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The Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study (SEBAS)

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Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging

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Overview

Background and Motivation

The Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study (SEBAS) was a joint undertaking between the Taiwan Health Promotion Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare (formerly the Taiwan Provincial Institute of Family Planning), and Princeton and Georgetown Universities, with notable contributions from others over the life of the project.

The very extensive data that were collected as part of the ongoing Taiwan Longitudinal Study of Aging (TLSA) provided a strong foundation for the underlying research questions: (1) what are the reciprocal relationships among health, the social environment, and exposure to challenge and (2) what can be learned from biomarkers about the pathways and mechanisms through which those relationships operate. The TLSA data – the first round was done in 1989 – comprised self-reported information on demographic characteristics, health and health-related behaviors, occupational and residential histories, participation in...

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Acknowledgments

Many people made crucial contributions to the success of the study, not all of whom are credited here; they have our thanks. Dr. Chang Ming-Cheng (Jack), who was Director of the Taiwan Provincial Institute of Family Planning at the inception of the project, had the foresight and courage to undertake this pioneering endeavor in addition to providing significant financial backing for the first round. Dr. Lin Hui-Sheng (Harvey), Mr. Chuang Yi-Li, and Dr. Lin Yu-Hsuan took over the reins when Dr. Chang retired; the project benefitted from their experience, hard work, and good will as the survey continued. Albert Hermalin, Germán Rodríguez, Chris Peterson, Teresa Seeman, Chris Coe, Paul Aisen, Burton Singer, Chris Seplaki, Cassio Turra, and Kaare Christensen made particularly notable contributions as well. This work was financed by the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research of the National Institute on Aging under grant numbers R01AG16661, R56AG16661, and R01AG16790 and by the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Georgetown University.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jennifer C. Cornman Consulting, Granville, OH, USA

    Jennifer C. Cornman

  2. Center for Population and Health, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA

    Dana A. Glei & Maxine Weinstein

  3. Office of Population Research, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA

    Noreen Goldman

Authors
  1. Jennifer C. Cornman
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  2. Dana A. Glei
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  3. Noreen Goldman
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  4. Maxine Weinstein
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maxine Weinstein .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Population Division, Department of Economics and Social Affairs, United Nations, New York, NY, USA

    Danan Gu

  2. Department of Population Health Sciences, Department of Sociology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Matthew E. Dupre

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Population Health Sciences - Department of Sociology, Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Matthew E. Dupre Ph.D.

  2. Duke Clinical Research Institute, School of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Matthew E. Dupre Ph.D.

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Cornman, J.C., Glei, D.A., Goldman, N., Weinstein, M. (2021). The Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study (SEBAS). In: Gu, D., Dupre, M.E. (eds) Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22009-9_983

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