Guns and the Elderly – Five Questions to Ask
Seniors and Guns a bad combo. Getty Images
- If there is a gun present is it Locked?
- Is it Loaded?
- Are Little children present?
- Does the gun owner feel Low?
- Is the gun owner Learned?
Elderly people also have a high prevalence of depression and suicide. Dementia can add additional layers of risk. Geriatric professionals and home health providers have a unique and increasingly important role to play, but there are no national guidelines to aid providers in assessing gun safety. More here.
Live Well With Dementia – 10 Steps
Live Well With Dementia – 10 Steps – Bupa, the largest international provider of specialist dementia care, and AlzheimerÛªs Disease International, the only international federation of Alzheimer associations, collaborated to create a booklet entitled ÛÏI Can Live Well with Dementia.Û Ten principles are described:
- I should have access to a doctor to check if I have dementia.
- I should have access to information about dementia so I know how it will affect me.
- I should be helped to live independently for as long as I can.
- I should have a say in the care and support that I am given.
- I should have access to high quality care thatÛªs right for me.
- I should be treated as an individual, with those looking after me knowing about my life.
- I should be respected for who I am.
- I should have access to medicine and treatment that helps me.
- My end of life wishes should be discussed with me while I can still make decisions.
- I want my family and friends to have fond memories of me.
The Charter has been endorsed by people living with dementia around the world. Read more here.
Smokers 45 Percent More Likely to Develop Dementia
Smokers are 45 percent more likely to develop dementia than non-smokers, according to new information published by the World Health Organization in concert with AlzheimerÛªs Disease International. WHO estimates that 14 percent of AlzheimerÛªs disease cases worldwide could be attributable to smoking. The group also cautions that second-hand smoke also could increase the risk of dementia. ÛÏSince there is currently no cure for dementia, public health interventions need to focus on prevention by changing modifiable risk factors like smoking,Û said Shekhar Saxena, WHOÛªs director of the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. ÛÏThis research shows that a decrease in smoking now is likely to result in a substantial decrease in the burden of dementia in the years to come.Û There are 7.7 million new cases of dementia annually, according to ADI Executive Director Marc Wortmann. In 2010, the global cost was calculated at $604 billion, representing 1 percent of global gross domestic product. For more information, visit the WHO website. Additionally, the National Institute on Aging has issued a new web resource from NIHSeniorHealth.gov, Quitting Smoking for Older Adults. The resource offers videos, worksheets, quizzes and more for older smokers who want or are thinking or quitting. Source: ALFA
HHS Launches Brain Health Initiative
HHS Launches Brain Health Initiative The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living has launced a brain health initiative. A new site provides current, evidence-based information and resources related to brain health. Using this information, you can educate yourself and help others learn about how to promote brain health, including connections to health screenings, exercise programs, chronic disease self-management education, fall prevention programs, and behavioral health programs. The Brain Health Resource, jointly developed by the Administration for Community Living, National Institutes for Health (NIH), and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has four parts.
- A PowerPoint presentation that will help older adults and their caregivers learn how to reduce risks that may be related to brain health. This presentation covers:
- Aging and health
- Good health and the normal aging brain
- Threats to brain health
- Healthy aging for your body and brain.
- An accompanying Educator Guide that provides additional information for presenters to share with audiences.
- A one-page handout for older adults and caregivers called ÛÏBrain Health as You Age: You Can Make a Difference!Û
- A supplementary handout ÛÏBrain Health as You Age: Key Facts and Resources,Û which includes basic information and resources for the topics covered in the presentation.
All of the information in the slides and accompanying material was reviewed by the NIH and the CDC in 2014. If you have any questions about the materials or how to use them, please contact jane.tilly@acl.hhs.gov.
Study Finds Kidney Donation Safe for Healthy Older Adults
Study Finds Kidney Donation Safe for Healthy Older Adults Older kidney donors enjoy similar longevity and cardiovascular health as other healthy mature individuals, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation. The findings may provide some reassurance to older individuals considering donation and the transplant professionals caring for them. Over the past two decades, live kidney donation by individuals aged 55 years and older has become more common. Given the links between older age, kidney disease, and heart disease, the removal of a kidney could make older donors vulnerable to premature death and cardiovascular events. In the first study to look closely at the safety of donating for older kidney donors, Peter Reese, MD, MSCE, at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and his colleagues matched 3368 older donors 1:1 to older healthy non-donors and followed them for a median of 7.8 years. The researchers found that mortality rates were not different between donors and matched pairs. Also, among donors with Medicare, death or cardiovascular disease rates were similar between donors and non-donors. Donors also did not have an elevated risk of diabetes, a risk factor for cardiovascular and kidney diseases, compared with matched non-donors. ÛÏFor too long, when we counseled older people who were considering kidney donation, we were not able to give them good information about their future risk of heart disease. The problem was that prior studies that examined cardiovascular outcomes did not have many older donors,Û said Dr. Reese. ÛÏNow we have a reassuring answer. Transplant centers everywhere should provide this new information to older individuals considering kidney donation. These individuals should learn that donation is unlikely to increase their risk of death or heart disease in a meaningful way.Û Dr. Reese noted, however, that this information must be provided along with information from other important studies on risks of kidney donation. For example, older donors must be prepared for a recovery period after surgery, they must consider the risk of short-term complications like hernias, and they must also understand that they face a small risk that they might need dialysis one day themselves.
