A Gallup survey estimated that 57 percent of nonretired Americans — the largest percentage in 15 years — expect to retire comfortably, while 41 percent doubt that they will, reports Newsmax Finance . Only 25 percent of Americans who are employed or have a working spouse say they are currently saving enough for retirement. Nonretirees are far less likely than current retirees to say they will rely on Social Security as a major source of post-employment income. Younger adults harbor more confidence than their older peers of earning a comfortable retirement, presumably because they have more time to save. The poll found 65 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds expect to live comfortably in retirement, versus 51 percent of 35- to 54-year-olds and 55 percent of those 55 and older. Overall, nonretirees are planning for personal investments and other sources of money to see them through their retirement.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that more and more baby boomers are seeking cosmetic surgery, with almost 50,000 more cosmetic procedures performed on Americans 55 and older in 2018 than in 2017, according to U.S. News & World Report . Statistics indicate that 66 percent of all face-lifts are performed on people 55 and older, as are about 50 percent of eyelid surgeries, forehead lifts, and lip augmentations. Plastic surgeon Lyle Leipziger credits healthier lifestyles, including diet and exercise, as drivers of this trend. "These same people are looking in the mirror and they really want to look as good on the outside as they feel on the inside," he says. "They want to look as young as they feel." Leipziger adds that social media and dating apps have helped renew boomers' interest in improving their looks. American Society of Plastic Surgeons President Alan Matarasso suggests a greater number of procedures, and attendant improvements in safety and outcomes, contribute as well.

A recent American Well survey found 52 percent of more than 2,000 Americans older than 65 are willing to use telehealth services, reports Becker's Hospital Review . The primary factors behind their interest in telehealth include faster service, time savings, financial savings, and greater provider access. Eighty-four percent of those willing to use telehealth said they would use it for prescription renewals, and 67 percent said they would apply it toward managing chronic illnesses.

The University of Miami's Deborah Mash recently led a research team that discovered a connection between Alzheimer's symptoms in dolphins and humans, suggesting certain types of seafood consumed by both species is exposing them to a toxin, reports Being Patient . She said the toxin "comes from blue-green algae, and it is concentrated in the bottom feeders like shrimp or lobsters because bottom feeders eat algae, and dolphins eat the bottom feeders." Mash added that more amyloid plaques were present in dolphins' brains. "I cannot say the plaques are identical to the human brain, but we believe that they are," she noted. "We also believe the pathology of the human and dolphin brain are similar." Mash said the key takeaway of the study is the importance of eating healthy, and to consume bottom-feeding marine animals sparingly.

A study in the European Heart Journal found people with atrial fibrillation (A-fib) are at a higher risk of dementia, which can be cut through the use of blood thinners, reports Medical News Today . The researchers examined 262,611 adults 60 and older who lacked A-fib or dementia at baseline in 2004. In the course of the study, 10,435 participants developed A-fib, of whom 24.4 percent also developed dementia. Still, just 14.4 percent of participants without A-fib developed dementia. "People who developed atrial fibrillation had a 50 percent increased risk of developing dementia compared with those who did not develop the condition," said Yonsei University College of Medicine Professor Boyoung Joung. He added that A-fib elevated the risk of Alzheimer's by 30 percent, and more than doubled the risk of vascular dementia. "However, among people who developed atrial fibrillation and who took oral anticoagulants, such as warfarin, or non-vitamin K anticoagulants, such as dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, or edoxaban, the risk of subsequently developing dementia reduced by 40 percent compared with those who did not take anticoagulants," Joung said.

A poll conducted by Reader's Digest and Choices Matter found about 33 percent of seniors prescribed opioids kept any unused pills at home, making them available for potential abuse. Seventy percent of respondents believed opioids are often overprescribed, but almost 40 percent said they used their leftover pills for conditions they were not originally prescribed to treat. A study from the Substance and Mental Health Services Administration indicated that Medicare enrollees are the fastest growing population with opioid use disorders. According to the Choices Matter survey, about 43 percent of respondents said they would take non-opioid options to manage pain following surgery, and 82 percent concurred that seniors and doctors require more access to opioid alternatives. About 33 percent admitted to a lack of knowledge about non-opioid options. "It is imperative that healthcare practitioners be more cognizant of their prescribing habits and, along with their customers, become educated on effective non-opioid pain management options for use before, during, and after surgery," said orthopaedic spine surgeon Alok Sharan.

A 12-year study by University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researchers published in Alzheimer's & Dementia found excessive napping by older men could signify age-related cognitive decline, reports UCSF News . The team employed sensors to track sleep-wake habits over five days in nearly 3,000 men older than 65 based in community housing, with follow-up cognitive assessments in later years. Men who had napped for an average of two hours or more daily at the start of the study were 66 percent more likely to develop clinically significant cognitive impairment than those who had napped for 30 minutes or less. Excessive napping was most profoundly associated with cognitive impairment in men who slept well at night, implying that night-time sleep disruption was unlikely to directly affect the relationship. "For the first time, we can clearly show an association between objectively measured naps and long-term risk of cognitive decline," noted UCSF Professor Yue Leng.

A University of Minnesota program allowing older adults to enroll in courses at a lower tuition has intensified debate over coping with rising college costs, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune . The U's Senior Citizen Education Program showcased in a recent NBC Nightly News story was founded under a decades-old law requiring state-supported colleges and universities across Minnesota to allow residents 62 or older to audit classes for free or earn credit at $10 per credit. The university's governing board is preparing to vote on a budget proposal asking for a 2.5 percent tuition hike for undergraduates at the Twin Cities campus next fall. "Wouldn't it be great if these kinds of educational opportunities were available to ALL seniors, single parents, career-switchers, etc. at, say, community colleges across the country?" tweeted Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.). "Such a thing could be possible with tuition-free public colleges and universities." The University of Minnesota's Julie Selander said the school is simply complying with Minnesota law, and other states have similar ordinances. Meanwhile, as more baby boomers reach retirement age, the university's program has grown in popularity. Over 500 senior men and women enrolled during the last school year to study everything from biology to creative writing.

MBO Partners' 2019 State of Independence in America report expects U.S. independent workers to total 47.2 million by 2024, according to Staffing Industry Analysts . All independent worker classes are anticipated to grow, with the fastest growth concentrated among "occasional independents." The report also found 70 percent of full-time independents plan to maintain their current employment trajectory, while baby boomers' independent workforce segment shrank from 35 percent to 33 percent. The independent workforce produced $1.28 trillion of revenue for the U.S. economy in 2018. About one-fifth of full-time independents are "high-earning independents" who make more than $100,000, but their ranks contracted from 3.3 million last year to 3.14 million this year. MBO Partners suggests this trend is driven by independents with high incomes being offered opportunities for traditional jobs amid a tightening labor market.

A report from an AARP panel of brain specialists concluded that dietary supplements are of no value for healthy seniors seeking to avoid or reverse dementia, according to the Sacramento Bee . "The market is so large they get by without rigorous documentation of the efficacy of their products," notes neurologist Ronald Petersen with the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center. The University of California, Davis' (UC Davis) John Olichney adds, "Supplements . . . are being taken largely without the endorsement or prescription of a doctor. There's a lot of unnecessary spending, and there's also unnecessary confidence that if you take supplements, you can prevent dementia, and there aren't high-quality randomized clinical trials showing that prevention effect empirically." Olichney also says preliminary research at UC Davis on the use of vitamin D in individuals with vitamin deficiencies has shown "some tantalizing associations with cognitive decline."