Editorial: Integrated strategies for lifelong health: multidimensional approaches to aging and lifestyle interventions

A Multidimensional Aging Approach and Lifestyle Interventions" emerges precisely against this backdrop. This special issue aims to transcend traditional paradigms by bringing together cutting-edge, multidisciplinary research from around the globe to collectively demonstrate and construct an integrated framework for healthy aging. Its core objective is to elucidate that only by integrating multidimensional assessment methods, a life-course prevention philosophy, and coordinated multi-domain lifestyle interventions can we systematically enhance population health reserves and ultimately achieve the overarching goal of extending "healthspan" rather than merely "lifespan."The articles included in this issue unanimously emphasize that healthy aging is not an exclusive concern of the elderly but a lifelong endeavor commencing in young and middle adulthood, whose intervention strategies must be proactive, systematic, and highly individualized.Effective intervention begins with precise identification. Multiple studies in this special issue demonstrate how modern technologies are empowering early risk assessment in aging health. For instance, research such as "Development and validation of an explainable machine learning model for predicting the risk of sleep disorders in older adults with multimorbidity: a cross-sectional study" utilizes interpretable machine learning models, including Gradient Boosting Machine (GBM), to accurately identify key predictors of sleep disorders such as frailty, cognitive status, nutritional status, living alone, and depression. This approach not only enables early risk quantification but also reveals interactions among factors through methods like SHAP values, providing clinicians with clear operational insights. Similarly, the study "Socioeconomic status and lifestyle as factors of multimorbidity among older adults in China: Results from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey" found that, compared to traditional linear models, machine learning algorithms like XGBoost more precisely capture complex risk patterns for multimorbidity and reveal that educational level, functional status (ADL), and socioeconomic factors are more central drivers than individual lifestyle elements. Collectively, these studies emphasize that precision risk assessment based on big data and artificial intelligence forms a solid foundation for implementing targeted comprehensive interventions, facilitating a shift in public health and clinical practice from "reactive treatment" to "proactive prevention."Lifestyle serves as the central theme permeating this special issue, with substantial evidence confirming its core value in maintaining multidimensional health in older Healthy aging is inextricably linked to a supportive psychosocial environment.Multiple articles in this issue profoundly elucidate the pivotal role of social determinants.Social Connection and Mental Health: Studies such as "The Hidden Network: Community Sense, Social Desirability, and Their Protective Influence on Negative Emotions in Aging Populations" and "The Impact of Life Events on Health-Related Quality of Life in Rural Elderly: The Moderating Role of Social Support" demonstrate that social capital, social support, and a sense of community can significantly buffer the detrimental health impacts of adverse life events and psychological stress. Going a step further, a network analysis in "Inter-relationships of depression and anxiety symptoms among widowed and non-widowed older adults: Findings from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) based on network analysis and propensity score matching" meticulously delineates unique "bridge symptoms" (e.g., the strong connection between "Feeling lonely" and "Nervous") within the widowed cohort, providing a precise map for targeted psychological interventions.The physical environment is equally critical. Research from "The Association between home Modifications and depression among Older people in China" and "Living arrangements, health outcomes, and the buffering role of social capital among older adults in China" confirms that appropriate home modifications and positive living arrangements (e.g., co-residing with family) are significantly associated with reduced depressive symptoms and enhanced self-rated health. Social capital (e.g., frequent visits from children, community engagement) serves as a crucial buffer in this relationship.These findings collectively suggest that building "age-friendly" communities and living environments is an indispensable component in supporting older adults to achieve the goal of "aging in place."The ultimate objective of this special issue lies in translating the multidimensional evidence presented into real-world practice.Innovative Service Models: The study "From the WHO ICOPE Framework to Integrated Senior Health and Wellness Hub Program: An Implementation Journey" provides a paradigm for operationalizing the WHO-COPE framework. It demonstrates how to construct an integrated care system within actual community settings through community-driven capacity assessment, nutritional education, exercise programs, and a "train-the-trainer" model, effectively merging health and social services. Similarly, the "Study protocol for the randomized controlled trial of EMBOLDEN: a multifaceted intervention aimed at Enhancing physical and community Mobility in older adults with health inequities using community co-design" aims to co-design an intervention integrating physical activity, nutrition, social participation, and system navigation for older adults facing health inequities.Policy and Technological Enablers: Furthermore, "The smart senior care demand in China in the context of active ageing: A qualitative study with multiple perspectives" drawing from stakeholder insights, identifies key challenges for smart elderly care development-including user acceptance and cost-and emphasizes the need to address these through multi-stakeholder engagement alongside legal and technological safeguards to meet the comprehensive health, daily living, and social care needs of older adults. A pilot study, " Efficacy of extracting and preventively intervening late-stage older adults who are at high risk for spending high medical costs by using the health check-up system in Japan: A pilot study", illustrates how comprehensive risk assessment can be embedded within existing public health systems (e.g., senior health checkups) to deliver targeted early interventions for preventing costly hospitalizations.In summary, this special issue compellingly demonstrates, through robust evidence from epidemiology, clinical medicine, public health, social sciences, and data science, that the path toward healthy aging is unequivocally one of "comprehensive strategies." specifically address the implementation challenges in disseminating these strategies among resource-limited settings and vulnerable groups. We firmly believe that steadfast adoption and implementation of this multidimensional, comprehensive approach will not only empower individuals to achieve healthier and more vibrant lives in their later years but also contribute to building a more resilient and inclusive society for all ages.