AGING SOCIETIES: Human victory or evolutionary trap?

1
AGING SOCIETIESHuman victory or evolutionary
trap?
2
The project team

• Fleur Thomése, Ralf Kaptijn
• (Theo van Tilburg, Aat Liefbroer)
• Social Sciences VU/NiDi
• Rudi Westendorp, David van Bodegom
• (Eline Slagboom)
• Geriatrics/Moleculair Epidemiology LUMC

3
Research area

• Population aging
• lower fertility and prolonged life span
• Social background
• the (first) demographic transition
• through (inter alia) better living conditions
• Evolutionary consequence?
• Selection on low fertility and high life
  expectancy

4
Life History Theory

• Trade-offs between somatic maintenance and
  fertility
• Disposable soma (Westendorp Kirkwood)
• genetic balance between both
• Embodied capital (Kaplan et al.)
• direct investment strategies as well

5
Research strategy

• 3 research populations
• (Ghana now, Netherlands 19th century and
  Netherlands 20th century)
• How are fertility and longevity related in pre
  and post transition populations?
• (3 populations)

6
Research strategy

• 3 research populations
• (Ghana now, Netherlands 19th century and
  Netherlands 20th century)
• 2. Can an association between fertility and
  longevity be genetically explained from
  resistance to infections?
• (Ghana)

7
Research strategy

• 3 research populations
• (Ghana now, Netherlands 19th century and
  Netherlands 20th century)
• 3. How do grandparents contribute to the life
  chances of grandchildren in pre and post
  transition populations?
• (3 populaties)

8
Research strategy

• 3 research populations
• (Ghana now, Netherlands 19th century and
  Netherlands 20th century)
• 4. Are there signs of reduced selection
• on fertility in post transition
• populations?
• (comparison Ghana-NL now)
• Adriana Iliescu,
• Mother of 66

9
Synergy

• Multifaceted adventure,
• both theoretically and interdisciplinary
• Social scientific affinity with
• life course approach
• Potential connection with evolutionary sociology
• (Ruud Koopmans)