A study published in The Gerontologist found older adults with hearing loss may be more vulnerable to depression than those without hearing loss, reports Reuters Health . The researchers analyzed data from 35 earlier studies, comprising a total of 147,148 participants at least 60 years old. Older adults with some form of hearing loss were 47 percent more likely than those with normal hearing to exhibit depression symptoms. "Older adults with hearing loss often withdraw from social occasions, like family events, because they have trouble understanding others in noisy situations, which can lead to emotional and social loneliness," said the University of Western Australia's Blake Lawrence. Mild cognitive decline and difficulty completing daily activities also are more likely behaviors in such individuals, which can elevate the risk of depression. "It is therefore possible that changes during older age that are often described as a 'normal part of aging' may actually be contributing to the development of depressive symptoms in older adults with hearing loss," Lawrence noted.

The federal government has granted a 10-year extension to Wisconsin's prescription drug program for older adults, reports WBAY . SeniorCare was launched in 2002, with both Republicans and Democrats alike hailing it as a success, prompting their requests for extensions for a federal waiver that allows the program to be offered. About 50,000 people 65 and older are enrolled in SeniorCare, which costs $30 annually, making prescription drugs available for between $5 and $15 with no gaps in coverage. A decade-long extension is atypical, as the most recent three-year extension expired at the end of December.

A study published in Nature Communications details how scientists from Sanford Burnham Prebys found a molecular signaling pathway which regulates how muscle stem cells decide to self-renew or differentiate, reports Medical Xpress . "We believe we have found promising drug targets that direct muscle stem cells to 'make the right decision' and stimulate muscle repair, potentially helping muscle tissue regeneration and maintaining tissue function in chronic conditions such as muscular dystrophy and aging," said Sanford Burnham Prebys Professor Alessandra Sacco. The team employed mouse models to show how the protein Stat3 encourages mitochondrial respiration, and find additional Stat-3-regulated proteins that might function as more specific targets. One such protein was Fam3a, which additional research demonstrated was required for muscle stem cell differentiation and muscle growth. The secretion of Fam3a by muscle cells during muscle repair led to the discovery that treatment with the protein restored mitochondrial respiration and stem cell differentiation in muscle stem cells where Stat3 was missing.

Kate Lufkin with Ochsner Health System said prescription drugs are a key driver of substance misuse among older adults, who are often hesitant to change their habits or medication routines, according to U.S. News & World Report . A family or personal history of addiction raises the risk that an older person will develop a substance use problem, while other contributors include mental health issues or a disability, being hospitalized, living in a long-term care community, or enduring chronic pain. Lufkin says when treating older adults, healthcare professionals should diligently attempt to strike a balance between managing their legitimate complaints of pain, and ensuring they are taking their medications appropriately. Drugs that are legitimately prescribed can make it more difficult for older adults or their families to admit their misuse. Lufkin added that older adults in rural areas may have problems finding doctors with experience treating addiction, and may skip treatment if they cannot drive or reach a clinic farther away. These and other challenges highlight the importance of integrating addiction treatment into the primary care environment.

Legislation filed this week at the North Carolina General Assembly would raise monthly allowances for people on state assistance in nursing communities for the first time since 1987, reports WRAL . House Bill 753 would boost the monthly personal needs allowance for Medicaid recipients in such communities from the federal minimum of $30 a month to $70 for individuals and from $60 a month to $140 for married couples in long-term care together. For assisted-living community residents, the allowance would rise from $46 a month to $70 under separate legislation, with backers noting that the allowance has not increased since 2003. They note the small amounts of money reserved for residents to spend as they see fit gets consumed by medical co-pays and other needs, leaving little for the small things that make life more pleasant and give people dignity. Supporters also want money to hire more ombudsmen to investigate complaints in the system, which has been flat for years.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association marks the first large-scale, randomized clinical trial focusing on the causal health effects of workplace wellness programs, reports Modern Healthcare . Although program participants exercise more, actively manage their weight, and have other healthier behaviors than non-participants, the research found they do not have lower body mass index, blood pressure, or cholesterol. Moreover, the programs did not lead to a significant reduction in healthcare spending or use of healthcare services, according to the study. "These findings suggest that employers who may be thinking about investing in workplace wellness programs or people who manage public dollars that might be interested in workplace wellness programs perhaps should temper their expectations of such programs to generate a large return on investment in the short run," said Harvard Medical School Professor Zirui Song.

A new federal research grant will allow the Framingham Heart Study to investigate the biology of aging, reports the Boston Globe . Scientists at Boston University's (BU) School of Medicine will measure changes in properties like blood pressure, stiffness of arteries, stickiness of blood platelets, and fat accumulation in participants' livers. "This will let us do deep phenotyping," says BU's Vasan Ramachandran. "Technology has changed. When this study began, we could measure a few proteins circulating in the blood. Now we have advanced screening where we can measure up to 1,300 proteins." Ramachandran adds that a better understanding of aging and the determinants of health and disease in older adults is vital as the 65-plus U.S. population grows. The researchers will be collecting and analyzing blood and tissue samples from about 1,900 people in a second-generation study cohort, who are children of the original participants. The first-generation cohort and their children are white, but the study will add 450 nonwhites in an "omni-cohort," recruited in 1995. The study aims to track the aging of the second generation, and ultimately about 4,000 people in a third-generation cohort as they enter middle and old age.

More and more families of people with dementia are opting for mobile apps and devices to monitor them, reports the Wall Street Journal . Although such technology holds the promise of prolonging independent living for adults with memory problems, it is by no means a cure-all. "This stuff takes money and time to set up and maintain," says AARP's Andy Miller. "It either becomes a burden or something goes wrong and the stuff ends up in the junk drawer." University of Minnesota Professor Joseph Gaugler analyzed the effectiveness of remote activity monitoring technology over six months for caregivers of people with Alzheimer's or related dementia. His research determined such technology works best for people in the earliest stages of the disease.

A new University College London (UCL) study published in The Lancet Global Health suggests nearly half of dementia cases could be preventable in low- to middle-income countries, reports Medical Xpress . "We have now found that in . . . countries in Asia and Latin America, dementia may be even more preventable than it is in more wealthy countries," said UCL's Naaheed Mukadam. "If life-course risk factors such as low levels of education in early life and hearing loss, obesity, and low physical activity in mid-life to old age are addressed, these countries could see large improvements in their dementia rates." The team analyzed data from China, India, and across Latin America, measuring prevalence of nine dementia risk factors in those countries, with sample sizes of 1,000 to 3,000 in each nation. Results indicated there is even more potential for preventing dementia worldwide, as the proportion of dementia linked to the nine modifiable risk factors was 40 percent in China, 41 percent in India, and 56 percent in Latin America. A key differentiating variable is lower levels of educational attainment in low- to middle-income countries. "People growing up in Asia and Latin America today are more likely to have completed schooling than their parents and grandparents were, meaning they should be less at risk of dementia later in life than people who are already over 65," Mukadam noted. "Continuing to improve access to education could reap great benefits for dementia rates in years to come."

USA Today reports that almost all of the 30 best U.S. cities for older Americans identified by 24/7 Wall St. are in the Midwest, with Wisconsin having eight; Minnesota five; Iowa four; and Illinois, North Dakota, and Missouri two each. These cities were cited according to an index of a dozen measures, including access to healthcare, financial well-being, and leisure activities. In 30th place is Fargo, N.D., which has a relatively high concentration of leisure and amusement options per capita, including theaters, fitness and recreation centers, and museums. A higher number of Fargo seniors report feeling healthy, versus the average across all U.S. cities. Rochester, Minn., topped the list, featuring more than 177 primary care physicians per 100,000 senior residents. Only 11 percent of seniors in Rochester report being in "fair" or "poor" health, a full 5 percentage points under the national average. Relative financial security is a hallmark of Rochester's seniors, versus older Americans nationwide. Nationally, 8.9 percent of seniors depend on food stamps, compared to 4.2 percent in Rochester; 52.5 percent of Rochester's seniors have retirement income, up from the national average of 48.6 percent.