Gerontology

Definition

Gerontology is the multidisciplinary scientific study of ageing processes and older adulthood, spanning biological, psychological, social, and policy dimensions and distinguishing itself from clinically oriented fields such as geriatrics through its broader analytic scope. [1]

Scope

Gerontology addresses normal ageing from midlife onward by integrating physiology, psychology, sociology, and public health to assess biological mechanisms, functional change, and their implications for programs and policy. [2]

Key domains include biological gerontology (mechanisms of ageing), psychological gerontology (cognition, emotion, and adaptation), and social gerontology (caregiving, retirement, and demographic change), emphasizing how population ageing reshapes institutions and quality of life. [3]

Relationship to Geroscience

Geroscience is a biological subset within gerontology that centers on cellular and molecular mechanisms of ageing and their links to chronic disease, whereas gerontology maintains a wider lens that includes clinical, social, and policy consequences of ageing. [4]

References

1. University of Georgia, College of Public Health. What is gerontology? https://publichealth.uga.edu/research/research-institutes/institute-of-gerontology/about/what-is-gerontology/
2. Rasmussen University. What is gerontology? https://www.rasmussen.edu/degrees/nursing/blog/what-is-gerontology/
3. ScienceDirect Topics. Gerontology. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/gerontology
4. National Center for Biotechnology Information. Geroscience. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK218728/