This study evaluated the association between the ability to sit and rise from the floor with and without support and all-cause mortality in adults age 51 to 80.
There was a significant association between the use of more support to sit and rise from the floor and increasing all-cause mortality.
via Simple Sit Test Predicts Long Life.
Our profession typically uses chair-to-stand testing as part of a senior supplement. Should we be considering the use of the sit-rise test instead?
Despite efforts to change the term to the slightly more accurate “nonadherent,” the word “noncompliant” remains firmly entrenched in the medical lexicon. No matter what it’s called, however, it’s an enormous problem. Experts estimate that some 50 percent of patients do not take their medicines as prescribed or follow doctors’ recommendations.
via When the Patient Is ‘Noncompliant’ – NYTimes.com.
Underwriting and mortality issue? I think so.
Patients who took statins and were physically fit had as much as a 70% reduction in the risk of dying during the follow-up period as compared with the least physically fit patients who were taking statins, according to Peter Kokkinos, PhD, of George Washington University in Washington, and colleagues.
Physical fitness also had an independent effect on mortality risk among patients who were not taking statins, reducing the likelihood of death during follow-up by as much as 47%, they reported online in The Lancet.
via Statin-Exercise Combo Lowers Mortality Risk.
I really need to get the gym more often.
Conclusion: Increased FV intake improves the Pneumovax II vaccination antibody response in older people, which links an achievable dietary goal with improved immune function. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00858728.
Mom was right. Eat your vegetables.
NIA NEWS
For Immediate Release
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Today’s older Americans enjoy longer lives and better physical function than did previous generations, although, for some, an increased burden in housing costs and rising obesity may compromise these gains, according to a comprehensive federal look at aging. The report, Older Americans 2012: Key Indicators of Well-Being, tracks trends at regular intervals to see how older people are faring as the U.S. population grows older.
In 2010, 40 million people age 65 and over accounted for 13 percent of the total population in the United States. In 2030, the number and proportion of older Americans is expected to grow significantly—to 72 million, representing nearly 20 percent of the population said the report, by the Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics.
Older Americans 2012, the sixth report prepared by the Forum since 2000, provides an updated and accessible compendium of indicators, drawn from official statistics about the well-being of Americans primarily age 65 and older. The 176-page report provides a broad description of areas of well-being that are improving for older Americans and those that are not. Thirty-seven key indicators are categorized into five broad areas—population, economics, health status, health risks and behaviors, and health care. This year’s report also includes a special feature on the end of life.
Highlights of Older Americans 2012 include:
Older Americans 2012: Key Indicators of Well-Being is available online at http://www.agingstats.gov.
The Federal Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics was established in 1986 to improve the quality and utility of federal data on aging. This report assembles data to construct broad indicators of well-being for the older population and to monitor changes in these indicators over time. The effort is designed to inform the public, policy makers, and researchers about important trends in the aging population. The 15 agencies represented in the Forum include the Administration on Aging, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, U.S. Census Bureau, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, National Center for Health Statistics, National Institute on Aging, Office of Management and Budget, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (Department of Health and Human Services), Social Security Administration and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Older Americans 2012: Key Indicators of Well-Being is available online at http://www.agingstats.gov and in limited quantities in print. Supporting data for each indicator, including complete tables, PowerPoint slides and source descriptions, can be found on the Forum’s website. Single printed copies of Older Americans 2012: Key Indicators of Well-Being are available at no charge through the National Center for Health Statistics while supplies last. Requests may be made by calling 1-866-441-6247 or by sending an e-mail to nchsquery@cdc.gov. For multiple print copies, call 301-458-4460 or send an e-mail request to agingforum@cdc.gov.
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The following individuals are available to comment on the report:
National Center for Health Statistics:
Edward Sondik, Ph.D., director, National Center for Health Statistics
National Institute on Aging:
Richard Suzman, Ph.D., director, NIA Division of Behavioral and Social Research
To schedule interviews, please contact:
NCHS Press Office: 301-458-4800, paoquery@cdc.gov
NIA Press Office: 301-496-1752; nianews3@mail.nih.gov
Baby boomers, now between 48 and 67 years old, have already shown a greater propensity to suicide than previous generations, according to a data analysis from researchers at Rutgers University and Emory University. Male boomers had abnormally high suicide rates in their teen and early 20s, peaking for many boomers at 26 suicides per 100,000 lives at an age when the rate among next older generations were below 20 suicides per 100,000 lives, data showed. Patterns were similar for women, though their rates are lower, Emory epidemiologist Ellen Idler said.
While studying the effects of exendin-4 on the pancreas, Dr. Egan and her colleagues found that it also seemed to have beneficial effects on the brain. Specifically, GLP-1 stimulates the growth of neurites (developing neurons) in cell culture, and both GLP-1 and exendin-4 protect mature neurons against cell death. In fact, research increasingly suggests that there may be a link between some neurodegenerative disorders and metabolic dysfunction. The hope is that drugs, such as exendin-4, that enhance metabolic function may also be useful in the treatment of neurologic disease.
Building on these findings, Dr. Egan and others in the NIA Intramural Research Program have tested exendin-4 in cellular and mouse models of several neurodegenerative diseases. The results are promising. For example, using a mouse model of Huntington’s disease, they found that exendin-4 reduces the accumulation of the mutant huntingtin protein, which is implicated in the disease’s onset and progression. The treatment also improved motor function and extended the survival time of the Huntington’s disease mice.
In other studies, investigators found that exendin-4 significantly reduced levels of amyloid beta protein (a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease) and its precursor molecule in mice models of the disorder. It also proved beneficial in cellular and animal models of another neurodegenerative disorder, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
via National Institute on Aging | The Leader in Aging Research.
Researchers evaluated six years of data on 1,604 people 60 and older and found that 43% were classified as lonely. Compared with other study participants, those individuals were more prone to have their mobility decline, lose upper body strength, have trouble climbing stairs and decrease their daily activities. Loneliness also was associated with an increased risk of death, the study said.
A separate study of 8,594 adults 45 and older found that those between age 45 and 65 who live alone have significantly increased risk of mortality — and particularly cardiovascular-related death — than those who don’t live alone. That study also was published online June 18 in Archives of Internal Medicine.
via Doctors asked to consider loneliness in senior health assessment – amednews.com.
Over 9 years, those who had diabetes had significantly worse cognitive decline on two separate tests compared with those who didn’t have the disease (P=0.008 and P=0.001), Kristine Yaffe, MD, of the University of California San Francisco, and colleagues reported online in the Archives of Neurology.
The largest open long-term care insurance claim has reached $1.7 million in paid benefits, according to a just-released report from the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance (www.AALTCI.org). The claimant, a woman, purchased coverage at age 43, paying an annual premium of $881. Three years later her long term care insurance claim began and has continued for almost 15 years.
lifeunderwriter.net 
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