Feature Channels: Seniors

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July 2023 was the hottest month on record, with cities like Phoenix experiencing record-breaking heat waves for weeks on end.

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A new study from the University of Chicago Medicine reveals that nearly 75 percent of acute stroke patients wait more than two hours to be transferred to a comprehensive stroke center — a delay in advanced care and treatments that risks long-term disability.

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The latest headlines from the Food and Water Safety channel on Newswise.

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Breast cancer screening for women over 70 is not without risks, according to new research from Yale School of Medicine’s COPPER Center. Although some guidelines recommend continuing screening for older women, a new study emphasizes the importance of assessing potential harms associated with testing, such as overdiagnosis, which, researchers say, can negatively affect quality of life.

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Research from Saint Louis University School of Medicine finds that among patients 65 and older, a diagnosis of anxiety was significantly associated with an increased risk of dementia diagnosis, and benzodiazepine exposure was associated with a 28% increased risk of dementia.

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The sounds of Jon Passic’s footsteps inside the Occupational Ergonomics and Biomechanics Lab in Whittemore Hall were barely discernible over Elton John’s “Bennie and the Jets” blaring from a small speaker. Passic, who wore a fall protection harness connected to an overhead support system, paced back and forth on the lab’s testing walkway.

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More than 4 out of 5 older women survivors of colorectal cancer may be experiencing a range of gastrointestinal symptoms many years after being diagnosed and treated, a new study suggests.

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A new study published in the medical journal The Lancet found that hearing aids might slow cognitive decline for at-risk older adults with hearing loss.

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The latest research in psychology and psychiatry on Newswise.

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The majority of older adults with cognitive impairment are still driving, despite concerns raised by caregivers and others, a study finds. Researchers say it’s best for caregivers to start conversations surrounding driving earlier while the care recipient is able to understand and actively participate in the discussion.

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Eighty percent of older adults see the benefit of tests that can give an early warning that a person’s memory and thinking abilities have started to decline, a new poll of people age 65 to 80 finds. And 60% think that health care providers should offer cognitive screening to all older adults every year

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Researchers ran the pilot project from August 2020 to November 2021, when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak and seniors were encouraged to stay home. Investigators recruited 72 participants from a wait list of more than 200 for the study and split participants into either a virtual care group or control group. Those receiving virtual care received twice-weekly live-streamed exercise sessions, one phone call a week from student volunteers, medication review consultations and nutrition counselling via videoconference and protein supplementation, over a 12-week period. The control group only received once-weekly calls from volunteers. The results showed that strong adherence to the virtual program made it a feasible option for delivering care to older adults, with 81 per cent of participants in the virtual care group attending the exercise classes, above a predicted 75 per cent adherence rate.

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Researchers from Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and Dana Farber Cancer Institute have been awarded $7 million in total funding to study how diet and exercise impact mental and physical functioning in older cancer survivors and their caregivers.

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A gift of $18.8 million was announced today from Parker Health Group—a Piscataway, New Jersey-based leader in aging services—to the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. This gift will create the Parker Health Group Division of Geriatrics in the medical school’s Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, which will focus on improving care for seniors through applied research, education, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

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Older people who have fluctuating levels of cholesterol and triglycerides may have a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias compared to people who have steady levels, according to new research published in the July 5, 2023, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. While the study found a link, it does not prove that fluctuating levels of cholesterol and triglycerides cause dementia.