Articles
The Journal on Active Aging brings articles of value to professionals dedicated to older-adult quality of life. Content sweeps across the active-aging landscape to focus on education and practice. Find articles of interest by searching the article archives in three ways: Enter a keyword in the articles search bar; click on search by topic; or type a keyword or phrase in the general search bar at the top of the page.
Topic- Research
Understanding aging: Dr. Eileen Crimmins makes the case for behavioral and social factors by Colin Milner
As an industry and as professionals, the potential of "living better longer" inspires us to dream, innovate and deliver new opportunities that support aging adults in engaging fully in life throughout their years. Our ability to foster the pursuit of aging well grows along with the body of research that reevaluates what we know about aging. To embrace those possibilities requires us--as leaders of the active-aging movement--to rethink aging. Every month in the "Colin Milner Rethinks Aging With ..." podcast, I do just that. As International Council on Active Aging founder/CEO, I interview thought leaders and aging-well disruptors who share innovative strategies and expert advice to help organizations, professionals and clients rethink aging. Social scientist and demographer Eileen Crimmins, PhD, was my recent guest. Her research explores changes over time in health and mortality in adults ages 50 years and older. In a published paper, Dr. Crimmins recently proposed that to truly understand aging, research should include "social hallmarks of aging" as well as biological biomarkers. She and I covered these hallmarks--plus other topics of interest--in our interview. Let's dive in!
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Well living: An integrative approach to depression in older adults by Diane Downing, MD, Amy Hawthorne, MS, LMFT, Stephanie Ludwig, PhD, MDiv, MA, Lisa Powell, MS, RDN LDN, and Mike Siemens, MS, RCEP
Depression has a devastating impact on society. Affecting more than 264 million people worldwide, this illness is "a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease" and "a leading cause of disability worldwide," according to the World Health Organization. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says an estimated 10% of adults ages 18 and older has a depressive disorder. The incidence of depression increases to 13–19% of women and 11–14% of men among adults ages 65 and beyond. ... A combination of psychotherapy and antidepressant medication may be effective in addressing depression. However, older adults may be reluctant to add yet another prescription medication. Instead, they may want to explore effective integrative approaches to boosting mood. Research has shown that lifestyle factors including nutrition, sleep and exercise play a significant role in preventing and mediating the effects of depression. Connection with others and spirituality are also powerful contributors to positive affect.
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Family estrangements in later life: Understand impacts and support well-being by Karl Pillemer, PhD
Professionals who work with older people often need to understand available sources of family support. They may try to identify a “responsible relative” in the event that assistance is required. In developing a rehabilitation plan after a hospitalization, specialists wish to ascertain who might help an individual get to appointments or follow a therapeutic routine. When they learn a client has, say, two daughters who live nearby, they may feel reassured the person’s support needs will be met. But in discussing these issues with the client, they sometimes encounter a strange reticence. The client may not wish to discuss her children in detail and appears uncomfortable when asked in depth about them. Or he may say something like, “Oh, we don’t talk to them very much,” or “Well, we’ve had a few problems there.” The conversation stops, leaving the impression those offspring will nevertheless be available if needed. A hidden and often devasting situation can invalidate this assumption, however: The older person may be estranged from children or other relatives.
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Function: A multidimensional view by Nicola Finley, MD
What is function and how does it apply to healthy aging? We can view function in a multidimensional way similar to how we view wellness and the process of aging. The World Health Organization (WHO) describes function as the new criteria in a framework for healthy aging. The framework encompasses not only cognitive but also physical and social function, as well as how these factors are interrelated. One significant aspect of this healthy aging model is shifting away from the presence or absence of disease. Rather, this view focuses on a person's function and what the person values. This approach results in a more personalized view of healthy aging since aging is not homogenous--the process of aging will look different from one person to another. ... Professionals in the active-aging industry know that function is important to independence and quality of life for older adults. What do different dimensions of function encompass, however, and what does a multidimensional view mean? Let's explore these dimensions
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Crusading against ageism in America's presidential elections by Beth Witrogen, BA, MJ
Dr. S. Jay Olshansky is on a mission: He wants to eviscerate ageism in the US presidential elections. A professor of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Olshansky specializes in the upper limits to human longevity and biodemography, a scientific field he created with Dr. Bruce Carnes in 1992. He is unabashedly vocal about the way age has been "weaponized" in this election cycle. And, he urges, it must stop, "because science shows conclusively that chronological age is not relevant for either candidate...." As corresponding author of "Projected lifespan and healthspan of Joe Biden and Donald Trump before the 2020 election" (a special feature to the Journal on Active Aging available online), Olshansky directed a team of scientists and physicians to determine if Biden and Trump could survive the next four-year term. The team used independent biodemographic assessments of the two candidates' personal attributes--inherited and acquired risk factors for health and longevity--and public medical data that was evaluated independently by three physicians with expertise in human aging. The Journal on Active Aging spoke with Dr. Olshansky about his new research, why both candidates may be "super agers" and his message for those who would politicize aging.
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Delaying Parkinson's with regular exercise by Jackie Russell, RN, BSN, CNOR
Probably the best-known person living today with Parkinson's disease is actor, advocate and author Michael J. Fox. Diagnosed with early-onset Parkinson's at age 29 in 1991, he retired from acting in 2000, the same year he launched The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. While the foundation has transformed the Parkinson's landscape over the past two decades, Fox has inspired people with his return to acting, his activism and his best-selling books. In his new publication, No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality, the 59-year-old announces plans to retire again from acting due this time to declining health. But he also writes about the years after his first retirement, during which he worked with a movement disorder specialist who focused on nutrition, physical therapy and fitness. That time, he says, was "restorative, less stressful," enabling him "to get a better grip on the disease." Diagnosed typically in older people, Parkinson's is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, a disorder characterized by "loss of neurons [nerve cells] in the central nervous system, which leads to deficits in specific brain functions.".... What causes Parkinson"s remains largely unknown. There is no cure. Symptomatic treatment options include medications, surgical therapy, lifestyle modifications and physical activity.
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