QuickStats: Percentage of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)–Related Deaths,* by Underlying Cause and Age Group — United States, 2013

QuickStats: Percentage of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)–Related Deaths,* by Underlying Cause and Age Group — United States, 2013.

The causes of injury that result in TBI-related deaths vary by age group. In 2013, 77% of the TBI-related deaths among infants aged <1 year were from causes other than transportation, firearms, or falls, and primarily resulted from assault and maltreatment. Transportation accounted for 53% of the TBI-related deaths among children aged 1–14 years. Firearm-related injuries accounted for 50% and 52% of the TBI-related deaths for persons aged 15–24 and 25–64 years, respectively. Most of the firearm-related TBI deaths in these two age groups were suicides (62% and 83%, respectively). The majority (61%) of TBI-related deaths for those aged ≥65 years resulted from falls.

The Far-Reaching Effects of a Fall – NYTimes.com

Statistics among older people are indeed daunting. Dr. Laurence Z. Rubenstein, chairman of geriatrics at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine, reports that those 65 and older constitute about 13 percent of the population but account for three-fourths of all deaths caused by falls. About 40 percent in this age group fall at least once a year; one in 40 of them ends up in the hospital, after which only half are still alive a year later.

via The Far-Reaching Effects of a Fall – NYTimes.com.

Neurotoxicity with Antimicrobials in the Elderly: A Review – Clinical Therapeutics

Yikes!

Neurotoxicity with Antimicrobials in the Elderly: A Review – Clinical Therapeutics.

Findings

Various antimicrobial classes are implicated with neurotoxicity. The classes with the most reported cases include fluoroquinolones, macrolides, sulfonamides, nitrofurans, and β-lactams. A higher risk of developing various symptoms of neurotoxicity was found in the elderly with use of piperacillin and tazobactam, cephalosporins, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazole, nitrofurantoin, linezolid, and possibly the fluoroquinolones. Potential mechanisms of neurotoxicity differ between the agents. The etiology of neurotoxicity with some agents is not fully elucidated. Incidence may increase with reported risk factors, renal dysfunction, or drug interactions.

Regular Fish Consumption and Age-Related Brain Gray Matter Loss – American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Regular Fish Consumption and Age-Related Brain Gray Matter Loss – American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Conclusions

Dietary consumption of baked or broiled fish is related to larger gray matter volumes independent of omega-3 fatty acid content. These findings suggest that a confluence of lifestyle factors influence brain health, adding to the growing body of evidence that prevention strategies for late-life brain health need to begin decades earlier.

Frozen fish sticks were a staple in my childhood diet.

I hope it helped.

The Financial Risk of Living a Long Time

The Financial Risk of Living a Long Time

People nearing the end of their careers can potentially lose 5% to 10% of their retirement wealth, or the equivalent of 2 to 5 years’ labor, by failing to annuitize their savings or annuitizing too early, according to an estimate by Alessandro Previtero of Ivey Business School in Canada. By providing a guaranteed income for life, an annuity is essentially an insurance policy against outliving one’s retirement savings. In a study, Previtero found that when stocks are rising, people are less likely to purchase annuities offered by their employers.

 

This excerpt came through my RSS reader this morning.  As an insurance guy, naturally I was interested.  When I clicked on the link to take me to the original Harvard Business Review blog article I got a 404.  So I went to Google and found the article linked below.

CEG_AnnuitiesDeserveAttention

No, I will not speculate on the reasons why HBR took their post down.  Read the article and let your imagination roam.

Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis: Employment Perspective in Pictures: Only 25% of Decline in Fulltime Employment Attributable to Aging Workforce

Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis: Employment Perspective in Pictures: Only 25% of Decline in Fulltime Employment Attributable to Aging Workforce.

“The job of the leader isn’t just to make decisions, it’s to make sense.”

John Seely Brown

The Scary Charts in Mish’s article paint a vivid picture of where this country and economy are headed.  It’s not a pretty picture.