A study to be presented at the upcoming American Academy of Neurology's 72nd Annual Meeting suggests older adults who experience daytime sleepiness may be at risk of developing new medical conditions, including diabetes, cancer, and high blood pressure, reports ScienceDaily . The study involved 10,930 participants, of whom 34 percent were 65 or older. Those who reported sleepiness in the first of two phone interviews had a 2.3 times greater risk of developing diabetes or high blood pressure three years later than those who did not experience sleepiness — and twice as likely to develop cancer. Of the 840 people who reported sleepiness at the first interview, 6.2 percent developed diabetes compared to 2.9 percent of those who were never sleepy during the day. Some 2.4 percent developed cancer, versus 0.8 percent of those who were never sleepy during the day. Participants who reported daytime sleepiness during both interviews had a 2.5 times greater risk of developing heart disease. Those reporting sleepiness only in the second interview were half as likely to also have diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue than those who did not have daytime sleepiness.

A study by University of Pennsylvania researchers on seismic demographic trends in New York City's shelter system determined that an epidemic of senior homelessness is unfolding, reports Health Affairs . Shelter residents 50 and older exceeded 17,000 in 2017, an almost threefold increase from 2004 — and the study forecast that nearly 25,000 aged New Yorkers will be homeless by 2030. More worrying still are projections that this growth will be focused in those 65 and older. Parallel studies in Boston and Los Angeles confirmed similar age trends among those cities' homeless populations, while a Health Affairs study determined that 33 percent to 50 percent of shelter residents are entering homelessness for the first time. Some have worked low-wage manual jobs and cannot afford ever-mounting rents, or handle the lifting and bending required by their occupations. Moreover, the New York City study found that costs for shelter and healthcare for the senior homeless are high and likely to rise quickly. However, various housing and social service interventions are in development. The researchers expect a range of short- or long-term rental assistance programs will emerge in conjunction with social services to help homeless seniors reconnect with relatives, move in with a partner or roommate, or rent an apartment of their own.

The Senior Living Truth Seminar is held at Laura's Library in Austin, Texas, once a month, where a panel of experts hosts discussions on topics relevant to seniors and their families, reports the Austin American-Statesman . The seminar is sponsored by the Austin Senior Resource Alliance. "As seniors are making changes in their lives, they need to connect with lots of different people," said Austin Senior Resource Alliance founder Cyndi Cummings. "We made this alliance specifically for that purpose." The sessions are filmed so any interested parties who cannot attend can review them on the library's YouTube page. The Austin Senior Resource Alliance also is running bus tours in which they take seniors to senior living communities in different parts of the city, as a means to help them decide which community will best meet their needs.

Virtual Vocation CEO Laura Spawn writes in Thrive Global why older professionals could benefit from remote employment. First, remote jobs let professionals work from virtually anywhere, allowing them to forgo the headache and cost of commuting and spend more time with loved ones or hobbies. Remote workers also can set their own schedule, and choose which shift they work or which days they take off, making trips away from work easier to plan. A third advantage of remote work is that it can help older workers recoup some of the costs of taking care of loved ones like grandchildren, as well as provide an income for their family without forcing them to leave loved ones with a sitter or relatives who may need them alone for hours during the day. Spawn adds that virtual jobs encourage a results-oriented work environment free from the stigma of ageism that modern offices are prone to, and offer income to supplement older workers' Social Security. Moreover, she notes that "remote jobs can provide an avenue to work for those with limited mobility or who simply prefer staying at home."

A new survey by Home Instead Senior Care found 83 percent of older Americans are living with at least one diminished sense, reports the Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly . Early detection of sensory loss can improve older adults' ability to cope with the loss and make required changes at home and with loved ones. "Declining senses can cause a wide variety of challenges for older adults impacting happiness, safety, and even overall health," said Lakelyn Hogan with Home Instead. "It's important for family members, caregivers, and the community as a whole to recognize the signs of sensory loss and create a supportive environment that allows these individuals to continue living a normal, fulfilling life." Sensory impairments manifest in different ways, ranging in magnitude from a mild irritation to life-changing. Home Instead has introduced the free "Aging Senses" program to boost awareness and create a broader understanding of the daily challenges of sensory loss. The program offers resources and tools to the community, including an online sensory loss simulation and instructions on organizing an at-home Aging Senses Kit.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has urged Medicare to cover a still-in-development coronavirus vaccine by adding a provision to the spending package being negotiated in Congress, reports Politico Pro . The omnibus measure would ensure seniors can be immunized at no cost, and a spokesperson for the senator said although they do not currently have a cost estimate for Medicare, it should save money in the long term if it prevents people from getting sick. "My plan to have Medicare fully cover the cost of the vaccine will mean no senior will be forced to make the choice between shelling out and going without," Schumer said at a press conference. Congress is presently debating a $2.5 billion funding request from the Trump administration that Democrats like Schumer, as well as a few Republicans, have called inadequate in the face of the coronavirus outbreak. Schumer has proposed an $8.5 billion plan that includes $2 billion to compensate state and local governments and $1 billion for vaccine development.

University of California, Berkeley Professor Lee Riley believes people between ages 60 and 80 who contract the COVID-19 coronavirus are particularly vulnerable to complications and death, reports the San Francisco Chronicle . "Immune systems to fight infections wane with increasing age," he said. "Also, underlying medial problems, for example diabetes and COPD chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, are more common in this age group, which predispose them to respiratory infections." UC San Francisco Professor Charles Chiu agreed with Riley and pointed to a recent study in the Chinese Journal of Epidemiology on 44,000 confirmed cases in China. The research indicated that case fatality rates rose sharply with age from 0.2 percent to those under 40 to 14.8 percent to those older than 80. The mortality rate in the examined cohort was 2.3 percent, and men had a slightly greater chance of dying than women.

Politico Pro is reporting that a health care worker and a resident of a long-term care facility in Washington state have tested positive for coronavirus, fueling worries of a potential outbreak in the facility, state officials confirmed over the weekend. The two patients are among three new cases that have been confirmed in Washington state as of press time. The third patient, a man in his 50s with underlying health conditions, has succumbed to the virus. According to local health officials, he did not have a known association with the health care facility. Jeffrey Duchin, Seattle and King County health officer, told reporters on a call that 27 patients in the health care facility and 25 staff have symptoms of the coronavirus and will be tested. "We are working with a CDC team arriving tonight to assess each and every one of these people and provide appropriate guidance," Duchin said. Federal officials say they expect more cases of community spread in the coming days. "You will hear about additional cases that will be coming on, and you should not be surprised by that," Anthony Fauci, NIH's top infectious disease expert, said at a White House briefing Saturday morning. "The challenge is how we deal with it."

University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers have developed a simple blood test that could potentially diagnose and differentiate persons with Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), reports UCSF News . A study in Nature Medicine detailed the test's effect on 362 people 58 to 70 years old. Included were 56 participants diagnosed with Alzheimer's, 190 diagnosed with FTD, 47 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 69 healthy controls. The team checked the blood samples for proteins that could be dementia markers, and blood levels of pTau181 were about 3.5 times higher in participants with Alzheimer's compared to healthy counterparts. Those with FTD had normal pTau181 levels while those with MCI due to underlying Alzheimer's had an intermediate increase. Monitoring the participants for two years revealed that higher pTau181 concentrations anticipated faster cognitive decline in those with Alzheimer's or MCI. "This test could eventually be deployed in a primary care setting for people with memory concerns to identify who should be referred to specialized centers to participate in clinical trials or to be treated with new Alzheimer's therapies, once they are approved," said UCSF's Adam Boxer.

A study in Experimental Biology and Medicine has uncovered a connection between poor dental health and dementia, reports Yahoo! Finance . The researchers analyzed more than 200,000 new dementia cases registered in the National Insurance Database for the population of Taiwan. More women than men suffered from dementia, which appeared to stem from greater representation in the aging populace. Records from the prior decade indicated that dental procedures that quickly restored homeostasis reduced dementia risk, while a history of chronic dental problems raised it. "Good dental care and perhaps simple daily dental hygiene with regular brushing and rinsing with an antibacterial mouthwash may be a productive intervention, especially among populations already having increasing difficulty performing their own routine daily care," said the University of North Texas Health Science Center's J.L. Caffrey. "Second, the impressive analytical power of this broad database strongly suggests that a coalition is needed among patients, the medical/dental establishment, and major cloud-based enterprises to create an even better worldwide resource database to allow the research community to efficiently examine a wide spectrum of current and future public health issues with a never-before-realized confidence and precision."