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Research news
As an ICAA member you can access a library of over 2,000 peer-reviewed and published studies. You can also stay up to date with current research by reading ICAA Research Review, the online newsletter of breaking news in health, wellness and demographics. Published 45 times each year, Research Review is emailed to ICAA members. To learn more about becoming an ICAA member please visit, www.icaa.cc or telephone ICAA toll-free at 866-335-9777.
Exercise helps prevent age-related brain changes
Older adults who exercise regularly show increased blood flow in the brain, as well as a greater number of small blood vessels in this organ, according to findings presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) on December 1.
For this study, conducted at the University of North Carolina (UNC)–Chapel Hill, researchers recruited 12 healthy adults, ages 60–76. Six of the adults had participated in aerobic exercise for three or more hours per week over the last 10 years, and six exercised less than one hour per week. All volunteers underwent brain scans to determine cerebral blood flow and to depict blood vessels in the brain.
The researchers compared the scans of participants who exercised to the scans of those who did not. Using a method of three-dimensional (3-D) computer reconstruction developed in their lab, they were able to make 3-D models of the blood vessels and examine them for shape and size. The team then compared the blood vessel characteristics and how they related to blood flow in both the active and inactive groups.
The results showed that the inactive group exhibited fewer small blood vessels in the brain, along with more unpredictable blood flow through the brain. And “the active adults had more small blood vessels and improved cerebral blood flow,” said the study’s senior author, J. Keith Smith, MD, PhD, associate professor of radiology at UNC School of Medicine. “These findings further point out the importance of regular exercise to healthy aging,” Smith added.
“Other studies have shown that exercise prevents cognitive decline in [older adults],” noted presenter Feraz Rahman, MS, who is currently a medical student at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. “The blood vessel and flow differences may be one reason.”
Source: Radiological Society of North America’s 94th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, December 1, 2008
Health issues push some Canadians to retire, prompt lifestyle changes
According to a recent poll by the Royal Bank of Canada, a leading financial services company and Canada’s largest bank, approximately one in four retired Canadians cited health issues as the main reason for their retirement. In fact, when retirees were asked to state the best gift they could receive in retirement, good health (53%) ranked higher than no financial worries (30%).
Moreover, half (51%) of retired Canadians have changed their lifestyle to ensure a healthy retirement. Of those:
- 80% say they have a better diet
- 69% are exercising more
- 64% are attending regular medical appointments
In addition, 41% of preretired Canadians plan on becoming healthier in retirement. Of those, 80% plan on having a better diet, 79% intend to exercise more, and 32% say they will attend regular medical appointments.
Source: Royal Bank of Canada, January 6, 2009
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Treadmill improves walking endurance for PAD patients
Individuals with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) who participated in supervised treadmill exercise improved their walking endurance and quality of life, finds a study by Mary M. McDermott, MD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and colleagues. The treadmill exercise also improved walking performance for PAD patients without the classic symptoms of pain in the leg muscles (known as intermittent claudication).
Lower-extremity PAD develops when the arteries that supply blood to the legs become completely or partially blocked as a result of plaque build-up. One in 16 US adults ages 40 years or older develop this condition, according to the researchers. For the study, the researchers randomly assigned 156 patients with PAD to supervised treadmill exercise, to lower-extremity resistance training, or to a control group for six months. Individuals were tested for six-minute walk performance, as well as other measures of aerobic endurance.
For the six-minute walk, those in the supervised treadmill exercise group increased their distance from baseline by an average of about 69 feet versus those in the control group, whose distance decreased from baseline by an average of 49 feet. The treadmill exercise group also improved in other measures of physical functioning. For example, these participants had more favorable changes in brachial arterial flow-mediated dilation (a measure of cardiovascular risk) than those in the resistance exercise or control group.
The authors conclude that, based on their findings, “physicians should recommend supervised treadmill exercise programs for PAD patients, regardless of whether they have classic symptoms of intermittent claudication.”
Source: JAMA and Archives, January 13, 2009; Journal of the American Medical Association, 301(2), 165–174, 2009
Creating a legacy when death is near benefits elders and caregivers
Family members who spend time creating a scrapbook with photographs or videotaping family stories can strengthen their bonds with older adults who have chronic, life-limiting illnesses, according to a study published in fall 2008. A life review intervention also lessens patients’ breathing difficulty and increases their sense of religious meaning, says lead author Louis Burgio, PhD, a research professor at the University of Michigan’s School of Social Work. In addition, this “is one of the first studies to examine the impact of life review on the family members as well as the patient involved,” he believes.
Research participants were ages 60 or older and had a life-limiting illness and received assistance with daily activities. The intervention group received three in-home visits from an interventionist who worked with the family to construct a personal legacy, such as a videotape recording or a photo album. The visits lasted about 72 minutes. A control group received at least three support telephone calls that lasted about 14 minutes. The callers asked general questions of patients and caregivers and expressed empathy.
Results showed that patients were more active than caregivers in working on the legacy activities, and that caregivers in the intervention group reported reduced stress and depression. Caregivers in the control group noted that their patients did not often engage socially, whereas those in the intervention group became more talkative.
The researchers found partial support for enhanced aspects of religion or spirituality among patients in intervention groups, which could mean these individuals sought meaning-based coping in the face of negative health outcomes. “This was best illustrated by a quote from one of our African-American participants working with her lifelong friend,” states Burgio. “She said, ‘If you can’t go forward, don’t go backward. Stand still.’ That really illustrates the present-time focus and emphasis on being and meaning inherent in a person’s legacy,” he observes.
Source: University of Michigan, October 20, 2008; Journal of Palliative Medicine, 11(7), 1029– 1038, 2008
Study illuminates concerns related to dementia diagnosis
Despite having a universal healthcare system that facilitates access to free dementia care, older adults in the United Kingdom are less willing to undergo dementia screening than their counterparts in the United States because the Britons perceive greater societal stigma from diagnosis. That’s the finding from a study conducted by researchers at Indiana University (IU) and the universities of Kent and London in England.
The researchers surveyed 125 older adults in Indianapolis and 120 older adults in Kent, England, on their opinions of the perceived harms and benefits of dementia screening. None of those surveyed had been diagnosed with dementia. However, significantly more of the UK participants (48%) had close friends or relatives who have or had Alzheimer’s disease compared to US participants (27%). Even when taking into account education and race differences, Britons indicated greater concern with the stigma of diagnosis, with potential loss of independence and with emotional suffering, than their American counterparts.
“From my perspective, it was a genuine surprise that having a universal healthcare system, which provides services and support to all those who need it, didn’t protect from perceived stigma and negativity,” said the study’s corresponding author, Malaz Boustani, MD, assistant professor of medicine at the IU School of Medicine and a Regenstrief Institute research scientist. Boustani added that “this study, which found deep concern about dementia screening despite access to healthcare services in the UK, clearly tells us that there are many issues we must explore as we attempt to retool the American healthcare system.”
“In spite of the fact that new strategies for both treatment and prevention of dementia are currently being developed, this study gives us an initial awareness, so that we can develop improved care pathways for dementia,” concluded the University of Kent’s Chris Fox, MB, BS, who led the British researchers.
Source: Indiana University, January 15, 2009; International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry; DOI:10.1002/gps.2173
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More than 70,000 Canadians under 65 have dementia; call to action issued
Canadians, too, are concerned about dementia. Soon, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias won’t only be a concern for older generations, according to the report Rising Tide: The Impact of Dementia on Canadian Society, released in January. A key finding is that more than 71,000 of the 500,000 or so Canadians living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia are under age 65.
“This means that it isn’t only our healthcare and social systems that are being overwhelmed,” says Scott Dudgeon, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Canada, which produced the report. “The reality is that businesses and industry sectors are also being affected as our Boomer generation, a generation of leaders and mentors, are affected by dementia.”
Other study highlights include:
- Women make up 72% of Canadians with Alzheimer’s disease.
- Within five years, an additional 250,000 Canadians could develop Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia.
- Within a generation (25 years), the number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease or a related dementia could reach between 1 million and 1.3 million.
The Alzheimer Society is issuing a call to action for all Canadians, asking them to do what they can to help turn the tide. Among its recommendations, the society urges people to make efforts to reduce their risk of developing dementia. “Living a healthy lifestyle may help reduce one’s overall risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease,” advises the society’s website. “A healthy lifestyle includes healthy eating, maintaining a healthy weight, taking part in regular physical activity, maintaining normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and participating in activities that involve socializing and stimulating brain activity.”
Source: Alzheimer Society of Canada, January 5, 2009
Comparable benefits found in study of resistance bands vs. weight machines
Among sedentary middle-aged women in the early phase of strength training over a 10-week period, elastic resistance bands can offer significant physiological benefits comparable to those obtained from weight machines, concludes a recent study.
Developed by researchers at the University of Valencia, Spain, and the Appalachian State University in North Carolina, the randomized, controlled trial was designed to determine whether the use of elastic bands produced different effects on functional capacity and body composition compared to weight machines, using the same resistance training program. Both groups of participants had reduced fat-mass, increased fat-free mass, and improved muscular strength, power and endurance, with no statistically significant difference, report the authors. The study also confirms that participants could increase their intensity with significant results based on their perception of how hard they were working against resistance.
Source: The Hygenic Corporation, October 22, 2008; Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 22(5), 1441–1448, 2008
Older adults cut back on spending, fear loss of health coverage
A research report released in January from AARP, the Washington, DC-based nonprofit membership organization for adults ages 50-plus, reveals the extent to which older Americans are affected by an economy “battered by falling housing prices and increasing foreclosure rates, record stock market losses, rising unemployment, and weak consumer spending.” Key findings of the survey, entitled A Year-End Look at the Economic Slowdown’s Impact on Middle-Aged and Older Americans, show:
- An overwhelming majority of Americans ages 45-plus believe that the economy is in bad shape (64%); and as a result of the economic downturn, they cut back on entertainment spending (68%) and eating out (64%) in 2008.
- More than half (52%) had more difficulty paying for essential items such as food, gas and medicine in 2008, and 44% found it more difficult to pay for utilities.
- Many middle-aged and older adults expressed concerns about being able to pay for healthcare expenses (55%) and being able to afford their mortgage and rent payments over the next 12 months.
- More than one-quarter (29%) think it it likely their health insurance coverage will be reduced or eliminated in the next 12 months.
- About one-third (31%) of employed workers ages 45-plus express fears that their job could be eliminated.
- More than half (57%) of adults ages 45-plus who lost money in investments over the past year, and are currently working or looking for work, expect to delay retirement and work longer as a result of their investment losses.
A majority say they expect the government to take action by extending unemployment benefits, facilitating access to healthcare coverage, making home mortgages more affordable, and helping people who face foreclosure remain in their homes. Woelfel Research conducted the survey for AARP in December.
Source: AARP, A Year-End Look at the Economic Slowdown’s Impact on Middle-Aged and Older Americans, January 2009; click here to download.
Rethinking job key to happiness for long-term healthcare workers
A Spirit at Work intervention program, designed to engage employees and give a sense of purpose, significantly boosted morale and job retention for a group of long-term healthcare workers at the center of a new University of Alberta study.
The researchers focused on two groups of long-term healthcare workers from two different care facilities in Canada. One group of 24 employees attended a Spirit at Work one-day workshop, followed by eight weekly booster sessions offered at shift changes. The workers were led through a variety of exercises designed to help staff create personal action plans to enhance spirit at work. They were asked to consider concepts like the deeper purpose of their work, being of service, appreciation of themselves and others, sense of community and self-care. The second group of 34 workers received no support program.
The result for the intervention group was a 23% increase in teamwork, a 10% hike in job satisfaction and a 17% jump in workplace morale. In addition, employer costs related to absenteeism were almost $12,000 less for the five months following the workshop than for the same period in the previous year. And turnover decreased 75%. In addition, the employees showed an increased interest in and focus on their patients, said Val Kinjerski, a University of Alberta PhD graduate who coauthored the study.
“We discovered that people who are able to find meaning and purpose in their work, and can see how they make a difference through that work, are healthier, happier and more productive employees,” Kinjerski concluded.
Source: University of Alberta, November 26, 2008; Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 34(10), 2008
