Category: Seniors
We found that those who had battled the BA.1-2 variant of Omicron in early 2022 had a 30-fold higher risk of contracting the BA.5 variant later in the year. That was exactly the opposite of what we, or anyone, would have predicted. What the findings do tell us is that older adults who have had a previous COVID-19 infection shouldn’t rely on that to protect them against reinfection this fall. To protect against severe illness, keeping booster shots up to date is recommended.
Biden Administration Proposes New Standards to Boost Nursing Home Staffing
The nation’s most thinly staffed nursing homes would be required to hire more workers under new rules proposed on Friday by the Biden administration, the greatest change to federal nursing home regulations.
There’s no age limit for politicians − as people live longer, should that change?
Joe Biden, Mitch McConnell and Diane Feinstein are all over 80 years old, joining a number of politicians who are staying in office well past their 70s.
Am I too old to build muscle?
What science says about sarcopenia and building strength later in life
The number of elderly dying of malnutrition in the US has more than doubled since 2018
In California the rate of elderly dying of malnutrition has accelerated, Phillip Reese reports.
Being ‘Socially Frail’ Comes With Health Risks for Older Adults
Social frailty is a corollary to physical frailty, a set of vulnerabilities (including weakness, exhaustion, unintentional weight loss, slowness, and low physical activity) shown to increase the risk of falls, disability, hospitalization, poor surgical outcomes, admission to a nursing home, and earlier death in older adults.Essentially, people who are physically frail have less physiological strength and a reduced biological ability to bounce back from illness or injury.
Supreme Court Case Could Curtail Rights of Medicaid Patients
Twenty-two Republican-leaning states have urged the Supreme Court to block beneficiaries of federal safety net programs from suing. If the court agrees participants in many federal entitlement programs could lose the right to go to court when they believe a state, city or county has violated their rights in the administration of those programs.
Many types of leisure time activity may lower risk of death for older adults, NIH study finds
Older adults who participate weekly in many different types of leisure time activity, such as walking for exercise, jogging, swimming laps, or playing tennis, may have a lower risk of death from any cause.
Poll: Many older adults look beyond conventional medicine for help, but few talk to their doctors about it
Nearly 40% of older adults currently use at least one integrative medicine strategy to try to ease symptoms of a physical or mental health issue, or to help them relax, a new poll finds. But only 18% of older adults who currently use, formerly used or are interested in using integrative health strategies have actually talked about it with a health care provider.
FEELING THE HEAT? MAYBE IT’S YOUR MEDICATION.
Medications can make it harder to stay hydrated and regulate body temperature, including those for allergies and colds, thyroid, depression, heart/blood pressure, and weight loss. Check with your doctor to see if your health conditions or medications make you more sensitive to heat.
Got Long Covid? Medical Expertise Is Vital, and Seniors Should Prepare to Go Slow
Older adults who have survived covid-19 are more likely than younger patients to have persistent symptoms such as fatigue, breathlessness, muscle aches, heart palpitations, headaches, joint pain, and difficulty with memory and concentration — problems linked to long covid. But it can be hard to distinguish lingering aftereffects of covid from conditions common in older adults such as lung disease, heart disease, and mild cognitive impairment.
Want to “age in place” someday? Take action now
Planning ahead, and making changes gradually, can help older adults stay independent and in their homes longer.
What is palliative care? How is it different from hospice?
Palliative care was not associated with shortened survival, pushing back against a popular assumption that pursuing palliative care means “giving up” on fighting disease. In fact, one influential study found that patients with advanced lung cancer who receive specialty palliative care in addition to standard oncology care lived almost three months longer than patients who received standard oncology care only.
Compare nursing homes with this online tool from Medicare
Whether you’re planning ahead or need to make an unexpected decision, there’s a lot to think about when choosing the right nursing home for you or your loved one. Medicare.gov makes it easy to find and compare nursing homes in your area.