Random Thoughts on Retirement and Longevity – Can Remote Work Delay Retirement?

The mortality impact is interesting

The Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found that those who worked just a year beyond retirement age had a 9% to 11% lower risk of dying during the 18 years the research covered, regardless of health. Could Remote Work Delay Your Retirement? https://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/retirement-planning/could-remote-work-delay-your-retirement

If you only eat “superfoods” will you have a long life?

“There is no single secret to living a long, healthy life.” Salvatore Di Somma, MD. Sanford Burnham Prebys. “A long and ongoing look at the secrets of human longevity and healthy aging.” ScienceDaily – https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/05/250505171023.htm

Coffee

All coffee types decrease the risk of adverse clinical outcomes in chronic liver disease: a UK Biobank study

Kennedy, O.J., Fallowfield, J.A., Poole, R. et al. BMC Public Health 21, 970 (2021) – https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-021-10991

Movement is medicine

Being consistently physically active in adulthood is linked to a 30–40% lower risk of death from any cause in later life, while upping levels from below those recommended for health is still associated with a 20–25% lower risk, finds a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published online in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. It’s never too late: Just moving more could add years to your lifehttps://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250711224321.htm

Whiskey

University of California neurologist Claudia Kawas and her team have been studying the lifestyle habits of people who live until their 90s. The group has been researching people of this age group for some 15 years – and they have found that those who drank two units of alcohol every day were less likely to die prematurely.“I have no explanation for it, but I do firmly believe that modest drinking improves longevity,” Kawas said. – Whiskey makes you live a longer, healthier lifehttps://www.irishcentral.com/culture/food-drink/whiskey-live-longer-healthier

Loneliness

Now, however, new research is calling into question this long-held belief and, surprisingly, found that loneliness may not be quite the threat that we all once thought it was. In fact, the problem may be one of confusing cause and effect. The Surprising Truth About Loneliness and Longevityhttps://www.kiplinger.com/retirement/the-surprising-truth-about-loneliness-and-longevity

Loneliness is pervasive in home care settings across the 3 countries; however, its association with mortality differs from reports for the general population. Loneliness was not associated with an increased risk of death after adjusting for health-related covariates. The causal order between changes in health, loneliness, and mortality is unclear. For example, loneliness may be a consequence of those health changes rather than their cause. Cross-National Evidence on Risk of Death Associated with Loneliness: A Survival Analysis of 1-Year All-Cause Mortality among Older Adult Home Care Recipients in Canada, Finland, and Aotearoa | New Zealandhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S152586102500204X

Clearing Up Myths About Older Workers

In 2001, only about 1 out of every 7 U.S. workers was 55 or older. By 2021, the number jumped to almost 1 out of every 4 workers (a 93% increase). That’s almost twice the proportion of older workers as before.3 Older workers are staying on the job longer for various reasons, ranging from financial needs to the joy of work.  More people are working past the age when they might have retired. They might be responding to the increase in the Social Security full retirement age, needing money or health insurance, or simply enjoying their jobs and being around their friends at work.⁴ Clearing Up Myths About Older Workers While Understanding and Supporting an Aging Workforcehttps://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2023/09/25/older-workers/

I just learned I have a high level of Crystallized intelligence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_and_crystallized_intelligence

I’ve Been in Physical Therapy For Over Three Months

Less is more.

We’ve turned the idea of “exercise” into something so loaded these days, only to be validated by a specific kind of intensity. Just uttering the word exercise now can ignite an all-or-nothing mindset, filled with protein obsessions, endless wearable fitness trackers, or even a costly membership to an elite wellness club. I Won’t Be Shamed — Physical Therapy Is Still Exercisehttps://www.popsugar.com/fitness/physical-therapy-still-a-workout-49448831

I used to be a runner. Quite a few years ago my knees told me not to run anymore.

I joined the Y and did the elliptical and treadmills until my knees complained some more. I moved my exercise routine to the resistance machines. Then Covid hit, I cancelled my membership and the months turned into years away from the gym.

I found some resistance bands in the house and started some simple exercises at home. I rejoined the Y and started back with the resistance machines.

Earlier this year my employer offered access to online virtual physical therapy. I took advantage of this benefit from https://www.hingehealth.com/ and have been in physical therapy now for over three months. Less pain (especially my cervical spine, the result of a near fatal encounter with a car), less stiffness, better flexibility, and gradually improving strength. The beauty of the program is availability on demand and it is 100% HEP (home exercise program). Sessions are 10-12 minutes long and you don’t have to leave the house.

Less is more.

One Toke Over the Line

A wave of recent research points to reasons for concern for older users, with cannabis-related emergency room visits and hospitalizations rising, and a Canadian study finding an association between such acute care and subsequent dementia. Older people are more apt than younger ones to try cannabis for therapeutic reasons: to relieve chronic pain, insomnia, or mental health issues, though evidence of its effectiveness in addressing those conditions remains thin, experts said. As Cannabis Users Age, Health Risks Appear To Grow https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/cannabis-medical-use-older-adults-health-risks/

Then…

And now…

“Our brains are more sensitive to psychoactive substances as we age.” Dr. Benjamin Han

Don’t you know I’m just waiting for the train that goes home, sweet Mary.

Thinking Styles – What’s Your Style?

Read this thinking style pyramid and refer back to it as often as needed.

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We are all suckers for click bait. I started with this:

Older Adults Face Higher Cancer Risk From Alcohol, Even at Low or Moderate Levelshttps://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/older-adults-face-higher-cancer-risk-alcohol-even-low-or-2025a

Scary stuff if you’re an older adult! I should STOP DRINKING ALCOHOL.

But what if this study is wrong? See pyramid above. Sensing bias in the article I took a look at the comments. Dr. Bradley Fawkes’ comment was noteworthy. In the results section of the study you’ll find this:

“While no associations were found for low- or moderate-risk drinking patterns vs occasional drinking among individuals without socioeconomic or health-related risk factors…” Alcohol Consumption Patterns and Mortality Among Older Adults With Health-Related or Socioeconomic Risk Factors – https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2822215

So in the absence of socioeconomic or health-related risk factors no associations were found.

Cheers!

Diet and Healthy Aging

In the journal Nature Medicine this week there was an important open-access publication about a large combined cohort of over 105,000 health professionals prospectively followed for 30 years. Only 9.3% reached the age of 70 years with “healthy aging” —without 11 major chronic diseases and no impairment of cognitive or physical function or mental health. Our Diet and Healthy Aging Eric Topol, MD – https://erictopol.substack.com/p/our-diet-and-healthy-aging

Dr. Eric Topol’s assessment of this study is well balanced and thoughtfully written. His bio is here: https://www.scripps.edu/faculty/topol/

Healthy aging in this study is described as reaching age 70 without developing any of 11 major diseases: cancer (except for non-melanoma skin cancers), diabetes, heart attack, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, stroke, kidney failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson disease, multiple sclerosis and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

My Half-Birthday is coming up soon. I’ll be 70.5 years young. The biggest take home lesson for me is this:

Beer is better for you than pizza.

Ah, Houston, we’ve had a problem (Scary Charts 03.10.25)

Source – https://www.apolloacademy.com/there-is-a-significant-need-for-retirement-savings-in-the-us/

Short of forcing people to save for retirement, Social Security remains the safety net for those who lack access to retirement vehicles or don’t have the means to save. – How Many Americans Don’t Save For Retirement? https://awealthofcommonsense.com/2025/03/how-many-americans-dont-save-for-retirement/

TBH, Social Security is a much higher portion of our retirement income than I had planned for.

Baby Boomers Are Aging Into the Group Most Affected by Hoarding Disorder

Studies have estimated that hoarding disorder affects around 2.5% of the general population — a higher rate than schizophrenia. The mental illness was previously considered a sub-type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, but in 2013 it was given its own diagnostic criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the DSM-5.

For Seniors With Hoarding Disorder, a Support Group Helps Confront Stigma and Isolationhttps://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/hoarding-disorder-support-groups-pennsylvania-baby-boomers/

Yikes.

Antidepressant Use Associated With Cognitive decline in Patients with Dementia

In this cohort study, use of antidepressants was associated with faster cognitive decline in patients with dementia, in particular SSRIs (i.e., citalopram, sertraline and escitalopram) and mirtazapine. These effects appeared to be more pronounced in patients with more severe dementia. Compared with sertraline, escitalopram presented faster cognitive decline, while citalopram was linked to a slower cognitive decline. Additionally, higher dispensed doses of SSRIs were associated with greater cognitive decline, as well as increased risks of severe dementia, all-cause mortality, and fracture. Our study cannot distinguish whether these findings are due to the antidepressants or the underlying psychiatric indication. Mo, M., Abzhandadze, T., Hoang, M.T. et al. Antidepressant use and cognitive decline in patients with dementia: a national cohort study. BMC Med 23, 82 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-025-03851-3

If I develop dementia no SSRI’s for me please.