A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition found about 13 percent of U.K. adults older than 50 are deficient in folate and vitamin B12, reports United Press International . One in eight older adults are deficient in B12 and one in seven are not getting enough folate, with variations based on location, health, lifestyle, and time of year measured. Previous studies have tied poor long-term health, especially among older people, to low nutritional levels of these supplements. Megaloblastic anemia, poor growth, increased infections, and irreversible neurologic damage to the developing brain are among the afflictions at risk. "The high rates of B-vitamin deficiency seen in the older adult population are of concern and, given that this can be easily treated with fortification, this has significant policy and practice implications for government and health services," says Rose Anne Kenny, a principal investigator of the Irish Longitudinal Study on Aging. The percentage of people with sufficient usage rose with age, from 14 percent among those aged 50-60 years to 23 percent among people over 80. More women took B12 or folate than men, and B12 and folate deficiency was more common in smokers, obese, and those who lived alone. In the United States, where folic acid fortification is mandatory, an estimated 3.2 percent of adults older than 50 are deficient in B12 and another 20 percent may have borderline deficient levels of B12, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

The AARP, UnitedHealth Group, and Quest Diagnostics have announced a combined $75 million investment to fight Alzheimer's and other dementia-related diseases, reports Fortune . AARP contributed $60 million into the $350 million Dementia Discovery Fund (DDF), as part of an effort to launch its own "Disrupt Dementia" campaign. Additional DDF partners include Bill Gates, the NFL Players Association, and various pharmaceutical companies such as Biogen, Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, and Takeda. "Of the leading causes of death still around, Alzheimer's is the only one without a cure or treatment," notes Quest CEO Steve Rusckowski. AARP Chief Operating Officer Scott Frisch says this issue is especially important to his organization's membership of American seniors. "Of our 38 million members, so many say that staying mentally sharp is a top priority and top concern," he emphasizes. "Yet there is no known diagnosis, no single test you could have for Alzheimer's, dementia, etc." The DDF seeks to tackle this shortfall, which will partly entail trialling new ways of dealing with dementia-related disease, such as by looking for how to prevent it in the first place. A prevention-oriented model got a key boost in April when the Alzheimer's Association and the National Institute on Aging proposed a new framework focusing on that approach.

Debate is raging about how to prevent people with mental illness from getting weapons, but often overlooked is what to do about guns in the homes of aging Americans with impaired or declining mental faculties, reports Kaiser Health News . A 2017 Pew Research Center survey found 45 percent of people 65 and older have guns in their household, while a KHN investigation learned of dozens of cases across the country in which people with dementia used guns to kill or injure themselves or others. The probe found 15 homicides and more than 60 suicides since 2012, with the shooter's victim often people closest to them as well as people they happened to encounter. In cases where charges were brought, many assailants were deemed incompetent to stand trial. A KHN analysis of government poll data in Washington state found about 5 percent of respondents 65 and older reported both some cognitive decline and having guns in their home. Meanwhile, just five states have statutes allowing families to petition a court to temporarily seize weapons from people exhibiting threatening behavior. Moreover, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey suggests few Americans are worried about the potential hazards of seniors and firearms. Lindsay Nichols at the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence notes a diagnosis of dementia does not disqualify someone from gun ownership. However, 11 states have passed "red flag" gun laws allowing law enforcement or other state officials, and sometimes family members, to seek a court order to temporarily seize guns from people who pose a threat to themselves or others.

More employers are emphasizing paid parental leave, with the Society for Human Resource Management's (SHRM) annual benefits survey estimating that the number of companies offering paid parental leave grew significantly between 2016 and 2018, reports Employee Benefit News . The segment of employers offering paid maternity leave rose from 26 percent in 2016 to 35 percent in 2018, and paid paternity leave increased from 21 percent to 29 percent over the same period. Leave for adoption, foster children, and surrogacy also climbed in the last two years. "It's turning into a candidate-driven market, so employers are offering incredibly competitive benefits," says SHRM's Trent Burner. "Employees, particularly millennials, are calling out for unique benefits that help with work-life balance, and more employers are listening by increasing their paid parental leave programs." Burner notes such offerings are beneficial for companies, as they cost them less than healthcare benefits, and are in many cases more effective for a changing workforce. "Many organizations are watching this and seeing the trend, and we expect them to jump on board with expanding paid parental leave," he says. SHRM's poll of more than 3,500 HR professionals found that 34 percent of organizations boosted their benefits in the last year. Top reasons for this include employee retention, while consumer-directed healthcare plans, telecommuting, and company-organized fitness competitions/challenges are additional benefits that more employers are offering.

Facebook has announced that users attempting to buy opioids or seeking out addiction treatment will be rerouted to information about a federal crisis help line, reports Stat . The announcement precedes an upcoming "opioids summit" convened by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to get tech companies to implement additional measures to help curb the U.S. opioid epidemic. Facebook notes the development of this new feature predates FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb's focus on tech companies' role in opioids issues. The company also has appointed Avra Siegel, a veteran of the Obama administration, to lead its opioids policy effort. According to Siegel, the redirect feature is specific to Facebook, but planned in consultation with Facing Addiction and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Facing Addiction Vice President Greg Williams says Facebook sought to seize on moments of vulnerability, which include searches either for treatment or for opportunities to purchase illegal drugs, to spur addicts to seek treatment. Facebook's initiative is part of a wider discussion about how much accountability technology companies assume for illicit activity occurring on their platforms.

A study published in the Journal of Ophthalmic Research found peripheral retinal imaging via ultra-wide field (UWF) technology can visualize changes in the peripheral retina that are associated with neurodegenerative diseases that include Alzheimer's, reports Health Imaging . The researchers captured UWF images of 59 persons with Alzheimer's and 48 healthy participants, and the full cohort was invited for follow-up imaging two years later. It was determined that people with Alzheimer's had an abnormal appearance of yellow drusen deposits that lead to retinal degeneration. In addition, those subjects also had wider blood vessels near their optic nerve, which thinned faster than observed in the control group near the retinal fringe, likely slowing blood flow and hindering nutrient and oxygen to the peripheral retina. University of Edinburgh Professor Craig Ritchie suggests this imaging method could be a simple, fast, and affordable way to monitor eye changes and be used as a tool to easily measure disease progression in the brain.

A poll from the Nationwide Retirement Institute found wealthy Americans approaching retirement are "terrified" about the cost of healthcare, but they are not talking about it with financial advisers, reports Financial Advisor . Almost 75 percent of U.S. adults with $150,000 or more in annual income and older than 50 cited "out-of-control" healthcare costs as a top concern, but 48 percent with advisers were not discussing such costs with them. "More than half of respondents were unaware of what their healthcare costs would be moving forward," says Nationwide's John Carter. Respondents were more often avoiding healthcare discussions because they felt it was too personal an issue, while 33 percent had not had a dialogue with anyone about their medical expenses. However, 38 percent of respondents who had engaged with an adviser said they did not discuss such costs because their adviser did not know enough about those expenses in retirement, suggesting advisers may be missing both a key planning topic and an opportunity to deliver more value for customers. "I think we have to help consumers ask better questions of their advisers, like 'how much should I expect to pay in healthcare expenses in retirement?' — it's simple and specific to healthcare, and then the adviser can discuss some ways to save for healthcare to meet that need," Carter notes. Furthermore, wealthy Americans are highly likely to consider federal entitlement programs to help cover healthcare costs, while 59 percent of survey respondents were unsure what their annual healthcare costs might be; the remaining respondents calculated $22,849 in yearly healthcare expenses for themselves and their partners.

A review determined that securities firms with an atypically high number of troubled brokers are selling tens of billions of dollars annually of private stakes in companies, often targeting seniors, reports the Wall Street Journal . More than 100 firms where 10 percent to 60 percent of the in-house brokers had three or more investor complaints, regulatory actions, criminal charges, or other red flags on their records were identified. These brokerages helped sell to investors more than $60 billion in private placements. Such sales are climbing as part of a larger elevation in private capital markets, driving concerns among investor representatives about how the products are sold. More than 1,200 firms sold about $710 billion of private placements in 2017 and sales for the first five months of 2018 are on track to surpass that count. "Sales of private placements are so lucrative to the brokerage firms that they are a perennial concern for regulators," notes Brad Bennett, formerly with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Issues regulators are concerned with include whether the placement offers a stake in a legitimate business, what selling perks or markups the brokers get, and how it is sold to investors. Regulators have a heavy reliance on the hundreds of brokerages to track deals, but rich commissions create strong incentives to sell, sometimes without consideration for the investor. "Firms that permit brokers to peddle these products tend to put fee generation above what is good for their clients," says attorney Andrew Stoltmann. "And brokers who want to generate fees at their clients' expense tend to flock to these firms."

A Wall Street Journal analysis found more than 40 percent of U.S. households headed by people aged 55 through 70 cannot maintain their living standards in retirement. Furthermore, new census data indicates this increase in aging baby boomers is leaving the United States with fewer young caregivers for seniors. Individuals will find themselves staying on the job beyond age 70 or taking menial work as senior citizens, and also will have to rely more on children for funding. Meanwhile, companies will have to deal with employees who postpone retirement, meaning they will have to cover the costs of a less healthy workforce and retraining older workers. This could further strain public resources, especially if seniors lower taxable spending and officials decide to cover additional public-assistance expenses for insolvent older Americans. Enticed by a long period of low interest rates, boomers accrued debt to cope with rising home, healthcare, and college costs. Interest-rate drops hurt this security, while reduced earnings on bonds spurred many insurance firms to hike premiums for the universal-life and long-term-care insurance many Americans bought to help pay expenses. Some public-sector workers are fraught with uncertainty as cash-strapped governments weigh pension cuts. For many facing a less secure retirement than the previous generation, the biggest factor is the switchover from pensions to 401(k)-type plans.

The U.S. House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development last week heard testimony on the value of occupational licensing, and concurred overall that it is up to states to determine whether certain professions are over-regulated, reports Associations Now . "Occupational licensing plays an important role in protecting consumers and ensuring high-quality service," said Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.). "In many cases, it makes sense that a professional would be credentialed to operate, like in the case of a doctor performing surgery or a pilot flying a commercial plane. But in other instances, the need for a license is more of a stretch." Meanwhile, Albert Downs with the National Conference of State Legislatures noted the U.S. population of licensed professionals has swelled to one in four workers. "Research suggests that, in some cases, licensing can benefit the public by limiting the risk of public health and safety hazards arising from the incompetent practice of a given occupation or profession," he said. "In many more cases, the risk of harm to public health and safety is not well established, and research shows that consumer welfare is unchanged, or sometimes reduced, by licensing regulations." Institute for Justice attorney Robert McNamara stated that voluntary certification is "one of the most important, and often overlooked, alternatives to occupational licensing." Associations have this year raised issues with licensing reform legislation in Louisiana and Missouri, with bill authors in both states concerned with over-regulation of different occupations. However, critics that include the American Society of Association Executives claimed the bills overreached into nongovernmental professional certifications.