Aging: a subject that must be at the top of world agendas

摘要

Today we join some 100 other medical journals from over 30 countries in publishing an issue devoted tq aging. Our aims are to alert readers, the public, and governments to the radical changes being created across the world by the aging of populations and to contribute a substantial body of research and information on all aspects of aging. Aging emerged as the favoured subject for the global theme issue after a two stage voting process among editors of medical journals. Research has shown that readers also rank it as the top issue. One reason that aging emerged in first place is that it affects everything—cells, physiological systems, clinical medicine, society, economics, ethics. This theme issue—in the tradition of the BMJ— tries to reflect that broad impact.