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Gerontology & Geriatrics news

Gerontology & Geriatrics

Tracking with care: The ethics of using location tracking technology with people living with dementia

Imagine you're 83 years old, living with dementia in a long-term care home. Lately, your caregivers keep asking you to wear a bracelet on your wrist 24/7. They say it's for your safety, so they can locate you quickly when ...

Genetics

Why important genes 'go quiet' as we get older

The human gut renews itself faster than any other tissue: every few days, new cells are created from specialized stem cells. However, as we get older, epigenetic changes build up in these stem cells. These are chemical markers ...

Inflammatory disorders

Chronic pruritus prevalent among older adults

Chronic pruritus is prevalent among older adults and is associated with moderately impaired pruritus-specific quality of life, according to a study published online Nov. 10 in Acta Dermato Venereologica.

Health

The DIY guide to checking how well you're aging

A few years ago, a social media trend challenged people to see if they could stand up from the floor without using their hands. Now, it's all about how long you can balance on one leg while brushing your teeth. These quirky ...

Gerontology & Geriatrics

Audiologist-fitted hearing aids outperform over-the-counter ones

Over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids (HAs), in which audiologists provide limited services, are effective, but do not achieve the same outcomes as HAs fitted by audiologists (AUD service model), according to a study published ...

Health

Feelings of frailty can set in as early as age 40

Loneliness, feeling older than your age and a negative attitude to aging are all associated with early stages of frailty, even in people as young as 40, new research reveals. The research is published in the journal BMC Public ...

Alzheimer's disease & dementia

Loss of smell linked to higher risk of death and dementia

A new study published in the journal JAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery has found that deficits in the sense of smell, known as olfactory impairment, are significantly associated with increased mortality in older adults. ...

Gerontology & Geriatrics

Increasing differences in older people's COVID-19 protection

Among older people in Sweden, vaccination against COVID-19 has shifted from a high and uniform level when the first vaccinations were provided to more uneven levels today. A national study shows both regional and socioeconomic ...

Medical economics

When health care providers go bankrupt, patients pay the price

U.S. health care organizations are filing for bankruptcy at record rates as they increasingly rely on risky debt, leading to increases in staff turnover and harm to patients—particularly elderly ones living in nursing homes.

Gerontology & Geriatrics

Indigenous views of elderhood offer lessons on aging

A new study by researchers from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa examines how Indigenous communities define elderhood, and how this role supports healthy aging. Led by Yu-Chi Kalesekes Huang and Kathryn Braun of the Thompson ...

Gerontology & Geriatrics

Back into the closet: Is aged care failing LGBTI+ people?

Many older LGBTI+ people feel pressure to "straighten up" and "blend in," concealing their identities to feel safe in aged care facilities, say researchers at the University of South Australia.