Thanks to advancements in health care, technology, education and more, demographics are changing and aging populations around the world are expanding rapidly. This inspires opportunities to improve the quality of the aging experience — by alleviating social isolation and loneliness and increasing engagement among older adults. To support, highlight, and help achieve this mission, the idea for In Good Company: The 2018 Optimal Aging Innovation Challenge was born. Do you have an idea, technology, service community resource, or other solution that could improve the quality of life for older adults? Submit your proposal by September 28, 2018 . Learn more .

The first dementia prevalence data from a large population of lesbian, gay, and bisexual older adults was disclosed at the 2018 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Chicago, reports EurekAlert . The investigators analyzed the prevalence of dementia among 3,718 sexual minority adults older than 60 who participated in the Kaiser Permanente Research Program on Genes, Environment, and Health, with dementia diagnoses gathered from medical records. During the nine-year follow-up, the crude prevalence of dementia was 7.4 percent for sexual minority older adults in the cohort. For comparison, Alzheimer's Association 2018 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures estimated U.S. prevalence of Alzheimer's disease dementia and other dementias for people older than 65 at about 10 percent. The researchers noted significant rates of depression, hypertension, stroke, and cardiovascular disease in the study population may play roles in the level of dementia. "Current estimates suggest that more than 200,000 sexual minorities in the U.S. are living with dementia, but — before our study — almost nothing was known about the prevalence of dementia among people in this group who do not have HIV/AIDS-related dementia," says University of California, San Francisco Professor Jason Flatt. "Though our new findings provide important initial insights, future studies aimed at better understanding risk and risk factors for Alzheimer's and other dementias in older sexual minorities are greatly needed."

A study presented at the Alzheimer's Association annual meeting in Chicago argued that age is not a determinant of how long a person will live following a dementia diagnosis, reports HealthDay News . "These findings suggest that, despite all efforts, and despite being younger and perhaps physically 'healthier' than older people, survival time in people with young-onset dementia has not improved since 2000," notes VU University Medical Center's Dr. Hanneke Rhodius-Meester. The investigators studied nearly 4,500 people with early onset dementia. Median survival time was six years, but this period varied depending on the type of dementia, with 6.4 years for frontotemporal lobe degeneration, 6.2 years for Alzheimer's disease, 5.7 years for vascular dementia, 5.1 years for dementia with Lewy bodies, and 3.6 years for rarer causes. However, survival times were similar among subjects of all ages, whether they were younger or older than 65. Earlier research suggested survival times after dementia diagnosis ranged between three and 12 years. "While these results still need to be replicated and confirmed, they do highlight the urgency of the need for better treatments and effective prevention strategies," says Rhodius-Meester.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced the disbandment of what appeared to be the first large-scale, multinational telephone fraud operation in the country, reports the New York Times . The scam reportedly stole "hundreds of millions" of dollars from more than 15,000 Americans, and more than 50,000 individuals had their personal information misused. The money was routed through India-based call centers back to the ringleaders in eight states. From 2012 to 2016, the scam had someone masquerading as an Internal Revenue Service or immigration official, threatening victims with punishments if they did not immediately pay their debts with prepaid cards or wire transfers. Immigrants and older adults were the calls' primary targets.

Many Americans are now aging without family caregivers nearby, which is a negative development given that the median incomes of Americans entering retirement have been stagnant for years, reports the Wall Street Journal . They also have high average debt and may be unable to rely on relatives for their own care. An estimated 34.2 million people currently provide unpaid care to those 50 and older, at a collective annual value of $500 billion, according to a 2017 Merrill Lynch study. In addition, the ratio of caregivers to recipients has been declining since its peak in 2010, largely on account of shifting family dynamics. "Families have fewer children, older adults are more likely to have never married or to be divorced, and adult children often live far from their parents or may be caring for more than one adult or their own children," notes a 2016 National Academy of Sciences study. Furthermore, with demand for private home health aides expected to outstrip supply in the next decade, such assistance is often unaffordable, while Medicare and other government programs only deliver a fraction of the long-term supportive services that people need to age at home. Age Wave CEO Ken Dychtwald says reliance on non-traditional care will have to be considered, with taking in assistive boarders and depending more on monitoring devices and delivery services likely options. Mobile technology that supports long-distance caregiving also could become increasingly necessary.

Experts note people's attention in the workplace is too often being diverted by some digital device, despite their protests to the contrary, reports the Harvard Business Review . Moreover, a VitalSmarts survey found only 10 percent of people confronted with this situation address the insensitive offender while most ignore such behavior, walk away, or express nonverbal disapproval. To reestablish norms of courtesy, the experts suggest citing study data detailing the bad effects of such behavior in a way that does not unduly shame the offender or make them defensive. Another suggestion is to make it a matter of personal responsibility when trying to correct such habits among individuals, while also meeting the same adherence to social boundaries and vocalizing when others ignore them. In attempting to change a group norm, the leader should ask each member of the group to follow their lead in owning the change.

A new study from the Garvan Institute of Medical Research published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism suggests a fracture in older age could heighten the mortality risk for the next decade, reports HealthDay News . "A fracture is the starting point for much wider health issues that persist long after the fracture has healed, and can ultimately result in earlier death," notes study author Jacqueline Center. The study encompassed all people in Denmark older than 50 with a fragility fracture in 2001 who were followed up with for 10 years. In the 12 months following a hip fracture, men had a 33 percent higher risk of death, while women had a 20 percent higher risk. In the 12 months after femur or pelvic fractures, the risk of death climbed between 20 percent and 25 percent. A higher risk of death was observed 10 years after a hip fracture, and about five years after non-hip fractures. "Our findings emphasize just how crucial early intervention is," Center says. "While intervention after the first fracture is critical, we also need to diagnose those at risk of breaking bones before these major health impacts have occurred."

A panel of Alzheimer's disease experts is recommending new guidelines for checking people for signs of the disease during routine medical examinations, reports the Associated Press . A 2015 report from the Alzheimer's Association suggested only about 50 percent of people being treated for Alzheimer's were informed of a positive diagnosis by their healthcare provider. The National Institute on Aging's Nina Silverberg notes although Medicare recently began covering mental assessments as part of the annual wellness visit, doctors are not required to do it, and they lack guidance on doing it. The panel's guidance outlines what action health staff should take if people describe worrisome symptoms, including checking for risk factors that may contribute to dementia or other brain diseases, such as family history, heart disease, and head injuries; pen-and-pencil memory tests; and imaging tests to identify small strokes or brain injuries that could be causing memory problems. The University of Nebraska Medical Center's Dr. Michael Sitorius says he gives his older care recipients mental evaluations at their annual checkups, but sometimes they or their loved ones do not want to hear the results. In such cases, Sitorius still addresses related issues such as depression, safeguarding medication, nutrition, and whether recipients should continue driving. He says the new guidelines are a welcome reminder for family physicians to deal with these issues earlier.

The Massachusetts Senate has cleared a bill to assists individuals with Alzheimer's and dementia and their families, reports the Associated Press . The bill is intended to help with the diagnosis, treatment, and care for persons with Alzheimer's. Supporters say the measure concentrates on delivering essential information to individuals and their families about understanding an Alzheimer's diagnosis and creating a care plan. The legislation also helps people access medical and non-medical treatments that backers call critically important to living with the disease. According to advocates, more than 130,000 Massachusetts residents have Alzheimer's, and are assisted by 337,000 family caregivers. Almost 150,000 people in the state are projected to develop the disease by 2025.

A study published in Neurology suggests a link may exist between a woman's history of pregnancy and her risk of Alzheimer's disease decades later, reports Medical Xpress . The researchers determined women who carry five or more children may be more likely to develop Alzheimer's than those with fewer births. Furthermore, women who have had an incomplete pregnancy are less likely to develop Alzheimer's in the future than those who have not. The team blended data from two independent population-based studies from Korea and Greece, with a total of 3,549 women. A total of 118 women developed Alzheimer's and 896 women developed mild cognitive impairment. Subjects who had given birth to five or more children were 70 percent more likely to develop Alzheimer's than those who had fewer children. Of the 716 women with five or more children, 59 developed Alzheimer's versus 53 of the 2,751 women with fewer children. The results remained consistent after adjusting for other factors such as other medical conditions, use of hormone replacement therapy, and breastfeeding. Women who had an incomplete pregnancy were about half as likely to develop Alzheimer's as those who never had an incomplete pregnancy. Forty-seven of the 2,375 women who had an incomplete pregnancy developed Alzheimer's versus 71 of the 1,174 women who never had an incomplete pregnancy. On memory and thinking skills tests, women who had fewer than five children and incomplete pregnancies had higher scores than women who had five or more children or no incomplete pregnancies.