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The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA)

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Dr Christine McGarrigle

Dr Christine McGarrigle joined TILDA as a Social Epidemiology Research Fellow in April 2012. She was TILDA Research Director between September 2015 and November 2017. She received her M.Sc. and PhD in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London (UK). She previously received a B.Sc. in Chemistry from University College Dublin. As part of the TILDA team her research is currently focused on (1) intergenerational transfers between generations; (2) the health and social determinants associated with successful ageing and resilience; (3) the health and well-being outcomes associated with caring and social participation, including religiosity, and the determinants that enable and constrain continued participation of older people in society.

Dr McGarrigle is currently PI on a study exploring resilience in middle aged and older carers funded by Family Carers Ireland and the Health Research Board and on two studies funded by the National Institutes of Health exploring methods to improve estimates of mild cognitive impairment and dementia using the Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (HCAP).

Her research has been reported on extensively in national broadcast (RTE, Newstalk, Today FM) and national and international print media (The New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Times, Irish Independent, Irish Times, Irish Examiner) and health publications (Irish Medical Times, Health News, Irish Dentistry, MDmag.com).

Prior to joining TILDA, Christine worked at the Health Protection Agency in London where she was the lead scientist for behavioural surveillance and was an honorary research fellow at the Department of Primary Care and Population Sciences, University of London. She worked on a number of national surveillance and research programmes which included behavioural surveys, recruiting from both clinical settings and community settings using participatory research methods, which informed health promotion and disease control. Christine also worked on national programmes for establishing and developing unlinked anonymous surveys in clinical settings to estimate population prevalence of HIV infection. She led research focused on developing novel methods of estimating undiagnosed HIV prevalence and incidence using behavioural surveillance data. Her PhD thesis developed a novel method to estimate national HIV prevalence in the UK, using behavioural data on HIV testing. Dr McGarrigle’s complete publication list can be viewed here

Dr McGarrigle’s complete list of publications can be viewed here.

Recent Grant Funding

  • 2024 National Institutes of Health. Development of weighting methods to account for selective attrition within the HCAP study. ($32,400). Role: Principal Investigator.

  • 2023-2024 National Institutes of Health. Changes in objective measures of functional mobility as an adjunct to HCAP dementia research diagnosis tool. ($32,400). Role: Co-Principal Investigator.

  • 2023-2024 Health Research Board - Health Research Charities Ireland. Counting the cost: The contribution of older carers in Ireland and impact of caring on health and well-being of carers. (€125,000). Role: Principal Investigator.

  • 2022-2024 Forte (The Swedish research council for Health and Welfare). Psychosocial resilience in ageing populations: Why do some dip and recover and others not? (€498,000). Role: Co-Applicant.

  • 2020-2024 National Institute on Aging. Harmonizing Cognitive Assessments in Irish, English, and American Longitudinal Studies: Supporting Cross-National Research on the Epidemiology of Dementia HCAP, (€3,630,600). Role: Co-Applicant.

  • 2020-2022 Health Research Board. Altered lives in a time of crisis: Preparing for recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of older adults (€175,300). Role: Co-Applicant.

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    Media Coverage

  • Ward M, McGarrigle C, Hever A, O’Mahoney P, Moynihan S, Loughran G, Kenny RA. Loneliness and social isolation in the COVID-19 pandemic among the over 70s: data from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) and Alone. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Dublin, July 2020. DOI:10.38018/TildaRe.2020-07.
  • The Journal.ie

  • McGarrigle C, Ward M, Scarlett S, Kenny RA. The contributions of the over 70s to Irish society: Results from Wave 5 of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Dublin, March 2020.
  • The Irish Times Irish Examiner

  • Donoghue OA, McGarrigle CA, Kenney RA. Who’s in the driver’s seat? Impact on social participation and psychosocial wellbeing in adults aged 50 and over. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour. 2019; 64: 522-531.
  • The Irish Times Irish Independent Irish Independent Medical Express The University Times Extra.ie RTE

  • Donoghue O, McGarrigle C, Kenny RA. Pet ownership and associations with physical health and wellbeing. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Dublin, August 2019.
  • Irish Examiner The University TimesThe Irish Times Phys.org

  • Orr J, Tobin K, Kenny RA, McGarrigle CA. Religious attendance, loneliness and depressive symptoms in middle aged and older women in Ireland. Research on Aging 2019; 41(9):891-911. doi: 10.1177/0164027519860270. PMID:31331248.
  • Medical Express Irish Independent The Irish Times The Irish Times The Journal.ie Irish Independent The University Times Irish Examiner The Irish Times NewsTalk RTE News

  • Ní Bhuachalla B, McGarrigle CA, O’Leary N, Akuffo KA, Peto T, Beatty S, Kenny RA. Orthostatic Hypertension and Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Results from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing: Findings From The Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging. Experimental Gerontology 2018; 106:80-87. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2018.02.029. PubMed PMID: 29501627.
  • MDmag.com

  • McGarrigle CA, Timonen V, Layte R. Choice and Constraint in the Negotiation of the Grandparenting role. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine 2018;4:2333721417750944. doi: 10.1177/2333721417750944. eCollection 2018 Jan-Dec. PubMed PMID: 29372176; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5774728.
  • New York Times The Irish Independent Irish Independent Irish Independent Irish Independent Irish Examiner Irish Independent Herald Irish Examiner The Irish Times RTE The Irish Times

  • McGarrigle C, Ward M. Quality of life and relationships. In Wellbeing and Health in Ireland’s over 50s, 2009-2016. Turner N, Donoghue, Kenny RA (eds.). The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Dublin, November 2018.
  • Breaking News.ie The Journal.ie The University Times The Irish Times RTE Irish Independent The Times

  • McGarrigle C, Donoghue O, Scarlett S, Kenny RA (eds.). Health and Wellbeing. Active ageing for older adults in Ireland. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College Dublin, March 2017.
  • BreakingNews.ie The Irish Times The Irish Times Irish Examiner

  • McGarrigle CA. Challenges and opportunities for older people in Ireland.
  • The Citizens' Assembly, Second Meeting on How We Best Respond to the Challenges and Opportunities of an Ageing Population, Malahide, 8 July 2017 Irish Independent

  • May P, McGarrigle C, Normand C. The end of life experience of older adults in Ireland. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College Dublin, November 2017.
  • The Journal.ie The Irish Times Irish Examiner Irish Independent

  • Orr J, McGarrigle C, Kenny RA. Sexual activity in the over 50s population in Ireland. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College Dublin. February 2017.
  • Irish Mirror Irish Independent Newstalk The Irish Times

  • Sheehan A, McGarrigle C, O’Connell B. Oral health and wellbeing in older Irish adults. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College Dublin, September 2017.
  • Irish Examiner Irish Dentistry

  • Hayakawa T*, McGarrigle CA*, Coen R, Soraghan C, Foran T, Lawlor BA, Kenny RA. Orthostatic blood pressure behaviour in people with mild cognitive impairment predicts conversion to dementia. Journal of American Geriatric Society 2015 Sep;63(9): 1868-73. doi: 10.1111/jgs.13596. PubMed PMID: 26313614. *Joint first authors
  • MedicalResearch.com

  • McGarrigle C, Kenny RA. Profile of the sandwich generation and intergenerational transfers in Ireland. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing, Trinity College Dublin, August 2013.
  • The Irish Times Irish Independent The Journal.ie The Farmers Journal RTE News