A study published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences found volunteering for about two hours a week can help relieve older adults of loneliness resulting from the death of a spouse, reports ScienceDaily . The researchers analyzed data from 5,882 married adults, ages 51 and older, who completed the Health and Retirement Study administered every two years. The data covered 2006 through 2014 for individuals who were married and either remained continuously married or became widowed. The researchers determined loneliness was much higher in those who become widowed compared to those who stay continuously married. However, beginning to volunteer two or more hours a week led to decreased loneliness, with levels of loneliness similar to those of continuously married individuals volunteering at the same frequency. The findings suggest higher intensity volunteering as a potential intervention for alleviating loneliness in older adults who have recently become widowed. "Volunteering only matters for people's loneliness when they've experienced the loss of social integration that results from widowhood," says Georgia State University Professor Ben Lennox Kail. "It also suggests something that I think is particularly interesting. When you experience loneliness that is because of some kind of loss, even if you're robustly integrated, that loss is meaningful to you. So if you have this robust social network, and you then experience some loss, what you need to do is begin something new. It's the new social integration that can make up for loss."

An anthology of 10 articles compiled as a supplement to the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society focuses on the future of science, professional education, clinical practice, and public policy to address dementia and mental health in late life, reports EurekAlert . The series considers the current state of dementia and mental health research and care, cites public and professional needs to accelerate change, and reveals promising channels for moving forward in science, practice, health professions training, and public policy. Among the critical policy priorities for research, reimbursement, models of care, and clinician/researcher training outlined in the supplement are examples from the Health and Aging Policy Fellows Program that specify the vital roles health professionals and academic researchers must fulfill in translating science into social and healthcare systems equipped to support care, particularly as more Americans cope with dementia and mental health conditions. For example, one in five older adults currently experience mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, or addictive disorders, and the population affected with these conditions will likely continue to expand. Many people live with undiagnosed or untreated dementia or mental health disorders, which can take an added toll on physical well-being while also elevating the risk for emergency department visits or placement in a nursing community. The anthology's authors say the new series will help create "a solid theoretical base, clarity about meanings of mixed findings, and solutions to the challenges of conducting clinical trials, especially for nonpharmacological interventions treatment/prevention options that do not involve the use of prescription medications."

Leading experts on Alzheimer's and dementia have requested that the world's richest nations make Alzheimer's disease the top priority for the 2019 G20 Osaka Summit Agenda with their release of a Consensus Statement and Research Framework , reports Forbes . The framework cites the urgent need to adopt aging and dementia as a theme of the summit and submits recommendations on what action should be taken. UsAgainstAlzheimer's Chairman George Vradenburg is spearheading the global community effort to make dementia and Alzheimer's a priority, and he warns the diseases' immense costs will keep rising. The consensus statement calls for a greater focus on Alzheimer's and support for progress toward the United Nation's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals. Other statement items include international collaboration on developing biomarkers and diagnostics, global connections between regional clinical trial systems, more regulatory coordination to accelerate the provision of new medications to those in need, greater backing for genome-wide association studies, and higher funding for drug development and evidenced-based care practices. UsAgainstAlzheimer's says the experts also are asking G20 leaders, especially Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to lead development of a global fund that would be committed to research, diagnostics, and distribution of innovative medicines "to ensure that we stop the disease by 2025."

New studies offer evidence that positive attitudes about aging may lower the risk of dementia, reports the Washington Post . A study from Yale University published in PLoS One determined older adults with positive beliefs about old age were less likely to develop dementia, including those with genetic dispositions. "These age stereotypes are communicated to children through many sources, ranging from stories to social media," says Yale Professor Becca Levy. "Individuals of all ages can benefit from bolstering their positive images of aging." An online poll of 50,000 Americans found as people got older they nevertheless continued to feel younger than their chronological age. Michigan State University Professor William Chopik says people's views change as they age: although people in their 70s and 80s reported feeling younger than their chronological years, teenagers and young adults equated turning 50 with hitting old age. He notes this attitude continues as people age, noting when people turn 70, 80 seems old, and when someone turns 80, 90 is old. "Part of that might arise from not wanting to be considered an older adult," Chopik says. "As a result, people could be perpetually pushing what is considered an older adult into the future. It could also arise from people feeling good about themselves and their bodies, and coming to the realization that, because of their negative beliefs about what it must feel like to be an older adult, that 'I must not be old.'"

Genetic testing for hereditary diseases and other potential health conditions is increasingly being offered to employees, but this trend is unfolding as federal health agencies, researchers, and scientists debate over whether these tests are ready for widespread adoption, reports the New York Times . Experts warn for persons of average risk in the general public, a screening may have little value, and could even be harmful. They note an individual without a family history of cancer may have the same mutations as high-risk patients, but a lower risk of developing cancer. A federal advisory panel on evidence-based preventive medicine does not recommend routine screening for certain harmful breast cancer mutations for women who lack cancer or a family history of cancer. The panel deemed that the net benefit of routine genetic testing for these women could range from minimal to potentially harmful. Most cancers do not in fact result from hereditary mutations in single genes that these tests spot, and some experts warn extending use of the tests to the wider population may lead some people of average risk to skip recommended screening tests. Furthermore, it could cause people to undergo needless medical procedures. However, advocates such as Color Genomics CEO Othman Laraki contend genetic screening can help certain people prevent or disrupt diseases at an earlier stage when treatment would cost less.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that South Korean seniors are poorest and most depressed among its member countries, and many of them are turning to daytime disco salons (colatecs) to relieve their anxieties, reports Reuters . The poverty rate of South Korean seniors was 49.6 percent in 2013, which is four times the OECD average. Meanwhile, the South Korean senior suicide rate rose from 35 per 100,000 persons in 2000 to 82 in 2010, versus the OECD average of 22. Colatecs started appearing in the late 1990s as no-alcohol dancing clubs for teenagers, but seniors soon became their primary patrons. Hyundai Research Institute economist Joo Won supports the benefits of colatecs, noting that "we have one unhappy aging society that needs support both from the public and the government. Places like colatecs need to be nurtured." The OECD predicts that there will be 71 people aged 65 and over for every 100 people aged 15 to 64 in South Korea by 2050, up from 17.3 per 100 in 2014. This will make South Korea the third-oldest country in the world among wealthy nations, trailing Japan and Spain.

A study led by University of Southern California (USC) researchers and published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences found education can help older adults ward off dementia, reports USC News . However, USC Professor Eileen M. Crimmins warns people with less education "are more likely to develop dementia, and live longer with it." The researchers used data on cognitive ability for Americans 65 years and older from the 2000 and 2010 Health and Retirement Study. The study cohort was split into four categories for educational attainment: those who did not complete high school, those with a high school degree, those with some college, and those who completed a college degree or higher. Life expectancy with healthy cognition rose for people with more education between 2000 and 2010. The lifespan with good cognition of men and women 65 and over who were college graduates increased by an average of 1.51 years and 1.79 years respectively. The increase in lifespan with good cognition was significantly less among those with the least education — 0.66 years for men and 0.27 years for women. Healthy cognition was typical of most people with at least a college education into their late 80s. "Higher education status appears to provide lifelong cognitive benefits from both its effect on cognitive functioning and its effect on longer life," the researchers concluded.

A new study from the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) estimated that 42 percent of baby boomers have no retirement savings, while 38 percent of boomers who do have savings have less than $100,000 saved, reports the National Conference of State Legislatures . Moreover, only 25 percent believe they will have enough money in retirement, and although 25 percent plan to retire before age 65, 29 percent expect to work beyond age 70. Meanwhile, a 2017 RAND survey found nearly 40 percent of employees older than 65 had previously retired at some point. Unanticipated healthcare costs and other financial difficulties are major contributors to this trend, but social and intellectual engagement as well as a general sense of satisfaction in a job well done also are incentivizing continued employment. The Social Security Administration estimated that 50 percent of retired households depend on Social Security for half of their total income, and poorer retirees often lack pensions or large 401(k)s and are most reliant on Social Security. Two in three poor- and low-income older Americans receive 90 percent of their money from Social Security. If retirees have little or no savings, or outlive the savings they do have, policymakers need to consider the impact on government programs.

President Trump announced last week that he has nominated former Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board Chairman Andrew Saul to be commissioner of the Social Security Administration, reports Government Executive . Saul served on the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) board from 2002 until 2011, during which time the agency tightened rules for the TSP loan program, launched the lifecycle funds that shift participants to a less risky portfolio as they approach retirement, and blocked congressional efforts to force the TSP to divest from companies that do business in Iran or Sudan. After his board tenure concluded, Saul became a partner with investment firm Saul Partners, and he participates in a number of nonprofits in New York.

The Hebrew Home in New York is experimenting with the use of aromas to counter age-related memory loss in people with dementia, reports CBS New York . The aromas are professionally formulated by International Flavors & Fragrances, producing smells reminiscent of hot dogs, grass, leather mitts, popcorn, and beer to remind people of baseball games in Yankee Stadium. Molly Fogel with the Alzheimer's Foundation of America says the aromas are a type of reminiscence therapy. She says it offers "an opportunity to go back in time, to be able to engage, whether it's the individual living with the disease or the care partner, and be able to engage in a moment of joy. They may not be able to access that on an everyday basis." People with dementia often have trouble with short-term memories, but long-term memories are still present, although inaccessible. Olfactory stimulation is one way to access these memories, and help individuals feel more grounded and stable because they are transported to a time when they were healthy. "We're going to measure it scientifically," says RiverSpring CEO Daniel Reingold. "Whether there's memory improvement, less agitation, also senses of satisfaction."