Dr Sabrina Lenzen

Research Fellow

Centre for the Business and Economics of Health

+61 7 344 31320

s.lenzen@uq.edu.au

About

I’m a Research Fellow at the Centre for the Business and Economics of Health at The University of Queensland. My expertise is in the economics of health and ageing, with a special focus on dementia and cognitive decline. I’m passionate about improving the lives of older people by studying new health needs in older populations to plan for future healthcare requirements. This research also involves analysing the impact of lifestyle factors on health and wellbeing.

My current research aims to improve knowledge about healthy ageing trends and the likely future health needs of the Australian population. As part of an Australian Research Council grant, I’m investigating trends in the number and percentage of individuals who report health issues in different age groups. In view of an ageing population, I’m studying how these figures change between generations. I’ll use these findings to model health by age group over the next 30 years, which is critical for planning future healthcare capacity.

Research interests

Economics of ageing: studying the health and care needs of individuals as they age, with particular emphasis on late-life experiences as well as the consequences of population ageing.

Applied economics: using econometric techniques and empirical studies to find solutions for complex real-world problems.

Dementia and cognitive decline: investigating the risk factors and economic consequences of cognitive decline, which is the forerunner of dementia – one of the leading causes of death globally.

Research impact

My 2020 journal article contributed to the knowledge about modifiable risk factors for dementia. Our analysis showed that being moderately and vigorously physically active at least once a week significantly improves cognitive function in old age. The article received wide-reaching media attention, including a story in the Australian Health Economics Society newsletter and various news and radio outlets (including NewsGP and Yahoo) in Australia, Canada and the United States.