Community-based health-focused longitudinal aging studies in East and Southeast Asia: landscape and future directions

East and Southeast Asia's (ESEA) rapidly aging population creates an urgent need for comprehensive health data to inform policies promoting healthy aging. However, a synthesis of the region's community-based longitudinal aging studies is lacking. We conducted a systematic search for community-based longitudinal aging studies in ESEA. Studies were included if they followed community-dwelling adults with a mean age of 50+ at baseline, had nationally representative samples or sampled from at least two geographic areas, were health focused, and offered English documentation. We identified 30 eligible studies across 10 countries, regions, or territories, mostly concentrated in Japan, Mainland China, Singapore, and South Korea. While recent studies incorporate biomarkers and performance measurements, significant gaps were found. No eligible studies exist for several countries (e.g., Myanmar, Cambodia, and Indonesia), physical frailty is rarely assessed, data access is inconsistent, and no multi-national studies were identified. Although data infrastructure for longitudinal aging studies exists in ESEA, there are critical gaps in geographic representation, measurement harmonization, and data access. Future efforts must enhance regional coordination, standardize core measures, and improve data-sharing mechanisms to promote and support healthy aging in ESEA.