GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. ― Myrna Peterson predicts self-driving vehicles will be a ticket out of isolation and loneliness for people like her, who live outside big cities and have disabilities that prevent…
Category: Aging
The Rate of Older Californians Dying of Malnutrition Has Accelerated
A growing number of California’s oldest residents are dying of malnutrition, a yearslong trend that accelerated during the covid pandemic. Deaths attributed to malnutrition more than doubled, from about 650 in 2018…
Fatigue Is Common Among Older Adults, and It Has Many Possible Causes
Nothing prepared Linda C. Johnson of Indianapolis for the fatigue that descended on her after a diagnosis of stage 4 lung cancer in early 2020. Initially, Johnson, now 77, thought she was…
Nursing Home Owners Drained Cash During Pandemic While Residents Deteriorated
After the nursing home where Leann Sample worked was bought by private investors, it started falling apart. Literally. Part of a ceiling collapsed on a nurse, the air conditioning conked out regularly,…
Senior Housing That Seniors Actually Like
“Granny flats” are popping up in backyards across the country, affording Americans a new housing option. Some communities are not happy about it. Continue Reading A granny flat is a small, self-contained…
The Navy’s Dolphins Have a Few Things to Tell Us About Aging
In her youth, Blue was a standout mine-hunter for the U.S. military. She and her colleagues are now at the vanguard of geriatric marine mammal medicine. Continue Reading The lifespan of dolphins…
Readers and Tweeters Diagnose Greed and Chronic Pain Within US Health Care System
Letters to the Editor is a periodic feature. We welcome all comments and will publish a selection. We edit for length and clarity and require full names. U.S. Health Care Is Harmful to One’s Health…
What Older Americans Need to Know About Taking Paxlovid
A new coronavirus variant is circulating, the most transmissible one yet. Hospitalizations of infected patients are rising. And older adults represent nearly 90% of U.S. deaths from covid-19 in recent months, the…
Rural Seniors Benefit From Pandemic-Driven Remote Fitness Boom
[UPDATED at 11 a.m. ET] MALMO, Minn. — Eight women, all 73 or older, paced the fellowship hall at Malmo Evangelical Free Church to a rendition of Daniel O’Donnell’s “Rivers of Babylon”…
Ending Involuntary Commitments Would Shift Burden of Dementia Care to Strapped Communities
HELENA, Mont. — State lawmakers from both parties have shown support for a plan to stop the practice of committing people with Alzheimer’s disease, other types of dementia, or traumatic brain injuries…
Weighing Risks of a Major Surgery: 7 Questions Older Americans Should Ask Their Surgeon
Larry McMahon, who turned 80 in December, is weighing whether to undergo a major surgery. Over the past five years, his back pain has intensified. Physical therapy, muscle relaxants, and injections aren’t…