A study published in The Lancet Psychiatry found most older adults who self-harm are not being referred to mental health services, reports HealthDay News . The researchers identified 4,124 adults 65 and older with a self-harm episode ascertained from Read codes recorded from 2001 to 2014. In that period, the overall incidence of self-harm was 4.1 per 10,000 person-years, with stable gender-specific rates. Generally, 11.7 percent of the 2,854 adults were referred to mental health services following self-harm, with 59.3 percent and 11.8 percent prescribed an antidepressant and a tricyclic antidepressant, respectively. Relative to the comparison cohort, the prevalence of having previously diagnosed mental illness or a previous physical health condition was greater in the self-harm group. In the first year, adults from the self-harm cohort died from unnatural causes an estimated 20 times more frequently than those in the comparison cohort, while the self-harm cohort also were far more likely to die of suicide.

Physical therapy students at Chatham University are learning how it feels to be decades older within an aging simulation laboratory, reports CBS Philadelphia . "Most of them really like it because it's active learning," says Chatham Professor Michelle Criss. "They say they will remember it much better." Participants wear wraps, bandages, and braces to emulate stiff joints, restrict motion, and create balance problems. Goggles and colored lenses communicate to students the experience of limited vision. The lab also models everyday tasks seniors can find difficult, such as reading cooking instructions. The goal is to show students how seniors navigate the world, cultivating greater understanding and more sympathetic caregivers. "It gave me a perspective on what my care recipients are going to be going through and how I can change my treatment to help give them a better opportunity to live a better life and a better active life," notes student Jared Krater.

A study published in Neurology suggests older adults who walk for 35 minutes a day may lower their risk of experiencing a moderate to severe stroke by 50 percent, reports Safety and Health Magazine . The investigators used two Swedish registries to examine 925 people, of whom 80 percent had suffered mild strokes. The individuals, who were 73 years old on average, were asked to assess their physical activity level from before the stroke. Seniors who were inactive before their stroke were twice as likely to experience a moderate or severe stroke than those who engaged in light activity, defined as walking for at least four hours a week, or moderate activity such as swimming, walking briskly, or running for two to three hours a week. "While exercise benefits health in many ways, our research suggests that even simply getting in a small amount of physical activity each week may have a big impact later by possibly reducing the severity of a stroke," said University of Gothenburg Professor Katharina Sunnerhagen.

A study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society suggests persons with hearing loss who have trouble communicating with medical personnel are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, reports Reuters . "Attending to hearing loss is a strategy that hospitals really have not tried, and if they tried, it they might be able to reduce the risk of readmission for significant portion of their visitors," says New York University's Jan Blustein. The researchers analyzed data from a nationally representative poll and found that discharged hospital visitors who reported trouble communicating with their doctors had 32 percent greater odds of readmission in the next month. The 4,436 study participants were 65 and older. All were hospitalized at least once between 2010 and 2013, and about 12 percent noted hearing problems made it hard for them to communicate with doctors or other medical staff. Another study published in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery implied that hard-of-hearing older adults who wear hearing aids are less likely to be hospitalized or visit the emergency room.

University of Washington School of Medicine Professor Barak Gaster wants better and earlier discussions between doctors and individuals about cognitive problems and potential dementia diagnoses, reports UW Medicine . Gaster hosts workshops for other doctors about the value of looking for and following up on signs of potential dementia. He encourages people to talk about any significant memory problems with their physicians, and for doctors to explore the subject with recipients. "Most people who are living with dementia have never had it diagnosed or explained to them or their families," Gaster says. "As a person's mind slowly fades, their families and doctors often find it easier to avert their gaze and brush off its signs as normal aging. This avoidance leaves individuals and families adrift, stumbling, without a plan and without support." Gaster notes such benign neglect is unacceptable. The Alzheimer's Association took a major step earlier this year by issuing guidelines urging primary care providers to more carefully assess early signs of cognitive decline.

Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female Supreme Court justice in U.S. history, has announced she has dementia, reports the Wall Street Journal . "As this condition has progressed, I am no longer able to participate in public life," she stated. "Since many people have asked about my current status and activities, I want to be open about these changes, and while I am still able, share some personal thoughts." O'Connor said Alzheimer's was probably the cause of her dementia. Chief Justice John Roberts made a statement describing O'Connor as "a towering figure in the history of the United States and indeed the world." He also noted that "she serves as a role model not only for girls and women, but for all those committed to equal justice under law."

Scott Moody, the entrepreneur behind Apple's fingerprint-scanning Touch ID, has launched a new startup called K4Connect with the goal of making state-of-the-art technologies accessible to seniors and the disabled, reports CNBC . K4Connect has so far attracted $22 million in Series B funding from investors that include AXA Venture Partners and Intel Capital. "We integrate technologies that have been targeted toward a younger demographic and make them work for older adults and people living with disabilities," Moody says. "We're integrating the best in technology to improve their lives." K4Connect's system uses edge-cloud architecture, so a Wi-Fi outage at a given community will not prevent residents from using smart devices. K4Connect is currently used by at least 13,000 residents in senior living communities. Moody says the North Carolina-based startup will channel its venture capital into expanding offerings to new senior and assisted living communities. He is focused on autonomous shuttles and robotics that could help seniors and people with disabilities stay as mobile and socially connected as they want.

A study presented at the American College of Rheumatology's annual meeting suggests people with arthritic knees could be less likely to require knee replacement surgery if they practice regular, brisk walks every day, reports HealthDay News . The researchers analyzed data from more than 1,800 older adults with knee arthritis who wore portable devices that tracked their walking intensities for at least four days. Six percent of the participants had total knee replacement surgery over the next five years. The research indicated that adding five minutes of moderate-to-high intensity walking each day can reduce a person's odds of needing knee replacement surgery by 16 percent. Moderate-to-high intensity is defined as exceeding 100 steps per minute. However, the University of Delaware's Hiral Master notes light walking, akin to a "stroll," may have no effect.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has signed into law a bill passed by the General Assembly earlier this month to allow more seniors to qualify for prescription drug assistance, reports the Associated Press . Under the new law, the income limits for PACENET will rise from $23,500 to $27,500 for individuals and from $31,500 to $35,500 for married couples. This represents the first hike in income eligibility in 15 years. Advocates say the increase will permit more than 14,000 people to enroll over the coming years and prevent about 3,000 people from being ejected from the program.

A study presented at the 2018 American College of Rheumatology and Association of Rheumatology Health Professionals Annual Meeting suggests a connection between gout and incident Parkinson's disease in older adults, reports Rheumatology Advisor . Researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham convened relevant participants from the 5 percent Medicare claims data between 2006 and 2012. Included were 1.72 million people with a mean age of 75 and a mean Charlson-Romano comorbidity index score of 1.60. Of the participants, 22,636 people developed incident Parkinson's during follow-up, and gout was associated with a higher risk of Parkinson's disease in the main analysis at a hazard ratio of 1.14. These findings were supported by sensitivity analyses, and although gender and race differences did not appear to be relevant, risk varied to some degree by age. Participants between 65 and 75, between 75 and 85, and older than 85 had respective hazard ratios of incident Parkinson's disease with gout of 1.27, 1.07, and 0.97. The researchers noted the strongest link between gout and Parkinson's disease was exhibited by individuals between 65 and 75 compared with other age groups. They suggested "mechanisms of this increased risk need to be evaluated in future studies."