Fundera's 2017 State of Telecommuting in the U.S. Employee Workforce report determined the number of American workers who did at least half of their work either at home or at some place other than their office increased 115 percent between 2005 and 2015, reports the Daily Herald . Fundera's research found that 3.7 million employees work from home at least half the time, and the number of companies offering a work-from-home option has increased 40 percent since 2015. Sixteen percent of teleworkers are managers, while the rest are typically involved in sales, finance, computer operations, and office and administrative support. Moreover, work-at-home options are more likely to be offered to longer-term employees, who are typically older than 50. Teleworking among baby boomers has been a windfall to housing developers offering residences enabled for remote working.

A study published in Neurology recommends significant fruit and vegetable intake to improve memory and cognition, reports Local12 . The researchers found people who ate about 5.5 daily servings of fruits and vegetables, particularly men, were 34 percent less likely to report memory and thinking problems versus those who consumed only 1.5 servings. Leafy greens, tomatoes, peppers, and brussel sprouts topped the list of brain-boosting foods, as did orange juice. Older adults who drank orange juice daily were 47 percent less likely to have poor thinking skills compared to those who only drank orange juice once a month. The implication is that the juice and vegetables possess compounds that shield cells and give the brain an extra boost.

A study published in Nature Medicine found exercise might shield individuals from Alzheimer's by triggering a hormone that helps rejuvenate brain cells, reports the London Telegraph . The experiment showed that mice that swam almost every day for five weeks did not develop memory impairment, in spite of being administered beta amyloid protein. The implication is that a drug that mimics the function of the hormone irisin could prevent the disease. Previous research demonstrated that irisin promotes brain cell growth in the hippocampus, which is one of the first brain regions to deteriorate in people with Alzheimer's. Mice that swam and were treated with irisin-hindering substances performed no better on memory tests than sedentary animals following infusions with beta amyloid. "Irisin may help explain why physical activity improves memory and seems to play a protective role in brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease," said Columbia University Professor Ottavio Arancio.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it has sent warning letters to 17 companies for "illegally selling" products that claim to prevent or cure Alzheimer's disease, reports CNBC News . The agency said many of these products "have not been reviewed by the FDA and are not proven safe and effective to treat the diseases and health conditions they claim to treat." According to the FDA, more than half of American adults take dietary supplements, and a recent study published in JAMA Network found nearly 800 over-the-counter dietary supplements contained unapproved drug ingredients between 2007 and 2016. The products included tablets, capsules, and oils, and the 17 companies the FDA sent warnings to have been asked to respond within 15 days.

The Trump administration is proposing steps aimed at improving individuals' access to their own health data, strengthening efforts to bring information such as insurance claims, hospital, and doctor records to digital devices like smartphones, reports the Wall Street Journal . Federal health regulators have introduced two major regulations touching on various issues, including technology standards that are supposed to help unlock digital data stored in the electronic health records used by hospitals and doctors to track medical care. The current hospital practice is to provide online portals for consumers, but these often lack important content, while hospitals and doctors sometimes charge for access to records. The federal proposals call for health insurers to offer government-supported plans like Medicare Advantage, managed Medicaid, and Affordable Care Act exchange coverage to open up new digital pathways to claims data for consumers, including information on costs of services. U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma says she will encourage insurers to provide the same service in employer plans, which may need to be mandated by legislation if employers are reluctant.

Apple and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have partnered to make veterans' health records accessible via iPhones, reports CNBC News . "By bringing Health Records on iPhone to VA beneficiaries, we hope veterans will experience improved healthcare that will enhance their lives," says Apple COO Jeff Williams. The first beneficiaries will be early adopters of Apple's health records software, through which they can view their data from participating health systems, as well as veterans and Medicare enrollees. According to industry experts, Apple is leveraging an overarching push to force medical records companies and insurers to provide wider access to health information, which is backed by the federal government and different academic groups. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also has published new rules designed to prevent information blocking. Kenneth Mandl at Boston Children's Hospital says these rules promote a "universal approach for connecting apps to health systems, the same way you might connect an app to your smartphone."

Willis Towers Watson's 2018 Longer Working Careers Survey of 143 large U.S. companies found just 10 percent offer workers a formal phased-retirement program that lets them reduce their hours or responsibilities prior to full retirement, reports CBS News . Furthermore, fewer than one in three employers gave workers the option to work part-time or switch to a less demanding job. A 2017 U.S. Government Accountability Office report determined employers generally consider phased retirement plans to be positive for business, as they allow both the company and the employee to adjust over time. Employers can plan better because they know ahead of time when a worker plans to depart, and they can arrange for experienced employees to mentor and transfer their specialized knowledge to younger ones. Eighty-three percent of the companies Willis Towers Watson polled admitted that significant numbers of their workers are approaching retirement age, with 54 percent believing the loss of talent will be more substantial than other labor market risks over the next five years. However, Transamerica Institute Chief Executive Catherine Collinson warns employers may not be fully aware of how many people may need to keep working because they have not saved enough for retirement.

A study published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research suggests a link between incident hip fractures in older adults and their intake of dietary niacin, reports Endocrinology Advisor . Niacin has demonstrated an ability to lower C-reactive protein levels. But while higher levels are associated with fractures in older women, lower levels are connected to higher bone mineral density (BMD) in premenopausal and postmenopausal women. The researchers included 5,187 men and women age 65 and older, with one group taking 3.6 mg to 21.8 mg of niacin daily, another 21.9 to 30.2 mg, a third 30.3 to 40.9 mg, and a fourth 41.0 to 102.4 mg. Average daily dietary niacin consumption was 32.6 mg. At a 13-year follow-up, 725 participants had had an incident hip fracture, with dietary niacin intake significantly associated with a higher risk of fracture. Post-hoc analysis ascertained that both the lowest and highest quartiles of niacin intake were tied to a higher risk for incident hip fracture versus more moderate intake levels in the second and third quartiles.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences shows that impaired insulin signaling in the brain adversely affects cognition, mood, and metabolism, reports Medical Xpress . The investigators used a mouse model in which the expression in the brain of both insulin receptors and the insulin-like growth factor (IGF1) receptors to two regions critical for learning, memory, and mood was inhibited. "Disrupting these two signaling pathways, even with no other defects, was enough to impair learning and memory," says Harvard Medical School Professor C. Ronald Kahn. "Since these two receptors can partially compensate for one another, what we did that was critical was this combined insulin and IGF receptor knockout. However, it was also important to do it in specific regions, since if it was everywhere it might have impaired brain development. By knocking out both receptors, we removed not only the primary way they work but the backup system that's already built in." The signal disruption focused on the hippocampus and the central amygdala. Mice with both of these receptors blocked exhibited effects on both systems, including control of blood glucose, anxiety and depression, and deteriorating cognition. Such defects echo cognition impairments associated with Alzheimer's.

A study published in the Journal of Gerontology: Psychological Sciences found sleep, mood, and stress influence older adults' sense of control, reports U.S. News & World Report . The researchers analyzed data on 205 people, 60 to 94 years old, covering a spectrum of psychological variables on eight days over a three-week period. The goal was to determine which, if any, variables shaped two "control" beliefs: a person's sense that they can do the things they want to do and the sense that they are in control of their own lives. "We know there are things people can do to improve their mood and to improve their sleep," says North Carolina State University (NCSU) Professor Shevaun Neupert. "And while sleep and mood are things most people think are important, this study highlights a very specific reason that they are important. When people think they have little or no control in their lives, they may stop doing some of the everyday things that are important for self-care — because they believe those things don't matter." NCSU's Shenghao Zhang adds that "being in a good mood made people feel better about their competence and control, while being in a bad mood made people feel worse about those things."