Results for search "Aging: Misc.".
03 Oct
New evidence details which foods to eat and which to avoid if you want to keep the scale from creeping up during middle age.
08 Aug
A new study finds breast cancer screening after the age of 70 may be leading to overdiagnosis, unnecessary procedures and anxiety.
MONDAY, Nov. 27, 2023 (HealthDay News) — Repeated COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes have had a stark and lasting impact on vulnerable older residents, a new study reports.
Long COVID has left many residents of these facilities relying more and more on staff to help them months later with basic, everyday activities such as bathing and using the toilet.
Many also experience ...
Whole grains could be the key to Black people protecting their brains against aging and dementia, a new study reports.
Black folks who ate more foods with whole grains appeared to have a slower rate of memory decline than those who ate fewer whole grains, according to findings published Nov. 23 in the journal Neurology.
Among Black people, those who ate the most whole grain...
Abandoned animals, kids with cancer, disabled veterans: These and other pitches for charity can move your emotions and have you reaching for your credit card.
But beware: Especially around the holidays, fake charity scammers are hard at work trying to part you from your hard-earned cash.
FRIDAY, Nov. 17, 2023 (Healthday News) -- Scams are nothing new and older folks are known to be vulnerable to them, but a new poll adds another sad fact to the familiar story.
Among people aged 50 to 80, those who reported being in fair or poor physical or mental health, those with disa...
Shrinkage of one of the brain's key memory centers appears to herald thinking declines, a new study finds.
The region in question is the hippocampus, a two-sided structure located roughly above each ear and embedded deep within the brain's temporal lobe. It's long been known to play a crucial role in the storage and transference of short- and long-term memory.
The new research was ...
WEDNESDAY, Nov. 15, 2023 (Healthday News) -- As U.S. suicide rates continue to rise, new government data shows older men have become the most susceptible.
In a report published Wednesday, researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found there were about 30 suicide deaths for every 100,...
A Mr. Magoo with thick glasses peering out from behind the wheel might not inspire confidence from his fellow motorists, but a new study shows other types of vision loss might be even more dangerous while driving.
Loss of peripheral vision also can dramatically increase the risk of a car crash, Australian researchers presented in findings this week at the American Academy of Ophthalmology...
There's your calendar age, and then there's what scientists call your "biological" age, which is based on various measurements indicating good or not-so-good health.
Now, new Swedish research finds that less healthy folks, with a biological age that outstrips their chronological age, may be at higher odds for dementia and stroke.
“But because people age at different rates, chrono...
A growing number of people have become unpaid caregivers for loved ones, and a new report says many are overlooking the financial consequences of their selflessness.
One in five adults now provide uncompensated care to family and loved ones with health problems, according to the
High triglycerides, widely known as an enemy of the aging heart, may not be as threatening to older adults' brains, new research suggests.
The study, of over 80,000 older adults, found those with triglycerides in the "high-normal" or moderately high range were less likely to develop dementia, versus their peers with lower triglyceride levels.
Over six years, 3% of older folks with t...
Mid-life isn't too late to make a dietary change to preserve brain health.
Women who started following the diet known as DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) to lower their blood pressure were about 17% less likely to report memory loss and other signs of mental decline decades later, a new study re...
Dementia can take a big bite out of an American's bank account, robbing 60% of a patient's net worth in the eight years after a diagnosis, a new study says.
The average dementia patient will also see a doubling of out-of-pocket health care expenses in those first eight years, said researchers who studied thousands of seniors with and without the brain disorder.
“We found a pr...
Want to do something to protect your thinking skills as you age? Swing that golf club or go for a walk.
A new study found that walking about 3.7 miles or playing 18 holes of golf improved cognitive function. Nordic walking, a type of full-body walking using poles, showed the same benefit.
“These findings underscore the value of age-appropriate aerobic exercise, such as golf, Nordi...
Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are nearly three times more likely to develop dementia than other adults, a new study suggests.
The results also indicate that treatment with ADHD medication may help reduce their dementia risk. No clear uptick in dementia risk was found among ADHD patients who received psychostimulant medication.
"More than 3% of the adult...
Americans born in recent years can likely count on taking prescription drugs for about half their life, according to new research.
For males born in 2019, it's about 48% of their lives. For women, it's 60% of their lifetime, the study found.
“The years that people can expect to spend taking prescription drugs are now higher than they might spend in their first marriage, getti...
As a consumer, you probably see "heart healthy" labels on food items all the time. But do you really know what heart health means and why it's important?
Experts from Tufts University in Boston offer some details on how your heart works and how you can safeguard your heart's health.
“It's not as if you turn 65 or 70 and everything falls apart,” said
For dogs, body size matters.
That's true in terms of how quickly they age, but also in their mental health, according to a new study comparing big and little canines.
Age-related decline starts at 7 to 8 years of age in big dogs, compared to 10 to 11 years in smaller ...
Most older adults want to spend their final days in the peace of their own home, but new research finds that Black Americans are far more likely to fall short of that goal.
Why? Because Black adults are much more likely than white adults to develop the kind of disability that will preclude them from being able to age in place.
The finding stems from a new survey that gathered inform...
Renting a home, rather than owning it outright, may speed up the body's aging process, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that when compared with people who owned their home outright (no mortgage), those who rented showed signs of faster "biological aging" — which meant their body cells and tissues were a bit "older."
On average, the impact was equivalent to just a small frac...
Rates of diabetes in younger adults are rising globally — and it could be shortening life spans.
A diagnosis of type 2 diabetes at age 30 can cut life expectancy by up to 14 years, according to findings from a new study. Even a diagnosis at age 50 c...
Some common medications -- including antidepressants, sleep aids and painkillers -- may dull the driving skills of seniors, a new study finds.
Many different medication classes have been linked to the risk of driving impairment, as anyone who has ever read the label warning "do not operate heavy machinery" might have guessed.
But the new study took a particularly rigorous approach t...
A diet rich in whole grains, fruits and non-starchy vegetables is the best recipe for middle-aged folks trying to keep their weight under control, new research finds.
Low in added sugar, yet rich in vitamins and minerals, such foods are considered “high-quality” carbs, investigators explained.
The same cannot be said of refined grains, sugary beverages or starchy vegetables. Su...
Planning for your long-term financial future doesn't just make good economic sense — it could also save your life.
People in both the United States and the United Kingdom have a higher risk of dying prematurely if they aren't engaged in long-term financial planning, according to a report published online Sept. 27 in
Rock star Bruce Springsteen announced Wednesday that he has postponed all of his remaining shows this year as he deals with peptic ulcer disease.
Springsteen said he's continuing to “recover steadily from peptic ulcer disease over the past few weeks and will continue treatment through the rest of the year on doctor's advice,” in a
Adding 3,000 extra steps a day can help older adults with hypertension significantly lower their blood pressure.
About 80% of older adults in the United States have high blood pressure. Keeping it down can help protect against heart failure, heart attacks and strokes.
“We'll all get high blood pressure if we live long enough, at least in this country,”
Many older adults are savvy about telephone scams, but a sizable minority remain vulnerable, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that when they simulated a "government impersonation" scam -- contacting seniors and pretending to be federal employees -- over two-thirds knew how to handle the situation: They ignored it.
The rest, however, "engaged" with the "scammer." They either c...
Perhaps succumbing to fraudsters or facing mounting bills, older Americans begin losing wealth in the years preceding a definitive dementia diagnosis, new research shows.
For example, the median household net worth of the seniors in the study dropped by more than half in the eight years before they were diagnosed with dementia, but dipped much less for folks who retained their mental capa...
As people age, health issues tend to mount, but roughly a quarter of low-income adults over 65 have no medical insurance.
That's the age when most Americans become eligible for Medicare, the federal health insurance for seniors. But many of the uninsured seniors are Hispanic Americans who aren't eligible for that coverage, or lower income people who may not be able to afford Medicare prem...
Good oral health is one of the keys to healthy aging, but a sobering new study shows that many U.S. nursing home residents have significant dental issues.
Close to two in every 10 residents have missing teeth, about 8% have broken teeth/cavities and another 11% report pain while chewing, researchers found.
“Inadequate oral health has far-reaching consequences that extend beyond t...
Premenopausal women who have surgery to remove the ovaries (oophorectomy) and fallopian tubes may face chronic medical conditions and a decline in physical functioning, new research warns.
“The study is important because it emphasizes information that we already know, and that is that …premenopausal bilateral oophorectomy [PBO] is not good for women's health, and it's associated with ...
A lot of older adults have digestive diseases that can be debilitating. They can also be linked to loneliness and depression, a new study says.
“These conditions are very common in ambulatory care,” said gastroenterologist Dr. Shirley Cohen-Mekelburg, who specializes in problems like ...
Hot weather can pose serious health risks for older adults.
Existing medical conditions, problems moving around and medications raise the risk of heatstroke, according to an expert at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago.
Being prepared can help prevent heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
“As we age, we become less efficient at noticing and adjusting to the heat,” geriatr...
New Swedish research suggests that up to 5% of 70-year-olds have glaucoma, and half of those diagnosed didn't even know they had the disease.
“Of those who were diagnosed with glaucoma via the study, 15 people -- or 2.7% of all participants -- were unaware that they had the disease before being examined,” said study author
The two "freezing" episodes that Sen. Mitch McConnell experienced recently weren't strokes or seizures, the Capitol physician said in a new letter released Tuesday.
“My examination of you following your August 30, 2023, brief episode included several medical evaluations: brain MRI imaging, EEG study and consultations...
After Sen. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell froze for the second time during a Wednesday briefing in Kentucky, Congress' attending physician has cleared him to continue working.
Men's testosterone levels remain pretty steady until age 70. After that, production of the male sex hormone starts to decline, new research indicates.
This begs the question: Is testosterone loss among seniors really a function of the normal aging process? Or might it reflect other health issues that often confront men as they get older?
Both may be true, say investigators, wi...
If you are in your 90s, is hip replacement surgery too dangerous for you?
That depends, new research shows: While elderly patients have more complications and higher death rates after such a procedure, the surgery can be “appropriately considered."
That's because the risks for total hip replacement depend not just on patients' age, but also on their overall health and fitness.
Older people who take adult education classes may lower their risk for dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, Japanese research suggests.
Middle-aged folks and older people in adult education classes had a 19% lower risk of developing dementia within five years, the researchers found.
"We also found that nonverbal reasoning performance was well preserved in the adults taking educa...
The American middle-class squeeze has grown even worse in recent years, with many in the “forgotten middle” facing financial pressure and poor health as they near retirement age, a new study reports.
Essentially, the U.S. middle class has split in two, and those relegated to the lower-middle are facing tough times in retirement, said lead researcher
An estimated 26 million Americans 50 and older live alone, and researchers estimate that more than 4 million have dementia or cognitive impairment.
That means a large number of older Americans are at risk for medication mix-ups, unsafe driving, wandering and missing important medical appointments. And, a new study warns, the U.S. health care system is ill-equipped to address the needs of ...
Certain adult vaccines, including shingles and pneumonia shots, may also help seniors fight off Alzheimer's disease, new research reveals.
Prior vaccination with the shingles vaccine, pneumococcus vaccine or the tetanus and diphtheria shot, with or without an added pertussis vaccine, are associated with a 25% to 30% reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, according to researchers from t...
Older adults who use certain heartburn medications for years may have a heightened risk of developing dementia, a new study suggests.
The study, published Aug. 9 in the journal Neurology, is the latest to point to potential hazards from prolonged use of medications called proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs. They include such well-known brands as Nexium, Prevacid and Prilosec, and th...
The trauma and unhappy family dynamics of childhood may follow kids into old age, affecting both their mind and body, according to new research.
“We looked at self-reported disability, as well as objectively measured physical and cognitive impairment, and learned that early-life stressful experiences can have ramifications all the way into older age,” said senior author
Yoga is known for its benefits to both the mind and body. And a gentle form of yoga may be an ideal early intervention technique for older women at risk of Alzheimer's disease, new research suggests.
In a small study involving kundalini yoga, participants reported that its stress-relieving effects translated to more efficient memory.
“Women tend to practice yoga more readily...
While both the Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines are considered safe and highly effective, new research finds the Moderna shot has been the safest and most effective for seniors.
“The results of this study can help public health experts weigh which mRNA vaccine might be preferred for older adults and older subgroups, such as those with increased frailty,” said lead study author
Most older adults think that screening for dementia is a good idea, according to a new poll on aging. But few actually take that step.
Only about 20% of those aged 65 to 80 had a screening test in the past year to see if their memory and thinking abilities have started to decline, according to the University of Michigan's National Poll on Healthy Aging.
“As many as half of Am...
Writing letters, taking classes and playing mentally stimulating games like chess in your older years could lower your risk of dementia over the next decade, a new study suggests.
Researchers in Australia found that journaling, using a computer, taking education classes and other "literacy enrichment" activities might lessen the risk of developing dementia by 11%. Playing games, car...
Vicki Bickford is a professional caregiver, but lately she's been worried more and more about her own aging.
Bickford, 66, has aggressive arthritis that has required hip replacements and has now spread to her knees, as well as degenerative disc disease in her spine.
She's made modifications to help her stay in her home -- sliding glass doors, a ramp, a day basement -- but it has cos...
Older adults who regularly spend time with family and friends may have bigger brains to show for it, a new study suggests.
Healthy brain aging is a complex matter, and researchers are still trying to understand which factors keep the mind sharp and which ones feed declines in memory and thinking.
But a number of studies have suggested that social life matters. Social stimulation is ...