By Sara Gottfried MD
“My husband and I had the most amazing sex in years,” Martha began, slightly cautious she was oversharing.
When my facial expressions suggested otherwise, she continued:
Tag: Aging Well
Life Expectancy Gains Threatened
A study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health finds that the more ailments you have after retirement age, the shorter your life expectancy. The analysis, one of the first to examine the burden of multiple chronic conditions on life expectancy among the elderly, may help explain why increases in life expectancy among older Americans are slowing.
A report on the findings, based on an analysis of 1.4 million Medicare enrollees, appears in the August 2014 issue of the journal Medical Care.
There’s No Place Like Home – For Growing Old
“The stairs are getting so hard to climb.”
“Since my wife died, I just open a can of soup for dinner.”
“I’ve lived here 40 years. No other place will seem like home.”
These are common issues for older people. And, you may share the often-heard wish—“I want to stay in my own home!” The good news is that with the right help you might be able to do just that.
A New Look at Cognition & Aging
From a cognitive perspective, aging is typically associated with decline. As we age, it may get harder to remember names and dates, and it may take us longer to come up with the right answer to a question.
However, the news isn’t all bad when it comes to cognitive aging. according to a set of three articles in the July 2014 issue of Perspectives in Psychological Science.
More of Us Are Exercising This Year!
The 2014 United States of Aging Survey found that 37% Americans 60 and older say they exercise every day, compared with 26% in 2013. Maybe all those reports about how “sitting is the new smoking” are motivating us! Even so, we can do better. Almost 2/3 of us are still not living lives that are active enough to promote good physical and emotional health. Yet older adults who do exercise daily are much more likely than those who never exercise to say the past year of their life has been better than normal.
What’s Really Keeping You From Aging Well?
By Dr. Kevin J. McLaughlin
During my experience as a health care provider, I have realized that, when it comes to aging well, many older women are worried about developing cancer, especially breast cancer, more than any other age-related diseases.
Testing Competency of Aging Drivers
As the American population continues to age, using tests to evaluate competency behind the wheel is critical. However, research done at the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver found “significant barriers to evaluations important to the continued safety and competency of older drivers” according to a release from the university. The study was published 2014 in the journal Occupational Therapy in Health Care.
A Drug to Slow Aging
A drug called rapimycin may mimic the effect of dietary restriction, one of the most-researched methods for slowing the aging process, according to an article published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences/em> in June 2014.
Checklist for Aging in Place
By Hilary Young
The overwhelming majority of people aged 50 and older would choose to remain in their own homes as they age.
Discussing Sensitive Subjects With Your Doctor
Much of the communication between doctor and patient is personal. To have a good partnership with your doctor, it is important to talk about sensitive subjects, like sex or memory problems, even if you are embarrassed or uncomfortable.
Needed: Activity Apps for Older Adults
Commercially available activity-monitoring apps, Web sites, and wearable devices allow for easy self-management of health and wellness. This technology may be particularly helpful for older adults, who can improve their cognitive function through proper diet and exercise. However, in spite of the growing popularity of and potential benefits of tracking monitors, product designers rarely consider those over 65 to be a viable user group.
Latest Developments in Aging Research
The 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Aging Association (AGE), held May 30th to June 2nd 2014 at the Westin Riverwalk Hotel in San Antonio, Texas, featured the latest scholarship and research findings in the field of aging research from more than 70 leading experts. The event has long been recognized as a launching pad for researchers to share cutting-edge discoveries into the underlying mechanisms of the causes of aging as well as the possible breakthroughs in finding ways to increase healthspan.
Seniors Have Roomies, Too
By Judy Santamaria, MSPH
Most of us know that loneliness isn’t good for us — but as we age, many of us find our circle of friends and family diminishing in size for various reasons. Sometimes consciously, sometimes not, loneliness can creep in, and begin to affect our spirits in a less-than-healthy way. Recently, I’ve been hearing about some really interesting ways seniors are stacking the deck in their own favor to combat loneliness associated with aging, and I wanted to share a few of them with you here.
Long-Term Care in America
The Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center (NORC) for Public Affairs Research conducted a follow-up study to the 2013 survey regarding Americans’ understanding and attitudes about long-term care. The earlier research has shown that most people n the Boomer and Beyond cohort are expecting their families to take care of them as they age and that few people are ware of the true costs of long-term care. The current study shows that this has not changed significantly.
Successful Aging: Toward a Broader Definition
An aging population poses challenges for governments around the globe as nations grapple with how to satisfy the physical, social and economic needs of older adults. About 40 million adults 65 years and older live in the United States while 126 million adults 65 years and older live in China – the country with the largest population of senior citizens.
Geroscience, The Study of Age-Related Health Issues
A new collection of articles appearing in May 2014 in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences focuses on how the basic biology of aging drives chronic disease. Together, they highlight the value of the emerging field of geroscience, which uses an integrated approach to the study of diseases and disability associated with growing older.
A Sense of Purpose May Add Years to Your Life
Feeling that you have a sense of purpose in life may help you live longer, no matter what your age, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.
The research has clear implications for promoting positive aging and adult development, according to lead researcher Patrick Hill of Carleton University in Canada:
Hand Grip Reveals the Speed of Aging
A hand grip test shows wide differences between the rates of aging among different population groups, according to new research by demographers at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria. The study was published on May 7th 2014 in the journal PLOS ONE