Study Shows Smoking Causes More Rapid Cognitive Decline in Older Men

Cigarette smoking in men – especially older men – appears to be the cause of a more rapid cognitive decline, according to a report published in Online First by Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

Smoking is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for dementia in the elderly and the number of dementia cases worldwide. In an earlier report on the study, the authors found that when smokers are compared with nonsmokers, the smokers have poorer memory and greater decline in reasoning over five years. Long-term ex-smokers – 10 years or more – did not show faster cognitive decline. They were more comparable to nonsmokers.

Séverine Sabia, Ph.D., of University College London, and colleagues used the Whitehall II cohort study, which is based on employees of the British Civil Service. “Our results show that the association between smoking and cognition, particularly at older ages, is likely to be underestimated, owing to higher risk of death and dropout among smokers,’’ the authors said.

To check out the study, go to http://archpsyc.amaassn.org/cgi/content/short/archgenpsychiatry.2011.2016.

Fitness Beats Body Weight in Battle

According to a recent study, there is good news for seniors and middle-aged men who are physically active but do not lose weight. There is less worry about body mass index being a little high if someone is physically fit.

If your senior loved one maintains or improves his fitness level – even if his body weight has not changed or increased – he can reduce his risk of death, according to research reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. The study was only of men but the researchers say it is likely to apply to women, too.

 “This is good news for people who are physically active but can’t seem to lose weight,” said Duck-chul Lee, Ph.D., the study’s lead researcher and physical activity epidemiologist in the department of exercise science at the University of South Carolina’s Arnold School of Public Health in Columbia. “You can worry less about your weight as long as you continue to maintain or increase your fitness levels.”

Results of the study underscore the importance of physical inactivity as a risk factor for death from heart disease and stroke, researchers said. Researchers also found no association between changes in body fat percentage or body weight and death risk.

Among obese people, changes in body mass index might have a significant effect on death risks. So it’s unclear whether these results would apply to severely obese people, Lee said. Because the study was mostly done in white middle and upper class men, it’s difficult to know whether the results apply to other racial and socioeconomic groups.

If he can’t find a neighbor to go with him, a Home Instead CAREGiver^SM could walk with him regularly. A CAREGiver also could provide plenty of other support, such as food preparation, light housekeeping and medication reminders that may encourage him to lead a healthier lifestyle.

For more on the study, check out http://www.sph.sc.edu/news/livelonger.htm.

I Will Remember for You

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 5.1 million people 65 and older have Alzheimer’s disease. They likely will lose one of their most treasured possessions: memories. The "I Will Remember for You Family Reunion Giveaway" contest recently launched by the Home Instead Senor Care network can help those families keep their memories alive.

Submit a story in either written or video format about your experience with a family member living with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias for a chance to win a family reunion www.rememberforalzheimers.com. Essays and videos need to:

*  Share how Alzheimer’s has impacted your life.

* Talk about the role that memories and remembering have played in your family, especially
   with regard to your family member who now has or had Alzheimer’s.
* Share specific stories or examples of how you and your family members cope or coped with 
   challenges of Alzheimer’s disease.

* Tell why you deserve to win this family reunion.

Entries must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EST Jan. 31, 2012. Three finalists will be notified by a judge’s panel by Feb. 15, 2012. Online voting to select the grand prize winner will occur from March 28 through June 30, 2012.

Seniors’ Economic Struggles Continue This Holiday;

Be a Santa to a Senior^®, the popular program that has delivered gifts to thousands of local needy seniors is being planned again this holiday season as older adults continue to struggle during tough economic times. Home Instead Senior Care has joined with local organizations and merchants to provide gifts and holiday cheer to seniors who otherwise might not receive either this holiday season.

“Many older adults continue to face a difficult economic climate, particularly those who live alone with no family nearby to help provide resources,” said Bob Vielee, owner of the Home Instead Senior Care in Clarks Summit. Seniors have faced a trying year amid the threat of Social Security payment delays as part of the debt-ceiling debate. What’s more, seniors have lost almost one-third (32 percent) of their buying power since 2000, according to the Annual Survey of Senior Costs from The Senior Citizens League (TSCL).

That’s where Be a Santa to a Senior can help. Before the holiday season, the participating local organizations, such as Meals on Wheels and Serving Seniors, Inc., identified needy and isolated seniors in the community and provided those names to Home Instead Senior Care. Christmas trees, which are up now through December 12^th, will feature ornaments with the first names of seniors and their gift requests. Trees will be located at:

· Abington Community Library, Clarks Summit

· Fitze’s Department Store, Tunkhannock

· Marshalls, Dickson City

· Peebles, Carbondale

· The Mall at Steamtown, Scranton

· Walgreen’s, S. Main Street, Scranton

Holiday shoppers can pick up an ornament, buy items on the list and return them unwrapped to the store, along with the ornament attached. “We hope holiday shoppers will open their hearts to those seniors who have given so much to make our community a better place,” Vielee said.

On Wednesday, December 14^th beginning at 10 a.m., Keystone College will host the annual Be a Santa to a Senior Gift Wrapping Party being held in Evans Hall on the college campus in La Plume. Community volunteers of all ages are invited to attend and help wrap gifts as well. Gifts will be delivered to each senior during the week of December 19^th.

For more information about the program, visit www.beasantatoasenior.com or contact Jessica Engel at 570-687-4755.

Better Communication with Medical Professionals Is the First Step to Improved Care

“People are making life-and-death decisions that may affect their survival, and they need to know what they’re getting themselves into,” says Angela Fagerlin, Ph.D., associate professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School and a University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center researcher.

Fagerlin and her colleagues have published a commentary in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute that outlines 10 things health-care professionals can do to improve the way they communicate information about treatment risks to patients. Here are some of them:

Insist on plain language. If you don’t understand something your doctor says, ask him or her to explain it better. Doctors don’t know when patients don’t understand them, and they welcome questions.

Focus on the absolute risk. The most important statistic to consider is the chance that something will happen to you. Using relative risk makes both patients and doctors more likely to favor a treatment, because they believe it to be more beneficial than it actually may be.

Focus on the additional risk. You may be told the risk of a certain side effect occurring is 7 percent. But if you didn’t take the drug, is there a chance you’d still experience that? Ask what the additional or incremental risk of a treatment is.

The order of information matters. Studies have shown that the last thing you hear is most likely to stick. When making a treatment decision, don’t forget to consider all of the information and statistics you’ve learned.

Write it down. You may be presented with a lot of information. At the end of the discussion, ask your doctor if a written summary of the risks and benefits is available. Or ask your doctor to help you summarize.

Go to www.SeniorEmergencyKit.com for more tips on how to be better prepared for medical appointments. One way is to take someone with you to help you ask questions and understand the information. If a family member is not available, a CAREGiver^SM from the local Home Instead Senior Care^® office could help. CAREGivers can be there if others can’t.

For more about the study, view

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2011/09/19/jnci.djr318.abstract.

Laughter Might Be the Best Medicine for Seniors

Trying to cope with an agitated dementia patient? Ask a doctor about humor therapy, which is as effective as widely used antipsychotic drugs in managing agitation in patients with dementia – and avoids serious drug side effects, according to a new Australian study.

The first major study of the impact of humor therapy on mood, agitation, behavioral disturbances and social engagement in dementia patients found both short-term and persisting decrease in agitation, according to lead researcher Dr. Lee-Fay Low, a Research Fellow at the University of New South Wales's School of Psychiatry. 

The “SMILE” study across 36 Australian care facilities involved the training of a staff member to act as a “Laughter Boss” who worked with a humor practitioner with comedic and improvisation skills. Jean-Paul Bell, the key humor therapist in the SMILE study, has set up the Arts Health Institute to train humor practitioners and care staff. The institute’s core program, Play Up, provides a playful relationship with residents and staff in elder care, focusing particularly on people with dementia.

Between 70 and 80 percent of people suffering from dementia are troubled by agitation, a problem for both patients with the disease and their caregivers.

The SMILE study found a 20 percent reduction in agitation using humor therapy, an improvement comparable with the use of anti-psychotic drugs. In the SMILE study, agitation decreased not only during the 12-week humor therapy program but remained lower at 26-week follow-up. Happiness and positive behaviors rose during the 12 weeks of the program, however, dropped as soon as humor practitioner visits ceased. 

For more about the study, visit www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2011/sep/SMILE.html.

Mom and Dad Say No to a Care Facility; What Are the Alternatives?

Finding a good senior care community is a common problem and will get worse with time as Baby Boomers hit their 70s and 80s and the staffing shortages at senior-care facilities deepen.

A recent report measured the availability of accessible, affordable and quality long-term care for the elderly and disabled – as well as support for caregivers – in each of the 50 states and D.C. And it found a wide variation. Consider these facts:

·         The cost of nursing homes averages 166 percent of median household income in Utah and the District of Columbia and 444 percent in Alaska.

·         For every 1,000 residents, Minnesota has 108 home health and personal care aides, compared with 13 per thousand in Kentucky.

“This report will help states make and sustain targeted improvements so that people can live and age with dignity in their own homes and communities,” said Susan Reinhard, senior vice president at AARP, one of the organizations – along with the Commonwealth Fund and The SCAN Foundation – responsible for the study.

The report ranked states on 25 categories such as hospitalization of nursing home residents, percent of patients getting home and community based services and cost of nursing home care relative to state’s average household income.

The report found that states with the highest level of performance generally have enacted policies designed to improve access to services and choices in their delivery of care by offering alternatives to nursing homes.

One popular alternative is home care. Surveys typically show that nearly 90 percent of seniors prefer to stay at home, which has led to a boom in the home care industry. Research also has shown that home care is a little known and understood option. In fact, a 2010 survey conducted by the Boomer Project on behalf of the Home Instead Senior Care^® network found that 49 percent of family caregivers overestimate the cost of non-medical home care on average by almost $6 per hour.

For more information about Home Instead Senior Care, contact Home Instead at 570-586-3135 or go to www.homeinstead.com/nepa. For more about the study, check out http://www.longtermscorecard.org/Report.aspx