Obese Older Women at Higher Risk for Death, Disease, Disability Before Age 85
A new study in JAMA shows that obese older women are at higher risk for death, disease, and disability before age 85. Obesity and a bigger waist size in older women are associated with a higher risk of death, major chronic disease and mobility disability before the age of 85, according to a study published by JAMA Internal Medicine, a JAMA Network publication. The number of women ages 85 years and older in the United States is on the rise with 11.6 million women projected to reach 85 by 2050. Obesity is also on the rise, and obesity is a risk factor for diseases that are prevalent in older women, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers, the authors write in the study background. Eileen Rillamas-Sun, Ph.D., of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, and colleagues examined whether higher body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in older women decreased their chances of living to age 85 without major disease or disability. A healthy weight BMI was 18.5 to less than 25, overweight was 25 to less than 30, and obese was 30 to greater than 40. The study included 36,611 women from the WomenÛªs Health Initiative who were an average 72 years old at baseline. Of the women, 19 percent were classified as healthy, 14.7 percent had prevalent disease, 23.2 percent had incident disease, 18.3 percent had a mobility disability (using crutches, a walker or a wheelchair or a limited ability to walk) and 24.8 percent died. The studyÛªs findings indicate underweight and obese women are more likely to die before the age of 85, while overweight and obese women had higher risks of incident disease and mobility disability. A waist circumference (WC) greater than 88 cm (almost 35 inches) also was associated with a higher risk of early death, incident disease and mobility disability. Black women who were overweight or who had a WC greater than 88 cm at baseline, and Hispanic women who were obese at baseline had higher risks of incident disease compared to white women who were overweight or who had a WC greater than 88 cm, according to the study. ÛÏHaving a healthy BMI or WC was associated with a higher likelihood of surviving to older ages without a major disease or mobility disability,Û the study concludes. ÛÏSuccessful strategies aimed at maintaining healthy body weight, minimizing abdominal fat accretion, and guiding safe, intentional weight loss for those who are already obese should be further investigated and disseminated.Û
Misconceptions About Long-Term Care Financing Persist Though Young Starting to Get It
Northwestern Mutual recently announced the results of its Long-Term Caregiving Study. It was very enlightening. Misconceptions about Long-Term Care financing persist though young people are starting to get it. Younger people are actually starting to pay attention to the issues. The national consumer opinion poll was conducted October 7-9, 2013 and involved 2,028 U.S. adults. Here are some of the highlights.
- Nearly one in five Americans have provided or are currently providing long-term care for someone.
- Two in five Americans (41%) are either unsure of how they will handle long-term care or do not plan to address their potential long-term care needs. This rises to more than half (54%) of Americans ages 45 to 54. However, among the 18-34 year old group they are more likely to be saving for their long-term care needs.
- Those who have experienced providing long-term care for someone are more likely to either be taking steps or making plans to address their own long-term care needs.
No surprise of the toll caregiving takes on people. Among caregivers Û÷increased levels of stressÛª (59%) and Û÷physically demanding/drainingÛª (42%) were noted. Four in ten (42%) caregivers say they provide the ability for the patient to stay in their own home. Greater awareness of long-term care issues is seen among those 18 to 34 as they are more likely to have had disagreements on how care is provided for and how care is paid for and have had the patient move into their home. They have also experienced changes to their day-to-day budgets and/or have paid for long-term care expenses by dipping into their own retirement savings. 18 ÛÒ 34 year olds who have not provided care are more likely to accurately anticipate that many changes would potentially take place if they needed to provide long-term care for someone, including learning basic nursing skills and spending less time with friends/family. Still, 43% of Americans believe that they will be covered by insurance (i.e., Medicaid/ Medicare, health, and/or disability insurance if they have a long-term care event. åÊFourteen percent are under the belief that since no one in their family has ever been in a nursing home or required long-term care, they are not likely to either. Ten percent said that long-term care is only something senior citizens need to think about and 5% noted that you only need long-term care if you are planning to go to a nursing home. Read my about.com article on long-term care financing. We still have much to learn but kudos to young people for starting to recognize the issues.
Therapy Animals May Delay Dementia
German and Swiss researchers have done research that suggests that the use of therapy animals in nursing homes may delay dementia. For ten weeks they worked with 65 nursing home residents with dementia with an average age of 81.8. Residents were randomly assigned to either a group where there was the usual treatment or a second group that combined treatment as usual with Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT). Raters assessed cognitive impairment, presence of agitation/aggression and depression at the start and during a period of 4 weeks after AAT intervention. For those not receiving animal therapy, agitation/aggression and depression ÛÏsignificantly increasedÛ over the 10 weeks. Those symptoms remained steady among those who were interacting with the animals. ÛÏAAT is a promising option for the treatment of agitation/aggression and depression in patients with dementia,Û the authors concluded. They said further study is needed on the effects of longer-term animal therapy. So while this is a study for nursing homes, extrapolate it to your own life and that of a loved one. We see all the time the benefits of having a pet in the house. Before we knew that animals could possibly ward off dementia, we already knew what they could do to relieve loneliness and isolation and instill purpose in elders. So consider a pet for a loved one. Of course you may not be loved at first but that love will grow as the person falls in love with their pet!
Work in Progress
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