Health and Ageing in Older Adults: A gender-specific and life-course perspective

In this thesis we aimed to provide insights in health and ageing of older adults whilst adopting an integrated, gender-specific, and life-course approach. As a first step we studied the global micro-economic and macro-economic impact of NCDs in societies. Thereafter, we developed a healthy ageing score and applied the new concept of cardiovascular health to the population-based Rotterdam Study, after which we assessed age and gender differences and the role of sex steroids. Furthermore, because women encounter experiences throughout their lives that are exclusive to them, in this thesis we specifically focused on conceptualizing healthy menopause and on the role of fertile lifespan characteristics and different types of ovarian dysfunction in cardiometabolic and overall health.