Introduction of Abstracts to be presented at the Eighth Chinese Congress on Gerontology and Health Industry

It is once again with great pleasure that we introduce the research work to be presented at the 8th Chinese Congress on Gerontology and Health Industry (CCGI), which is published in abstract form in this supplement issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (JAGS). The 8th CCGI conference is the continuation of the annual national geriatrics and gerontology conference co-organized and co-sponsored by a number of major Chinese professional healthcare organizations including the Chinese Medical Association (CMA) Geriatrics Branch and China Health Promotion Foundation. This year's CCGI conference will be held on September 6–8. 2019 in the city of Jinan, Shandong Province. We have 246 quality abstracts to be included in this issue. Similar to the previous years, the work to be presented at the 8th CCGI conference this year encompasses many important areas of geriatrics and gerontology, from basic aging research to geriatric syndromes; from clinical case reports and observations to clinical trials; and from biological investigations to social and behavioral research. Unique to this year, it includes studies in a large number of centenarians as well as in minority older adult populations (e.g., older adults of Kazakh minority and those in Tibetan plateau). It also includes studies employing advanced technology, such as single cell RNAseq and machine learning. The work described here will be presented in the form of oral presentation or poster at the conference. The conference will have similar number of symposia with individual symposium on translational aging research, common geriatric syndromes and common chronic diseases, geriatrics care models and prevention, rehabilitation, nutrition, and long-term care, etc. Publication of such exemplary work in geriatrics and gerontology in this supplement issue of JAGS will further enhance scientific and scholarly exchanges between colleagues in China and geriatrics communities in the United States and around the world. To this end, we would like to thank again the leadership of the JAGS, particularly Dr. William Applegate, the current Editor-in-Chief, Mrs. Nancy Lundebjerg, CEO of the American Geriatrics Society, and Mr. Kurt Polesky at Wiley for their support and effort in making this a success. As pointed out in the previous JAGS CCGI conference supplement issues, China has the largest aging population in the world. By the end of 2018, there were 250 million older adults aged 60 years and over in China, The need for the development of clinical geriatric medicine and aging research to improve care for Chinese seniors is unprecedented. With the support from Chinese government agencies and the entire society, the CMA Geriatrics Branch leadership and that of other leading professional healthcare organizations are dedicated to the development of quality geriatrics clinical and education programs as well as advancement of clinical and translational aging research, a necessary step towards establishing geriatrics as a medical subspecialty in China. For example, members of the CMA Geriatrics Branch who completed the national advanced training courses in 2014 and 2015 have led major efforts on geriatrics training through continue medical education or other mechanisms across China. In addition, US medical philanthropy such as Milstein Medical Asian American Partnership (MMAAP) Foundation under the Irma and Paul Milstein Program for Senior Health provides private funding, such as fellowship awards to support training of future Chinese academic leaders in the US and project awards to support clinical and research programs in China. Chinese corporations such as Dalian Fusheng Natural Medicine Development Co. Ltd. have joined the force to support the mission of the MMAAP Foundation. It is hoped that leaders in the US geriatrics community can partner with their colleagues in China to apply for such funding. Interested readers are referred to the MMAAP Foundation bilingual website www.mmaapf.org for details. To further promote the development of geriatrics translational research in China, MMAAP Foundation partnering with National Institute on Aging (NIA)‘s Nathan Shock Centers through American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) has sponsored International Geroscience Symposium entitled “Aging Mechanisms and Interventions that Impact Senior Health”, the first in a series of international geroscience symposia, in conjunction with the CMA Geriatrics Branch 2019 annual scientific conference on May 24–25, 2019 in Shenzhen, China. Moreover, healthcare reform has recently been reinvigorated in China and its healthcare market has now been opened to the private sector. The Chinese government encourages foreign private investment as well as introduction of innovative geriatrics care models and senior healthcare management expertise to meet the healthcare needs of Chinese senior citizens, creating a unique opportunity for geriatrics experts overseas to help further geriatrics and senior healthcare development in China. Again, JAGS has led the effort through publishing Special Articles of its kind1-3 over the years, introducing geriatrics and its development in China to the colleagues in the US and around the world. Recognizing the need for other support services and products for seniors in addition to healthcare, the CCGI conference has also organized a large exhibition of qualified senior services programs, equipment, and other related products by healthcare industry, both domestic and international. Therefore, this year's CCGI conference continues to serve as an important platform and useful networking for not only scientific and scholarly exchange, but also potential development of partnerships as well as senior healthcare development opportunities. To encourage and welcome participation of members of the American Geriatrics Society and Gerontological Society of America, the CCGI Organizing Committee will continue the policy of waiving conference registration fee and covering conference-related travel expenses in China (i.e., hotel stay and meals during the conference). As we did in the previous JAGS CCGI conference supplement issues, we acknowledge the challenges for continuing such an international effort. Once again, kudos to the leadership of CMA Geriatrics Branch and the CCGI Organizing Committee on securing the funding, soliciting submission of quality abstracts for a relatively new but rising discipline in China, and conducting vigorous scientific peer review. Despite our experience from the previous CCGI conferences and our best effort to edit, some abstracts, in their translation into English, inevitably contain language errors. As such, we would like to ask for our readers' understanding of any oversight. We would also like to ask for feedback so that we can make further improvements in the future. To that end, we would like to thank everyone who is involved in this important work, both in China and in the United States. Once again, we wish the 8th CCGI conference a great success!