’The focus on diseases is changing’

Since 1972, the number of children being born every year in Germany has been lower than the number of people dying. Demographic change is impacting on our society. A growing number of older and old people means, among other things, that there is an increasing demand for healthcare services. In this interview with Kathrin Nolte , Prof. Klaus Berger , Director of the Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine, and his deputy, Prof. André Karch, talk about the challenges this will entail for research and healthcare. How is demographic change impacting on medical research? Klaus Berger: The discussion is influenced in particular by the question of which department is looking at demographic change. As an epidemiologist I deal not only with rising life expectancy and changes in the frequency of illnesses, but also with risk factors and consequences for diseases which occur in old age and how these affect patients' quality of life. Neurodegenerative diseases such as dementia, for example, were extremely rare 100 years ago.