Le mardi 30 septembre 2025, Madame Céline DEMONCEAU, titulaire d'un Master en sciences de la santé publique, à finalité spécialisée en épidémiologie et économie de la santé et d'un Certificat de formation à la recherche en sciences de la santé publique, présentera l'examen en vue de l'obtention du grade de Doctorat en sciences de la santé publique, sous la direction de Monsieur Olivier BRUYERE.

Cette épreuve consistera en la défense publique d'une thèse intitulée : "From Survival to Quality of Life: Investigating Frailty and Sarcopenia in Older People". 

Le jury sera composé de :

Jean-François KAUX (Président), Sophie GILLAIN (Secrétaire), Mylène AUBERTIN (CRIUGM Montréal), Olivier BRUYERE, Etienne CAVALIER, Sandra DE BREUCKER (ULB), Jean-Yves REGINSTER.

Résumé de la thèse

The global demographic shift towards an ageing population and increasing life expectancy underscores the need for a deeper understanding of age-related conditions. Specifically, identifying the key factors that influence the well-being of older adults has become a critical priority in public health and clinical research. This thesis aims to provide meaningful insights into the long-term consequences of frailty and sarcopenia, two common geriatric conditions. On the one hand, it explores the associations between frailty, sarcopenia, and adverse health outcomes such as mortality and COVID-19 severity, using data from nursing home residents in the SENIOR cohort. It also investigates the longitudinal evolution of quality of life in relation to sarcopenia components among community-dwelling older adults from the SarcoPhAge cohort. On the other hand, this work focuses on the SarQoL questionnaire, a disease-specific tool developed to measure quality of life in sarcopenic populations. Although widely used, certain psychometric properties have not been thoroughly investigated. By combining qualitative and quantitative approaches, this thesis contributes to strengthening the scientific robustness of the instrument. Through qualitative and quantitative analysis, this research contributes to a broader understanding of age-related conditions and supports the development of holistic strategies in line with current public health and clinical priorities.