Welcome from the Chairman

It is a common knowledge that age-related changes occur at the functional and physiological level. Generally, most of an individual's functions begin to drop linearly after reaching peak performance in their third decade of life. The proportion of the global older population (≥60 years) will nearly double from 12% to 22% over the period 2015-2050 and it was estimated that 80% of older population will be living in low-and middle-income countries in 2050. Following this, the burden of age-related diseases will be increased and previous research indicate that cardiovascular diseases, malignant neoplasms, chronic respiratory diseases, musculoskeletal disorders,

and neurological and mental disorders had the highest contribution to burden of diseases in this population. Hence, comprehensive and continuous research on the biological, clinical, behavioral and social aspects of aging should not be undermined and establishing new journals to address the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention or control of diseases among the older population seems to be necessary.

It is with great pleasure that we announce the release of the International Journal of Aging (IJA), and we would like to extend a warm welcome the IJA readership. The IJA is mainly focused on research on the epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention/control of diseases among the older population. We also welcome research focused on other aspects of geriatric medicine and clinical gerontology. The journal also aims to incorporate research from the basic sciences and translational medicine, which is focused on uncovering the pathophysiology of aging disorders. Most of the journals in the field are dedicated to either geriatrics medicine or gerontology, while there are a small number that considers these two fields together.

As technology and clinical medicine are rapidly evolving, we believe that the broad coverage of IJA will be appealing for both readers and authors. As the Chairman, I am devoted to promoting this journal globally and increasing its accessibility. Finally, I would like to invite everyone to submit their high quality and interesting articles to IJA. In order to enhance the field of geriatric medicine and clinical gerontology, we are committed to publicizing all findings, techniques, resources, and reviews. We greatly look forward to hearing from you all and genuinely welcome your feedback.

With kind regards,

Shahram Dabiri Oskuei

Chairman