Scientists have known for decades that the ability to remember newly learned information declines with age, but it was not clear why. A new study may provide part of the answer.
Read the full article at The New York Times.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, published and periodically updated by the American Psychiatric Association, is one of those documents few laypeople ever read, but many of us are affected by.
Dr. Allen Frances, chairman of the task force that developed the previous Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, predicts inclusion of mild neurocognitive disorder in the new version will lead to “wild overdiagnosis.”
Read the full article at The New York Times.
Assuming our good health continues, my husband and I will continue living in our home in the leafy suburbs where we’ve raised our children. We considered relinquishing the flora and fauna for a cute pied-à-terre as some of our empty nester friends have quite happily done, but we are too attached to our home and the neighborhood. We’re staying.
Read the full article at Huffington Post.
Single and retired, with no family nearby, 64-year-old Lorna Grenadier knows she’ll need a better support system if she wants to grow old in her apartment in the Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C., where she has lived for 40 years. So she’s added community organizing to her list of interests and is helping create a service network she hopes will enable her and others like her to remain in their own homes as they age.
Read the full article at Bloomberg.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (D.S.M. 5), to be published in May, has generated an unusual amount of heat. Two changes, in particular, could have considerable impact on older people and their families.
Read the full article at The New York Times.
BY the time he was 76, my father was frail. His balance was poor and he had trouble walking. He lived alone in Baltimore in a big house full of stairs, and watching him come tottering down those stairs was terrifying. Each time, I thought he might fall. He refused to make the house safer — no stair lifts, no grab rails (they would disfigure the house, he said) — and would not consider living anywhere else. When my brother and his wife invited my father to move in, the invitation was vigorously declined. And we lived in three different cities, far apart.
Read the full article at The New York Times.
There’s another reason to be concerned about hearing loss — one of the most common health conditions in older adults and one of the most widely undertreated. A new study by researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests that elderly people with compromised hearing are at risk of developing cognitive deficits — problems with memory and thinking — sooner than those whose hearing is intact.
Read the full article at The New York Times.
In an effort to promote successful aging and end-of -life care for multi-cultural older adults, Stanford recently launched the Internet based Successful Aging (iSAGE) program. The mini-fellowship is funded with a grant from the National Institute of Minority Health Disparities, and it’s being offered for free to both health-care professionals and members of the public.
Read the full article at Scope blog (Stanford School of Medicine).
Today, of course, employers are in the driver’s seat when it comes to finding a job. Millions of people have been out of work for a long period of time. For older workers in particular, it’s especially tough to find a new job. There will come a day, however, when the equation shifts. As this happens, employers will find older employees grateful for the chance to work. Seniors who find themselves in demand will also be looking for different types of job opportunities, including seasonal, “on-again-off-again” jobs and those that offer telecommuting and flexible hours.
Read the full article at U.S. News & World Report.
According to a Fitch ratings agency statement, the world’s aging population could put many countries at risk of a second fiscal crisis.
“Whilst a successful resolution of the current fiscal crisis remains the most important driver for many advanced-economy ratings, without further reform to address the impact of long-term ageing these economies face a second, longer-term fiscal shock,” the statement read.
Read the full article at Huffington Post.