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My PhD Title: 'A life course approach to balance ability'
Supervisor: Prof Rebecca Hardy, Prof Diana Kuh, Dr Dan Davis, Prof Rachel Cooper
Lay summary:
Balance is a crucial component of everyday life. It underlies nearly every physical movement at all stages in life from an infant learning to stand to an older adult trying to avoid a fall. Despite this balance is a frequently overlooked aspect of physical health. While the age-associated decline in balance ability has been established, there has been minimal investigation of how life course factors are associated with balance ability in later life or how it changes over time. Using data from the MRC National Survey of Health and Development (1946 birth cohort), my PhD project use a life course approach to examine the associations of factors across life with standing balance in mid and later life.
My Background
I completed both my BSc (2012) and my MSc (2012) at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada. My MSc thesis project investigated associations between sedentary behaviour, moderate-vigorous physical activity and frailty. My research interests brought me to the University of Manchester where I explored frailty in the European Male Ageing Study and evaluated Emergency Department deflection schemes with the North West Ambulance Services.
My main research interests are in the area of physical ageing as well as life course epidemiology, longitudinal analysis and cognition.
Qualifications
- BSc- Honours in Neuroscience (2012)
- MSc- Community Health and Epidemiology (2014)
Awards
Funding sources:
CIHR Doctoral Foreign Study Award (May 2018- present)
UCL Overseas Research Scholarship (Sept 2016- Sept 2019)
Canadian Centennial Scholarship Fund Award (May 2017- May 2019)
Publications
Blodgett JM, Kuh D, Davis DJR, Hardy R, Cooper R. Early cognitive ability and decline in standing balance in mid and later life: findings from a British birth cohort. Journals of Gerontology: Series A. 2018; gly275
Blodgett JM, Theou O, Mitnitski A, Howlett S, Rockwood K. Associations between a laboratory frailty index and adverse health outcomes across age and sex. Aging Medicine. 2019; 2:11-19
Blodgett JM, Theou O, Howlett S, Rockwood K. A frailty index from common clinical and laboratory tests predicts increased risk of death across the life course. Geroscience. 2017; 39(4):447-455.
Blodgett JM, Robertson DJ, Ratcliffe D, Rockwood K. An alternative model of pre-hospital care for 999 patients who require non-emergency medical assistance. International Journal of Emergency Services. 2017; 6(2): 99-103
Blodgett JM, Robertson DJ, Ratcliffe D, Rockwood K. Creating a safety net for patients in crisis: paramedic perspectives towards a GP referral scheme. Journal of Paramedicine Practice. 2017; 9(1): 11-17.
Blodgett JM, Theou O, Howlett S, Wu F, Rockwood K. A frailty index based on laboratory deficits in community dwelling men predicted their risk of adverse health outcomes. Age and Ageing, 2016, 60(3): 464-470.
Blodgett J, Theou O, Kirkland S, Andreou P, Rockwood K. Frailty in NHANES: comparing the frailty index and phenotype. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 2015, 60 (3): 464- 470.
Blodgett J, Theou O, Kirkland S, Andreou P, Rockwood K. The association between sedentary behaviour, moderate-vigorous physical activity and frailty in NHANES cohorts. Maturitas, 2015, 80(2):187-91.
Blodgett J, Theou O, Kirkland S, Andreou P, Rockwood K. Frailty in relation to sedentary behaviours and moderate-vigorous physical activity. Reviews in Clinical Gerontology, 2014, 24 (4): 239-254
Contact details
Twitter: @blodgettjm