontological community and general public in a nation where the fastest growing population is also the oldest segment of the population.

For his part, Jeste—along with a group of other researchers—launched a project called the UCSD Successful Aging Evaluation (SAGE) Study that sought to investigate the cognitive and emotional aspects of successful aging. The results of the study revealed an unusual paradox of aging. In spite of marked declines in physical and cognitive ability, the study found that the oldest individuals also had the highest levels of psychological well-being.

What is Jeste's criterion for successful aging?

Jeste says people who have physical illnesses or disabilities can still be seen as aging successfully. He considers optimal brain and mind functioning to be the foundation for successful aging. Part of this foundation is a result of the wisdom that generally comes with age.

Wisdom, much like successful aging, is an area of burgeoning research. It is also a concept that researchers are still struggling to measure and define.

"We need more reliable measures of wisdom," Jeste said. "Most measures are sub-optimal."

However, there is one notion about wisdom that he believes to be true.

"Wiser people live longer," Jeste said.