Category: older age

Daily low-dose aspirin found to have no effect on healthy life span in older people

On By SupremeCmdrIn older age, PharmaLeave a comment

In the total study population, treatment with 100 mg of low-dose aspirin per day did not affect survival free of dementia or disability. Among the people randomly assigned to take aspirin, 90.3 percent remained alive at the end of the treatment without persistent physical disability or dementia, compared with 90.5 percent of those taking a placebo. Rates of physical disability were similar, and rates of dementia were almost identical in both groups.

For the full NIH news release click here.

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Need a Grandchild? There’s an App for That

On By SupremeCmdrIn Mental Health, older ageLeave a comment

More than 40% of the elderly experience loneliness on a regular basis, according to a 2017 study. That loneliness puts them at a higher risk of cognitive decline, depression, stroke, and multiple other problems; even the symptoms of the common cold are more severe when someone is lonely. Seniors who report feeling lonely also have a 45% increased risk of mortality.

This is one of the coolest start ups I’ve read about.  Check it out here.

Happy Older Asians Live Longer

On By SupremeCmdrIn Culture, Diet and Disease, Humor, Mental Health, older age, Populuaton Studies, Survival strategiesLeave a comment

Happy older people live longer, according to researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. In a study published today in Age and Ageing, the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society, the authors found that an increase in happiness is directly proportional with a reduction in mortality.

This is one of the few Asian studies to have assessed the association between happiness and mortality among older people, while accounting for several social factors, such as loneliness and social network, therefore extending the generalisability of the findings to non-Western populations.

Stay happy my friends.  Check out the entire article here.

5 Myths About Older Workers Debunked

On By SupremeCmdrIn Lifelong Learning, Management, Memoir, older age, Success, Survival strategiesLeave a comment
  1. I can’t learn new things.
  2. I am less productive.
  3. I take more time off sick.
  4. I will retire and leave the organization.
  5. I am overqualified.

For obvious reasons I loved this article. 

The stereotypes of older workers persist.  May you live long enough to understand the truth.

  1. I learn something new every day.
  2. I am as productive in my work currently as I was years ago.
  3. I haven’t taken a sick day off in years.
  4. I will eventually retire and leave but not just yet, and
  5. YES I AM OVERQUALIFIED.  You’re getting a helluva lot of experience and expertise CHEAP.

 

Many older adults are deficient in vitamin B12 and folate

On By SupremeCmdrIn Diet and Disease, Nutrition, older ageLeave a comment

Key findings:

  • One in eight adults over 50 were low to deficient in vitamin B12 while one in seven were low to deficient in folate

  • The prevalence of low or deficient folate increased with age, from 14% among those aged 50-60 years to 23% among people over 80 years old. Low folate status was also more common in smokers, the obese, and those who lived alone

  • Low or deficient vitamin B12 was more common in smokers (14%), people who lived alone (14.3%) and those from lower socio-economic backgrounds (13%)

  • Use of both vitamin B12 and folic acid supplementation was low, with higher rates among women than men but less than 4% overall taking supplements of either vitamin

Read the source article here.

OA is a Pain in the Hands (try exercises)

On By SupremeCmdrIn Lifelong Learning, Memoir, older age, OrthopedicsLeave a comment

The source article is here.

For many people, hand strength declines with age, especially if arthritis sets in, making it hard to go about daily tasks. A study published in 2017 in Arthritis & Rheumatology estimated that the overall lifetime risk of hand osteoarthritis is close to 40 percent, with twice as many women as men developing it. People who are obese are also more susceptible—possibly because obesity increases chronic low-level inflammation, which contributes to joint damage.

All of a sudden I’m paying more attention to those infomercials that are selling electric jar openers.  An older friend recommended naproxen sodium.  I’m thinking exercise, thus the link to this short informative article.