Health in later life is shaped by behavior and policies over the life course and reflects the differences between the societies in which we are ageing. This multidisciplinary book answers questions from all life course phases and its interconnections from a European perspective based on the most recent SHARE data, such as: How is our health related to personality traits and influenced by our childhood conditions and careers? Which role does our social network play? Which impacts of the different health care and societal regimes can we trace at older ages? Which are the differences and similarities across European countries?

The COVID-19 pandemic　posed　a major threat to the well-being of older Europeans. Its economic and social effects, however, varied across countries. This multidisciplinary book presents the first results of analyses that combined the renowned longitudinal database of SHARE with new data from two telephone surveys that were uniquely conducted during the pandemic. The analyses address important policy-related issues, such as: Did　social distancing　destabilize family and social support networks? Did the pandemic increase health, social and economic inequality? Who had to forego essential health care because of the pandemic?　Did lockdown affect one’s physical and mental health? Did the shift towards remote work affect workload and well-being? Were　different　housing conditions related to the spread of the virus?