Retiring? A City Can Help Keep You Young, Age You Faster - AARP Bulletin

by: Candy Sagon | from: AARP Bulletin | April 8, 2011

If you want to look and feel younger than your years, maybe you need to move to another city. Like Salt Lake City, San Francisco or Austin, Texas.

Those are the top three cities in RealAge.com's list of the 10 "youngest" cities in America — metropolitan areas with such healthy lifestyles that on average their residents are physically at least two years younger than their chronological age — and many are years younger than that.

RealAge is a website cofounded by Michael Roizen, M.D., chief wellness officer of the Cleveland Clinic, and internist Keith Roach, M.D., with Weill Medical College of Cornell University. The site offers an online health assessment that has been taken by 27 million people since 1999. 

Respondents are asked about their health habits from sleep to smoking to stress. Sample information from 1,000 men and women in each of the 50 largest metropolitan areas was used to come up with the 10 "youngest" and "oldest" cities, based on the health of their residents. The data were adjusted for age differences, so that a city that attracts retirees wasn't penalized when compared with a college town full of young adults.

And the youngest city in terms of health? Salt Lake City. It topped the list because its residents are gung ho for fitness and loathe smoking.

On the other hand, residents of Knoxville and Nashville may need to start worrying. Those two Tennessee cities are numbers one and three on the list of metro areas most likely to make you old before your time, with Greensboro/Winston-Salem/Highpoint, N.C., coming in second.

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Combo Regimen Best to Keep Obese Seniors Going

By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Exercise and weight loss both appear to help obese older adults maintain function, although combining the two provides the most benefit, a randomized controlled trial showed.

After one year, participants 65 and older who participated in both a diet and exercise program had greater gains in physical performance than those who did either one alone, according to Dennis Villareal, MD, of the New Mexico VA Health Care System in Albuquerque, and colleagues.

The combined strategy also resulted in the most consistent gains on several secondary endpoints, including strength, balance, gait, and quality of life, the researchers reported in the March 31 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
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Generation Alzheimer's - The Defining Disease Of The Baby Boomers

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The Alzheimer's Association has released a new report, "Generation Alzheimer's: The Defining Disease of the Baby Boomers," sheds light on a crisis that is no longer emerging – but here.

"Alzheimer’s is a tragic epidemic that has no survivors. Not a single one," said Harry Johns, president and CEO of the Alzheimer’s Association. "It is as much a thief as a killer. Alzheimer’s will darken the long-awaited retirement years of the one out of eight baby boomers who will develop it. Those who will care for these loved ones will witness, day by day, the progressive and relentless realities of this fatal disease. But we can still change that if we act now."

Alzheimer’s is the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression. But, while Alzheimer’s kills, it does so only after taking everything away, slowly stripping an individual’s autonomy and independence. Even beyond the cruel impact Alzheimer’s has on the individuals with the disease, Generation Alzheimer’s also details the negative cascading effects the disease places on millions of caregivers. Caregivers and families go through the agony of losing a loved one twice: first to the ravaging effects of the disease and then, ultimately, to actual death.

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Calling All Beautiful Minds

The National Center for Creative Aging (NCCA) is an organization dedicated to fostering an understanding of the vital relationship between creative expression and the quality of life of older people. NCCA has partnered with Martek Biosciences, a company committed to brain health research, to help shine a light on people who are keeping their minds beautiful, and raise awareness of the actions people can take to maintain the most important organ in the body—the brain.

NCCA and Martek are seeking people 55 and over to be featured in a national photo essay exhibit showcasing women and men who are doing beautiful things with their minds without letting age be a barrier. The photo essay exhibit will travel to multiple cities as part of this educational campaign to inspire all Americans to follow suit in maintaining their brain health.

Beautiful Minds candidates who are selected will receive $500 to be given to the nonprofit charity of their choice and a prize package valued at $500.

Nominate by May 13, 2011.

Beautiful Minds Essay Criteria

If you are 55 or over, and have looked at aging as an opportunity to do something extraordinarily beautiful with your mind, you are a good candidate.

Do you or does someone you know:
·	Commit to a healthy lifestyle?
·	Maintain a healthy diet?
·	Engage in intellectual or brain-healthy activities on a daily basis?
·	Take measures to overcome a serious illness through mind, body, spirit and nutritional methods?
·	Receive accolades for work as an educator?
·	Participate in high-impact physical activities, such as running marathons?
·	Have a strong commitment to social well-being and volunteer to help others?

Click here for rules and regulations

Mental Health Benefits of Neighborhood for Older Mexican American Men | Aging In Action

by John Davy on March 28, 2011

For all the positive steps we can take for our health—exercise, social engagement, diet—much of our wellbeing is out of our control. A growing body of research demonstrates that factors such as stressors we experience, our parents’ income and education, and the neighborhoods we grow up in can all be risk factors for our health. Research has shown that economically disadvantaged neighborhoods lead to a greater risk of mortality and morbidity. At the same time, neighborhoods can also provide protective benefits. A recent study in the Journal of the American Geriatric Society showed that, for Mexican American men aged 75 and older, living in a neighborhood with a high density of Mexican Americans is associated with a lower risk of depression (Gerst et al 2011).
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The Impact of Trauma on Wellness: Implications for Comprehensive Systems Change

The Impact of Trauma on Wellness: Implications for Comprehensive Systems Change March 30, 2011  |  3 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time SAMHSA invites you to a free training teleconference titled, "The Impact of Trauma on Wellness: Implications for Comprehensive Systems Change." According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost 60 percent of American adults say they endured abuse and other difficult family situations as children, otherwise known as adverse childhood experiences. Those experiences can have long-term health consequences and can create financial burdens on society due to the need for hospitalization, mental health care, child welfare services and/or law enforcement. This teleconference will educate diverse stakeholders about comprehensive systems change, including preventing both harm and inadvertent retraumatization and ensuring that services and supports are welcoming, engaging, and culturally attuned. The goal is to help facilitate the healing process among people who have experienced trauma so that they can become fully engaged in their communities. Presenters: Cathy Cave, Senior Program Associate, Advocates for Human Potential Roger Fallot, Ph.D., Director of Research and Evaluation, Community Connections Ann Jennings, Ph.D., Founder and Executive Director, The Anna Institute Register Now Registration will close at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, March 27, 2011.

Palliative Care Helps Quality of Life for Sick | The Daily Journal | thedailyjournal.com

Written by LIZ SZABO -USA Today

There are no secret passwords in medicine, no mysterious handshakes or signals to use when seeking the best care for a serious illness.

But experts say two words come close: palliative care.

Many people have never heard of palliative care, a comprehensive service that aims to relieve suffering in people with serious illnesses, such as cancer, lung disease or kidney failure.

Some patients and even many doctors confuse palliative medicine with hospice, a form of palliative care for people in the last six months of life. Other patients mistakenly worry that doctors won't work as hard to cure them if they ask for palliative care, says Gail Cooney, former president of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

Those notions could change in light of recent research.
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Global Burden of Disease Study: Establishing Global Health Priorities

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Please provide your feedback to the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2010 Health Measurement Survey.

The Global Burden of Disease Study of 2010 aims to measure the impact of different diseases, injuries, and risk factors on people's health worldwide. This research updates a groundbreaking study first published in 1993 that changed the way researchers and health experts around the world thought about global health priorities.

The survey will ask you to imagine different health outcomes and compare them to each other. For example: "Imagine two people—the first person is completely blind, and the second person suffers from constant intense back pain. Who is healthier overall?"

By participating in the survey, you will contribute to the scientific understanding of global health problems and ultimately enable policymakers and health care leaders to make better decisions based on stronger evidence. The survey takes about 15 minutes to complete. Your participation in this study is completely voluntary, and your responses will be anonymous.

Take the Survey

This study is being led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in conjunction with Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, the University of Queensland, and the World Health Organization.

Cervical Ca Screening Age Limits Questioned

By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

A substantial portion of cervical cancer occurs in women older than 70, raising questions about clinical recommendations to discontinue screening at that age, analysis of an NCI database suggested.

From 2000 to 2006, more than 12% of newly diagnosed cervical cancers were in women ages 70 to 85. The rate was similar to that in age groups more often associated with the disease, according to a study reported here at the Society of Gynecologic Oncology meeting.

Almost 60% of cervical cancer cases in older patients were diagnosed at later disease stages.

That limits their treatment options, said Malgorzata E. Skaznik-Wikiel, MD, of Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh. "Lack of uniform screening across all at-risk age groups may account for the discrepancy," Skaznik-Wikiel said.
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The Best Part of Waking Up Also Lowers Stroke Risk

By Crystal Phend, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Women who start their day with a cup of coffee may be protecting themselves from stroke, according to a Swedish prospective cohort study.

Among 34,670 women, those who reported drinking at least one cup a day at baseline had a 24% reduction in stroke risk (95% CI 0.66 to 0.88) over a decade, Susanna C. Larsson, PhD, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and colleagues found.

"Given that coffee is one of the most popular beverages consumed worldwide, even small health effects of substances in coffee may have large public health consequences," they wrote online in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart

When Elderly Drivers Must Stop Driving - NYTimes.com

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By JANE GROSS

In my many years of reporting about the elderly, I found little that caused doctors more angst than confronting a patient and family about driving. When is it time for someone with physical or cognitive problems to give up the car keys? Who makes that decision? And how can it safely and compassionately be enforced?

Late into the fray, but with a comprehensive and thoughtful handbook, is the American Medical Association, in collaboration with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Recently updated, the “A.M.A. Physician’s Guide to Assessing and Counseling Older Drivers” is an invaluable addition to the literature on the subject, directed to its own members but accessible and informative to the layperson as well.

The guidebook has plenty of information about assessing a patient’s driving ability; medications and medical conditions that impair mobility, vision, hearing, reflexes and judgment; tips on having the conversation with patients and caregivers; advice on how to avoid isolation and dependence when driving is no longer sensible or safe; discussion of a doctor’s ethical responsibilities; and state-by-state guidelines for reporting drivers to the state department of motor vehicles, which has the ultimate say in who remains on the road.

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New Data on CHIPRA, Medical Malpractice, Childhood Obesity Laws, HCBS, State Budgets, and More

Statehealthfacts.org has recently added new and updated data on Demographics & the Economy, Health Status, Medicaid & CHIP, Medicare, Providers & Service Use, Minority Health, HIV/AIDS, and Health Reform. You can also view a list of all recent updates.

Demographics & the Economy

• State Fiscal Distress
  Measures of aggregate state rankings in foreclosures, unemployment, and food stamp participation have been updated with the latest information from RealtyTrac, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Updated data on states with projected budget shortfalls for state fiscal year (SFY) 2012 have been added from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP).
• State Budgets
  The latest state-by-state information from the National Association of State Budget Officers (NASBO) on total state expenditures, per capita state spending, and the distribution of general fund spending is available for SFY2009.
  
• State or Federal Inmates
  Updated data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics on the number of adult prisoners under state jurisdiction, adult prisoners by gender, and the incarceration rate per 100,000 population have been added for all states and the nation for 2009.
• Union Employees
  Information on the number of workers represented by unions has been updated for 2010 based on data from the BLS.
• Cigarette Excise Tax
  The most recent data from the American Lung Association on state cigarette excise taxes are available for 2010.

Health Status

• Childhood Obesity and Firearm Safety
  The latest data on state laws addressing childhood obesity and states with firearm laws designed to protect children are now available for 2010 from the American Academy of Pediatrics’ State Legislation Report.
• Public Place Smoking Bans
  Updated information on states with public place smoking bans has been added for all states from the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation for 2011.
  

Medicaid & CHIP

• Medicaid and CHIP Eligibility
  New data from the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured (KCMU) and the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families on CHIP program type and children’s upper income eligibility limit for Medicaid/CHIP have been added as of January 2011.
• Co-Payments and Premiums for Children in Medicaid/CHIP
  Also new from KCMU and Georgetown University is information on premium and co-payment amounts and requirements as of January 2011.
  
• Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA)
  New data on state adoption of coverage and enrollment options in CHIPRA have been added for all states and the nation as of January 2011 from KCMU and Georgetown University. Also new are data on CHIPRA performance bonus awards for FY2009 and FY2010 from InsureKidsNow.gov.
• Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS)
  Updated data from KCMU and University of California at San Francisco analysis of CMS Form 372 are now available for all states and the nation for 2007. Updated topics include total HCBS waivers, expenditures by waiver type, aged/disabled participants, home health participants, and personal care expenditures.
• State Medicaid Spending
  The latest information from NASBO on the distribution of state Medicaid spending has been added for all states and the nation for SFY2009.

Medicare

• Medicare Drug Benefit
  The latest data on Medicare beneficiaries with prescription drug coverage and low-income subsidy eligible beneficiaries with Medicare prescription drug coverage have been added from the Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) as of February 2010.
• Medicare Prescription Drug Plans (PDPs)
  Updated data from Mathematica Policy Research and Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) analysis of the CMS Prescription Drug Landscape File on the number of Medicare PDPs, PDPs with no deductible, and PDPs with no coverage in the benefit gap are available for all states and the nation for 2011.
  
• Medicare Advantage
  Data on the number of Medicare Advantage contracts and Medicare special needs plan (SNP) offerings have been updated for 2011 from KFF analysis of CMS Landscape Source files.
• Medicare Service Use
  The most recent information on Medicare service use, including short-stay hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health services, has been added from CMS for 2009.

Providers & Service Use

• Medical Malpractice
  Updated data from KFF analysis of the National Practitioner Data Bank Public Use Data File on the number of paid medical malpractice claims, total dollars in paid claims, and average claims payments are now available for all states and the nation for 2009. 
• Medical School Graduates
  The latest information on the number of medical school graduates and medical school graduates by gender has been added from the Association of American Medical Colleges for 2010. Data from 2002 through 2010 are available for trend analysis.
  

Minority Health

• Medical School Graduates
  Also updated from the Association of American Medical Colleges are state-by-state data on medical school graduates by race/ethnicity and Hispanic ethnicity.

HIV/AIDS

• Syringe Exchange Programs
  The most recent information from the North American Syringe Exchange Network on states with sterile syringe exchange programs has been added for 2011.

Health Reform

• Federal Lawsuit
  Updated information on states that have joined the federal lawsuit against the Affordable Care Act is now available from the National Council of State Legislatures for 2011.

Statehealthfacts.org is a Kaiser Family Foundation website.

Getting Dad to Talk About It - NYTimes.com

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By KAREN STABINER

My widowed father-in-law didn’t tell anyone about his symptoms — not his doctor, and not his grown son, who found out only when a member of the extended family called to say my husband needed to fly across the country immediately to see his dad.

By that point, the kidney cancer that would have been easy to treat if detected early had passed the fail-safe point. My father-in-law was not the kind of guy who liked to depend on people, so he made sure he had to for only a very short time before he died.

He was an extreme example of a familiar dynamic, which Deborah Tannen, a professor of linguistics at Georgetown University, calls “the guy’s view.” Dr. Tannen, the author of seven books about how we communicate with one another, says that many older men consider keeping difficult information to themselves a badge of courage. In this view, it’s what men are supposed to do to keep from upsetting the womenfolk.

But that often leaves caregivers struggling to improve communication, particularly in the doctor’s office.

Fortunately, there are things adult children can do for the many parents — men leading the pack, but some moms, too — who are reluctant to talk about what’s bothering them.
In a study of 12,000 Medicare recipients published in The Archives of Internal Medicine in 2008, Debra Roter, a professor of public health at Johns Hopkins University, and her colleagues found that elderly patients who were accompanied by someone reported greater satisfaction with their doctors’ visits than those who showed up in waiting rooms alone.

“Having a companion made those who were more ill or less educated on a par with people who were better off on those variables,” said Dr. Roter. An adult child accompanying a parent to a doctor’s appointment, she added, can help in very specific ways:
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Glaucoma Risk in Women Falls With Rising BMI

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By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Women's risk of open-angle glaucoma (OAG) decreased significantly as body mass index (BMI) increased, according to data from a large cohort study.

For every unit increase in body mass index, women had a 7% lower risk of glaucoma. BMI also had a significant relationship with intraocular pressure (IOP) in women, but in the opposite direction -- IOP went up as BMI went up, as reported online in Archives of Ophthalmology.

Other lifestyle factors did not significantly influence either open-angle glaucoma or intraocular pressure in men or women.


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Cost Keeps Stroke Meds Out of Reach for Some

By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Some stroke survivors skip prescribed medications because the cost is too high -- a situation that may be worsening, particularly among young and uninsured patients, researchers found.
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You're Sick. It's Serious.

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine has just released a new video called "You're Sick. It's Serious."

Europe's eHealth Solutions Grow with Aging Population

As the baby boom population in Europe ages, there is a growing demand for eHealth products and services. In the European Union, eHealth technology is already worth 15 billion euro and Brussels is now trying to work on legislation that will make it easier to implement in the coming years, according to EurActiv.com.

Currently, there are a number of telehealth projects that help reduce the duration of a patient's hospital stay by providing an in-home care solution. These include Holland's diabeticStation and Italy's MyDoctor@home service.

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Loneliness Is 'Hidden Killer' of Elderly | CARDI : Centre for Ageing Research and Development in Ireland

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Loneliness is the "hidden killer" of elderly people, says a campaign group, which is calling for greater recognition of the link between isolation and ill-health.

A group of charities is launching the Campaign to End Loneliness.

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Aging Germany Must Keep Older Workers Healthy and Happy | Deutsche Welle

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Germany needs older workers more than ever to keep its industry humming and pension system financed. But there's one problem: employees aged 55 and older often miss work for longer periods of time due to illness.

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Diet Guidelines Tweaked -- No Big Changes from MedPage Today

By John Gever, Senior Editor, MedPage Today

The federal government has issued the first update in five years of its "Dietary Guidelines for Americans" -- but despite broad recognition of the U.S. obesity crisis, the update left the major cornerstones of the guidelines largely intact.

The revision, a joint effort of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), was released today -- although it carries a 2010 date. USDA and HHS last updated the guidelines in 2005.
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