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Dementia is a syndrome characterized by cognitive and neuropsychiatric symptoms associated with progressive functional decline (FD). FD is a core diagnostic criterion for dementia, setting the threshold between its prodromal stages and the full-blown disease. The operationalization of FD continues to generate a great deal of controversy. For instance, the threshold of FD for the diagnosis of dementia varies across diagnostic criteria, supporting the need for standardization of this construct. Moreover, there is a need to reconsider how we are measuring FD to set boundaries between normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, and dementia. In this paper, we propose a multidimensional framework that addresses outstanding issues in the assessment of FD: i) What activities of daily living (ADLs) are necessary to sustain an independent living in aging? ii) How to assess FD in individuals with suspected neurocognitive disorders? iii) To whom is the assessment directed? and iv) How much does FD differentiate healthy aging from mild and major neurocognitive disorders? Importantly, the To Whom Question introduces a person-centered approach that regards patients and caregivers as active agents in the assessment process of FD. Thus, once impaired ADLs have been identified, patients can indicate how significant such impairments are for them in daily life. We envisage that this new framework will guide future strategies to enhance functional assessment and treatment of patients with dementia and their caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies reported the negative impact of social isolation on mental health in people with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers, butlongitudinal studies seem scarcer. Objective: To describe a one-year follow-up impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on PwD and their caregivers in both Brazil and Chile. Methods: This study analyzed the impact of the pandemic on the psychological and physical health of PwD and their family caregivers after one year of follow-up in three outpatient clinics in Brazil (n = 68) and Chile (n = 61). Results: In both countries, PwD reduced their functional capacity after one year of follow-up (p = 0.017 and p = 0.009; respectively) and caregivers reported worse physical and mental health (p = 0.028 and p = 0.039). Only in Chile, caregivers reported more sadness associated with care (p = 0.001), and reduced time sleeping (p = 0.07). Conclusions: In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have had a long-lasting impact on PwD and their caregivers. However, it is essential to acknowledge that the inherent progression of dementia itself may also influence changes observed over a year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Subjective cognitive complaints (SCCs), defined as cognitive concerns of people who may or may not have deficits in objective, is considered a predictor for cognitive and functional decline and incident to dementia risk of progression to dementia. SCC is a heterogeneous condition associated. Most of the studies have been carried out in populations other than those of Latin America. The objective of this study was to analyze the socio‐demographic and functional profile in SCC elderly with and without cognitive impairment. Method: The GERO cohort is a prospective cohort study of community‐dwelling elderly with SCC, without dementia, aged 70 or older living in Santiago, Chile. Participants were identified by a household census and information on demographics, biomedical, psychosocial, neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric, and motor function were collected by means of questionnaires and evaluations. Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) was used to compare individuals with and without cognitive impairment (MOCA score ≤ 21 and > 21 respectively). Functionality was measured with the Pfeffer Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ) and Technology Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (T‐ADLQ) that yield a global score and score by domain of activities of daily living (ADL), i.e basic (BADL), instrumental (IADL), and advanced ADL (a‐ADL). Result: From May 2017 to December 2020, a total of 17,759 households were successfully approached, identifying 2,533 eligible subjects, of which 299 individuals were included. After evaluation, 7 individuals were excluded for different reasons and 291 individuals were analyzed, female 80% (n = 243). The age of the individuals was 76.8 ± 5 years old, 60% of the participants were older than 75 years old. Participants with cognitive impairment compared to those without it were older (p = 0.003), with lower education years (p = <0.001), lower income (p = 0.036), lower MMSE score (p = <0.001), decline in a‐ADL (p = 0.006) and with more hypertension prevalence (p = 0.009) Conclusion: Few other studies addressed cognitive complaint and functionality decline in recruited elderly at home. Older adults with cognitive impairments are characterized by less years of education, income, poor functionality and more comorbidities. Future multidimensional and prospective analysis of this cohort could bring more information about this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to gerontological thought, an important part of senior citizens' disabilities are products of their social exclusion rather than factors associated with their physical or mental health. How these exclusions come about was the purpose of the research reported in this article. The study was conducted among 682 Chilean university students using a semantic differential test. A generalized negative image on old age was observed. The conclusion is that social images of old age affect the well-being of present and future senior citizens. (Contains 16 figures and 1 table.)

Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) refers to a self-perceived experience of decreased cognitive function without objective signs of cognitive impairment in neuropsychological tests or daily living activities. Despite the abundance of instruments addressing SCD, there is no consensus on the methods to be used. Our study is founded on 11 questions selected due to their recurrence in most instruments. The objective was to determine which one of these questions could be used as a simple screening tool. 189 participants aged 65 and over selected from Primary Care centers in Santiago de Chile responded to these 11 questions and were evaluated with the MiniMental State Examination (MMSE), the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), the Pfeffer functional scale, and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS). An Item ResponseTheory (IRT) method was performed to assess the contribution of each of the 11 questions to the SCD latent trait and its discrimination ability. Based on the results of the exploratory factor analysis showing very high/low saturation of several questions on the factors, and the high residual correlation between some questions, the IRT methods led to select one question ("Do you feel like your memory has become worse?") which revealed to be the most contributive and discriminant. Participants who answered yes had a higher GDS score. There was no association with MMSE, FCSRT, and Pfeffer scores. The question "Do you feel like your memory has become worse?" may be a good proxy of SCD and could be included in routine medical checkups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Subjective cognitive complaint (SCC) is a risk factor of functional impairment in activities of daily living (ADL). ADL are divided from basic (BADL), instrumental (IADL), and advanced activities of daily living (a‐ADL), according to their cognitive complexity. These three dimensions of ADL have been scarcely explored in SCC The objective of this study was to analyze these three dimensions of ADL and their association with global cognition and sociodemographic factors in SCC. Method: 291 participants from the GERO prospective cohort study of community‐dwelling elderly with SCC, aged 70 or older, living in Santiago ‐ Chile were analyzed. ADL were evaluated with the Technology Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (T‐ADLQ), an informant‐rated questionnaire measuring BADL, IADL and aADL (T‐ADLQ total score and dimension score range 0‐100, higher values meaning worse performance), global cognition with the Mini‐mental state (MMSE) and sociodemographic factors measured with age, gender, marital status, education, household‐income, working status. A multivariate logistic regression model was performed considering MMSE and sociodemographic factors as explanatory variables and the different dimensions of ADL as dependent variables. Results were evaluated with coefficient of regression and 95% confidence intervals. Result: Performances in T‐ADLQ total score ranged from 0 to 56; in BADL from 0 to 40; in IADL from 0 to 67 and a‐ADL from 0 to 100. T‐ADLQ total score was independently associated with MMSE (Coef: ‐0.24), age (Coef: 0.40) and marital status (Coef: 3.44), BADL with age (Coef: 0.14), IADL with age (Coef: 0.45) and marital status (Coef: 3.59), a‐ADL with marital status (Coef: 7.25). Results are presented in Table 1. Conclusion: Impairment in ADL and their associated factors in SCC differ according to their complexity, being the aADL the most affected. Studying dimensions of ADL could contribute to better understanding functionality in SCC. Slachevsky, A., ..., Thumala, D. (2020). GERO Cohort Protocol, Chile, 2017‐2022: Community‐based Cohort of Functional Decline in Subjective Cognitive Complaint elderly. BMC geriatrics, 20(1), 505. Slachevsky, A., ... Hornberger, M. (2019). Mapping the neuroanatomy of functional decline in Alzheimer's disease from basic to advanced activities of daily living. Journal of neurology, 266(6), 1310‐1322 Funding: ANID/FONDAP/15150012; ANID /FONDECYT/ 1231839 and ANID/PIA/ANILLOS ACT210096. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Timely diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a critical first step in clinical care treatment. However, the availability of diagnostic tools for these conditions is either unavailable or unaffordable, especially in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries. In this scenario, microRNAs (miRNA) have recently emerged as promising cost‐effective and noninvasive biomarkers since they can be readily detected in different biofluids such as plasma bound to protein or inside exosomes. Our aim is to identify new blood biomarkers to calculate the risk to develop AD in the early stages using machine learning based on exosomal miRNAs detection and different cognitive domains. Method: miRNAs were extracted from plasma circulating exosomes samples of Subjective Cognitive Complaint subjects belonging to the GERO cohort in two different times (T1 = baseline and T2 = 18 months, n = 50). miRNAs were sequencing to identify the expression levels. Dysregulated miRNAs were analyzed and correlated with neuropsychological evaluations to create machine learning algorithms. miRNAs obtained from algorithms were validated in a new population of subjects at both stages (T1 and T2, n = 50), using qRT‐PCR and correlation analysis with neuropsychological tests. Result: For algorithm development, we classified subjects into stationary and progressive impairment. Algorithms were trained using the sequenced miRNAs, neuropsychological tests and neuroimaging. As possible predictors of progression of cognitive impairment, the best performing algorithm was Random forest using only miRNAs data. In a new group of subjects, three miRNAs selected by the algorithm and four miRNAs obtained from the literature were validated and the ROC curves were constructed. The combination of these miRNAs (algorithm and literature miRNAs), were the best predictor of the progression of cognitive impairment. Conclusion: This study could be used in the initial phases of the diagnostic process of AD because it is minimally invasive, low cost and accessible to a large number of patients in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: People with dementia and their family caregivers may face a great burden through social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be manifested as various behavioral and clinical symptoms.Objective: To investigate the impacts of social isolation due to the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals with dementia and their family caregivers.Methods: Two semi-structured questionnaires were applied via telephone to family caregivers of people diagnosed with dementia in three cities in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile, in order to assess clinical and behavioral changes in people with dementia and in their caregivers.Results: In general, 321 interviews were conducted. A significant decline in memory function has been reported among 53.0%of people with dementia. In addition, 31.2%of individuals with dementia felt sadder and 37.4%had increased anxiety symptoms. These symptoms of anxiety were greater in individuals with mild to moderate dementia, while symptoms of agitation were greater in individuals with severe dementia. Moreover, compulsive-obsessive behavior, hallucinations, increased forgetfulness, altered appetite, and increased difficulty in activities of daily living were reported more frequently among individuals with moderate to severe dementia. Caregivers reported feeling more tired and overwhelmed during this period and these symptoms were also influenced by the severity of dementia.Conclusion: Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a series of negative behavioral repercussions, both for people with dementia and for their family caregivers in these three South American countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Flexible adjustment or accommodation to loss is healthy; however, little is known about how it can be achieved in old age. We sought to identify and characterize effective coping processes for achieving accommodation at this stage of life. Our aim was to foster the activation of the psychological resources of those who must deal with significant losses to which they will inevitably need to adapt. Method: Qualitative study with a sample of men (n = 16) and women (n = 19) aged 60 years and up. Information was collected through observation and content analysis applied to 35 in-depth interviews, using Atlas-Ti (v7). Results: Eighteen coping processes implemented in response to loss were identified and characterized. Although no single process led to full adjustment by itself, the difference between the participants who accommodated and those who lacked accommodation was reflected in the predominance of certain processes. This approach enabled us to identify 13 effective processes, such as the search for meaning and the use of humor, which were generally used by participants who had achieved accommodation. The processes regarded as ineffective, such as avoidance and procrastination, were used more often by those who displayed insufficient accommodation. Conclusion: It was confirmed that accommodation to losses in old age not only results from "the passage of time"; rather, it can be fostered by people's active efforts. Knowledge of these practices can help practitioners orient mental health interventions for older adults who have difficulty coping in healthy ways and preserving their subjective well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: The COVID‐19 pandemic has impacted the wellbeing of older adults. Pandemic‐related stress has implications on cognitive status, including decline due to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Yet, evidence suggests that COVID‐19 has impacted culturally and linguistically diverse communities differently. We sought to examine the role of COVID‐19 on coping and wellbeing in an international, multi‐ethnic sample of older adults. Method: Data from 955 older adults (age = 66.7±7.9 years; education = 15.2±5.9 years; 71% female; 41% Hispanic/Latino) were pulled from a larger, international sample examining the response of older adults to COVID‐19. All participants completed demographic questionnaires, measures of psychological distress, the Brief‐COPE – a 28‐item self‐report questionnaire used to measure respondent's efforts to minimize distress from a stressful life event – and the Epidemic‐Pandemic Impacts Inventory (EPII) – a 92‐item inventory of pandemic related experiences across several life domains. Using linear regression, we examined relationships between Brief‐COPE scores, ethnicity, and select EPII items controlling for several covariates (age, sex, education, marital status, number of children, employment status, household income, and history of COVID‐19 symptoms) in all analyses. Result: Hispanic/Latino (H/L) ethnicity was associated with slightly higher scores on the approach‐focused coping subscale compared to the non‐Hispanic White (NHW) group (Approach: 27.3±6.6 vs 26.1±6.1; B = 1.205, p = 0.015, CI: 0.238, 2.172). There was no effect of ethnicity on Brief‐COPE Total or Avoidance subscale scores (both ps>0.050). Notably, review of covariates suggested increased age was associated with lower scores on Approach (B = ‐0.065, p = 0.041, CI: ‐0.128, ‐0.003), Avoidance (B = ‐0.054, p = 0.034, CI: ‐0.104, ‐0.004), and Total scores (B = ‐0.136, p = 0.028, CI: ‐0.257, ‐0.015). Higher Approach scores were associated with greater endorsement of Positive Life Changes in both ethnic groups (NHW: partial r = 0.298, p<0.001; H/L: partial r = 0.249, p<0.036), but with endorsement of Mental Health Problems in NHWs only (NHW: partial r = 0.144; p = 0.001; H/L: partial r = ‐0.019, p>0.050). Conclusion: Findings suggest cross‐cultural differences in the stress coping response of older adults during the pandemic, even after controlling for symptomatic history and other relevant covariates. Moreover, coping may be differentially related to positive and negative outcomes across cultural groups. These results support the need to consider cultural background when considering coping and wellbeing in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dementia worldwide is one of the most important causes of disability in the elderly and the most rapidly growing cause of death in the last 20 years in Chile. Cognitive complaint is considered a predictor for cognitive and functional decline (FD), incident mild cognitive impairment, and incident dementia. The GERO cohort aims to determine multidimensional risks factors associated with the prognosis of elderly with cognitive complaint on DF. Method: The GERO cohort is a prospective cohort study of community‐dwelling elderly with cognitive complaint, without dementia, aged 70 or older living in 4 municipalities in Santiago, Chile. Participants were identified by a household census and information on demographics, biomedical, psychosocial, neuropsychological, neuropsychiatric, and motor function were collected by means of questionnaires and evaluations. Neuroimaging, blood, and stool samples were also obtained. FD was measured by the Pfeffer (score range 0‐33), Technology Activities of Daily Living Questionnaire (T‐ADLQ, score range 0‐100), and Everyday Cognition (ECOG, score range 0‐36) questionnaires. Result: A total of 17,759 households were successfully approached, identifying 2,533 eligible subjects, accepting to participate 299 (59 men; 240 women). The mean age was 76.8±5.1, 25% older than 79. The average years of schooling was 8.9± 4.8. None of participants showed underweight. The average score for the Mini‐mental State Exam (MMSE) was 27.1± 2.4, with 5.3% of the sample scoring less than 23. The mean values for Pfeffer, T‐ADLQ, and ECOG were 0.8±1.3, were 11.9± 10.3, and 0.4±0.4 respectively. In the multivariate analysis MMSE was inversely correlated with the ECOG score (regression coefficient: ‐0.03 [95%CI ‐0.07; ‐0.002]. Pfeffer also was associated, but its statistical significance was lost after the multivariate adjustment. Conclusion: Few other studies addressed cognitive complaint and functionality in elderly recruited at home. Elderly in the GERO‐cohort with cognitive complaint, without dementia, show a good level of functioning at the first assessment. Cognitive function measured by the MMSE seems to be associated to a subtle decline in general functioning as everyday cognition. Future multidimensional and prospective analysis of this cohort could bring more information about this association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population aging is among the most important global transformations. Today, 12% of the world population is of age 60 and over and by the middle of this century this segment will represent 21.5%. The increase in population of those aged 80 and over, also referred to as the "oldest old" or the "very elderly", will be even more pronounced, going from 1.7% of the population to 4.5% within the same period. Compared to European and North American countries, Latin America (LA) is experiencing this unprecedented demographic change at a significantly faster rate. Due to demographic and health transitions, the number of people with dementia will rise from 7.8 million in 2013 to over 27 million by 2050. Nowadays, the global prevalence of dementia in LA has reached 7.1%, with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) being the most frequent type. This level is similar to those found in developed countries; however, the dementia rate is twice as high as that of the 65-69 years age group in developed countries. In addition, the prevalence and incidence of dementia is higher among illiterate people. Mortality rates due to dementia have risen considerably. The burden and costs of the disease are high and must be covered by patient's families. The prevention of dementia and the development of long-term care policies and plans for people with dementia in LA, which take into account regional differences and similarities, should be urgent priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Dementia is one of the mean causes of disability in elderly. Peripheral inflammatory biomarkers and ApoE‐ε4 allele have been described as important biological risk factors of dementia in Caucasian population. Currently, there is scarce information about the specific age‐related and predisposition factors to develop dementia in Latino populations. The aim of this study is to investigate these biological risks factors in Chilean elderly with healthy and pathological brain ageing. Method: We evaluated and quantified plasma samples obtained from the GERO cohort (114 elderly subjects, >70 years, classified in 51 subjects with subjective cognitive complaint (SCC) and 63 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI)), in addition to 36 healthy brain controls (HBC) and 31 subjects with Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD). Genotyping of ApoE gene was analyzed by qPCR. We analyzed inflammatory biomarkers using Luminex technique including IL‐2, IL‐6, IL‐10, TNF‐α, CRP and SAP proteins. All subjects receive a clinical and neuropsychological assessment. Result: CRP protein was found significant decrease expression in SCC and ADD groups compared to MCI and HBC (p=0.048). In SAP protein was found a significant decrease in expression in the SSC (p=0.04) and MCI (p=0.0178) groups compared to HBC. It was observed a positive correlation in the SCC, MCI and ADD groups with the IL‐6 and TNFα, and, SAP and CRP. A negative correlation between IL‐2, IL‐6 and IL‐10 cytokines was found with Direct Span Digit test, which assess attentional capacity. Also was identified a negative correlation between SAP protein and the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT), which assess verbal episodic memory, and IL‐10 cytokine and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), which assess global cognition. Finally, a positive correlation was found in CRP protein with Pfeffer Functional Activity Questionnaire. Frequency of the ApoE‐ε4 allele, was significantly higher in ADD (52%) and SCC (27%) patients than controls and MCI (p=1x10‐4). Conclusion: The results shown correlations between the different inflammatory proteins and performance in neuropsychological test suggesting that inflammatory biomarkers are associated with pathological brain ageing. The correlations in SCC and MCI are not being reported previously. Additionally, the frequency of ApoE‐ε4 allele in ADD group is higher than worldwide populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cognitive assessments able to detect impairments as early as neuropathological changes that occur in neurodegenerative diseases initiate are urgently needed. The Visual Short‐Term Memory Binding Test (VSTMBT) and the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCRST) have been recently recommended by the Neurodegenerative Diseases Working Group (Costa et al., 2017) as promising preclinical markers of AD. They have never been used before to assess elderlies with cognitive complain recruited from the community. Method: A total of 271 subjects (37 healthy controls (HC), 112 subjective cognitive complain (SCC), 96 mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 26 Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD)), recruited from Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism (GERO) Cohort and the Memory and Neuropsychiatric Clinic (CMYN), underwent assessment with the VSTMBT and the Visual Version of the FCRST (FCRST‐Visual). Two memory loads were used for the VSTMBT (low and high). The ability of these tests to discriminate between groups. Result: Significant differences were found between HC, MCI and ADD using the VSTMBT and the FCRST‐Visual version. Notably, the STMB was the only test that "marginally" differentiated between HC from SCC (p = 0.055). Moreover, whereas the FCRST‐Visual showed a gradient (HC = SCC) > MCI > AD, the VSTMBT's gradient was HC > (SCC = MCI = ADD) suggesting that the function assessed by the latter test may be sensitive to the very early stages of the disease dropping to levels that cannot decline further. Conclusion: Our results suggest that the VSTMBT and FCSRT are sensitive to the early stages of dementia. Whereas the former detects changes in the early subjective stages, the latter is more sensitive to later objective stages of cognitive decline. The latter but not the former could help monitor disease progression. These results raise important questions about the usefulness of cognitive screening tools to detect and monitor disease progression and to separate normal and abnormal ageing trajectories. We propose the need of cognitive assessments that detect subtle differences as early as neuropathological changes occur in the brain, which will lead to the development of new "cognitive biomarkers" for dementia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the presence of the notion of autopoiesis, developed by biologist Humberto Maturana and his colleagues, in the social sciences. The study looks at the adoption of a concept that referred strictly to a biological phenomenon and its dissemination from a peripheral country (Chile) to the plane of universalist social theories. The presentation is organized in three parts: the first deals with the emergence of the theory of autopoiesis and aims to pinpoint the context and conditions that favored its being accepted in the social sciences, particularly in Niklas Luhmann's application; the second part presents the results of an analysis applied to the data bases of recent scientific publications that make it possible to specify the generalization of the concept; and finally, the authors develop certain hypotheses to explain this exceptional case of the dissemination of Latin American scientific thought in social theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Cognitive assessment able to detect impairments in the early neuropathological stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is urgently needed. The visual short-term memory binding task (VSTMBT) and the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) have been recommended by the neurodegenerative disease working group as promising tests to aid in the early detection of AD. In this study, we investigated their complementary value across the clinical stages of the AD continuum., Method: One hundred and seventeen older adults with subjective cognitive complaint (SCC), 79 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), 31 patients with AD dementia (ADD), and 37 cognitively unimpaired (CU) subjects, underwent assessment with the VSTMBT and the picture version of the Spanish FCSRT., Results: After controlling for multiple comparisons, significant differences were found across groups. The VSTMBT was the only test that "marginally" differentiated between CU and SCC ( d = 0.47, p = .052). Moreover, whereas the FCSRT showed a gradient (CU = SCC) > MCI > ADD, the VSTMBT gradient was CU > SCC > (MCI = ADD) suggesting that conjunctive binding deficits assessed by the latter may be sensitive to the very early stages of the disease., Conclusions: Our results suggest that the VSTMBT and the FCSRT are sensitive to the clinical continuum of AD. Whereas the former detects changes in the early prodromal stages, the latter is more sensitive to the advanced prodromal stages of AD. These novel tests can aid in the early detection, monitor disease progression and response to treatment, and thus support drug development programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Abstract-Population aging is among the most important global transformations. Compared to European and North American countries, Chile is among the countries with the fastest growth of life expectancy at birth during recent decades. The aging of Chile's population is related to the improvement of living conditions, but also entails risks that tend to be associated with a rapid economic growth accompanied by large income inequalities and a chronic deficit of basic social benefits. The rapid demographic transition towards an aged population has unfolded in a context of poor development of public policies to tackle the opportunities and needs associated with an aging society. This article provides a brief overview of current Chilean public policy on aging, with a focus on healthy aging as defined by World Health Organization. The discussion addresses core challenges to successfully achieve healthy aging in Chile.