The Long-Term Effects of War on Biological Aging: The Case of Vietnam

Project's Details

Title: The Long-Term Effects of War on Biological Aging: The Case of Vietnam

Funded by: Canadian Institutes of Health Research Sub-Grant agreement through Mount Saint Vincent University

Amount: $53,000 CAD

PI: Professor Zachary Zimmer, Department of Family Studies and Gerontology, Mount Saint Vincent University

Co-PI: Associate Professor Bussarawan (Puk) Teerawichitchainan, Department of Sociology and Co-Director of CFPR, NUS

Project completion: 31 March 2025

Abstract

Co-led by Associate Professor Bussarawan (Puk) Teerawichitchainan, this grant from CIHR takes advantage of the waves 1 and 2 data and biomarkers of the VHAS study by enabling further DNA epigenetic testing, and the processing of these biomarkers to form four multifactorial measures (inflammaging, physiological dysregulation, allostatic load, and metabolic syndrome) to understand the long-term impact of war on health and well-being. Additionally, the fund will be used for qualitative data collection and analysis that will seek to understand older Vietnamese experiences through the war, related meanings of these experiences, and themechanisms linking war exposure and health.