Dementia Risk Quadrupled in People with Mild Cognitive Impairment
Dementia Risk Quadrupled in People with Mild Cognitive Impairment In a long-term, large-scale population-based study of individuals aged 55 years or older in the general population researchers found that those diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) had a four-fold increased risk of developing dementia or AlzheimerÛªs disease (AD) compared to cognitively healthy individuals. Several risk factors including older age, positive APOE-Ý4 status, low total cholesterol levels, and stroke, as well as specific MRI findings were associated with an increased risk of developing MCI. ÛÏMild cognitive impairment has been identified as the transitional stage between normal aging and dementia,Û comments M. Arfan Ikram, MD, PhD, a neuroepidemiologist at Erasmus MC University Medical Center (Rotterdam). ÛÏIdentifying persons at a higher risk of dementia could postpone or even prevent dementia by timely targeting modifiable risk factors.Û To be diagnosed with MCI in the study, individuals were required to meet three criteria: a self-reported awareness of having problems with memory or everyday functioning; deficits detected on a battery of cognitive tests; and no evidence of dementia. They were categorized into those with memory problems (amnestic MCI) and those with normal memory (non-amnestic MCI). Of 4,198 persons found to be eligible for the study, almost 10% were diagnosed with MCI.
Running Better Than Walking for Older Adults
Running Better Than Walking for Older Adults A study reveals that seniors who regularly run for their exercise can slow their aging process more so than those who prefer walking. Running mitigates the age-related deterioration of ÛÏwalking economy,Û the metabolic cost to perform an motion. Metabolic cost is defined as the amount of energy consumed as the result of performing a given work task; usually expressed in calories. Walking for exercise has a minimal effect on age-related decline, says the study from researchers at the University of Colorado-Boulder and Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif. ÛÏWalking performance typically deteriorates with advanced age, and impaired walking performance is a key predictor of morbidity among older adults,Û writes the studyÛªs lead author Prof. Justus Ortega of Humboldt University. A distinctive characteristic of impaired walking among older adults is a 15-20% greater metabolic cost for walking compared to young adults, Ortega added. It wasåÊfound that older runners had a 7-10% better walking economy than older walkers over the range of speeds tested and had walking economy similar to young, sedentary adults over a similar range of speeds. In contrast to older runners, researchers found that older walkers had similar walking economy as older, sedentary adults, and approximately 26% worse walking economy than young adults. Let’s boil it down. I think what they are saying is that it actually take more energy to walk than run and the long-term benefits of running include a healthier heart that can perform more efficiently.
The Charlotte Today Show – Caregiver Stress. How to Spot It. How to Relieve It.
The Charlotte Today Show – Caregiver Stress. How to Spot It. How to Relieve It.
Clogged Arteries Associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment
Clogged Arteries Associated with Mild Cognitive Impairment In a study of nearly 2,000 adults, researchersåÊat the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center found that a buildup of plaque in the body’s major arteries was associated with mild cognitive impairment. “It is well established that plaque buildup in the arteries is a predictor of heart disease, but the relationship between atherosclerosis and brain health is less clear,” said Christopher D. Maroules, M.D., radiology resident at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. “Our findings suggest that atherosclerosis not only affects the heart but also brain health.” Atherosclerosis is a condition in which fat, cholesterol and other substances collect in the arteries, forming a substance called plaque that can build up, limiting blood flow. It can occur in any artery of the body, including the carotid, which supplies blood to the brain, coronary arteries and the aorta, which carries oxygenated blood from the heart through the abdomen to the rest of body. In the study, researchers analyzed the test results of 1,903 participants (mean age, 44 years) in the Dallas Heart Study, a multi-ethnic population-based study of adults from Dallas County, Texas. The participants included both men and women who had no symptoms of cardiovascular disease. After adjusting for traditional risk factors for atherosclerosisÛÓincluding age, ethnicity, male sex, diabetes, hypertension, smoking and body mass indexÛÓthey found independent relationships between atherosclerosis in all three vascular areas of the body and cognitive health. “These results underscore the importance of identifying atherosclerosis in its early stages, not just to help preserve heart function, but also to preserve cognition and brain health,” Dr. Maroules said.
Experts Now Say Forget LTC Insurance and Spend Down Your Assets for Medicaid Instead
A study by Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research, revealed that long-term care insurance makes financial sense only for the richest 20 to 30 percent of unmarried people. For the rest, it makes more sense to spend down assets and then letting Medicaid pick up the tab. The caveat to this is that the study focuses on nursing home care and for that foregoing LTC insurance may make sense. The average nursing home stay for a man was less than a year; for women, 17 months. And 45 percent of patients don’t stay more than three months. Many of those short nursing homes stays end in death. Those visits are often covered by Medicare following a hospitalization. Previous research showed that some 30-40 percent of elderly single individuals should optimally purchase long-term care insurance, far higher than the actual 13-percent coverage rate. Although it is optimal for only a small percentage of single individuals to buy insurance, this study shows that many more would be willing to purchase a supplemental policy that could transform Medicaid into comprehensive, non-means-tested insurance. But policymakers have yet to devise a means of permitting such policies while at the same time containing Medicaid costs. Looking at the other side of the coin, Jesse Slome, executive director of the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance speaking to Bloomberg says that “most customers see long-term insurance as ÛÏnursing home avoidance insurance.” ÛÏThey want to remain in their own home,Û and private insurance gives them more options for home health care than Medicaid. Long-term care insurance was never meant to be universal, he says. I think nursing homes and assisted living homes will become more irrelevant over time and aging in place will be the norm. Even if we don’t necessarily take good care of ourselves physically as a nation, technology and pharmaceuticals and other supports will allow us to live in our homes longer. To pay for that care long term care insurance could make sense. And remember assisted living is by and large an out of pocket expense. I say get the insurance if you can afford it.
