The U.S. Social Security Administration on Tuesday announced that beneficiaries will see a 1.3 percent increase to their monthly checks next year to reflect the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), reports CNBC . The increase applies to roughly 70 million Americans, including those receiving Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits. The Senior Citizens League in September forecast a 1.3 percent increase based on available consumer price index data. The gain may not be a positive development for retirees and other beneficiaries, many of whom may have had a rougher time making their benefit checks last this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Retirees' estimated average monthly benefit is expected to rise $20 per month in 2021, to $1,543 from $1,523 after the 1.3 percent increase. The maximum amount of wages taxed for Social Security will be $142,800 next year, up from $137,700 this year. The COLA is smaller than the 1.6 percent boost retirees and other beneficiaries saw in 2020, but tops COLAs seen in some recent years.

A study published in Circulation: Heart Failure found older Americans hospitalized for heart failure usually are prescribed 10 medications, according to U.S. News & World Report . Researchers at New York-Presbyterian Hospital analyzed the medical charts of 558 adults 65 and older who were hospitalized in the United States between 2003 and 2014. When hospitalized, 84 percent were on five or more medications and 42 percent were taking 10 or more; when released, 95 percent of patients in the former group and 55 percent of those in the latter group were taking 10 or more drugs. Most of the prescribed drugs were not for subjects' heart failure or heart conditions. New York-Presbyterian's Parag Goyal said a larger number of medications elevates the risk of adverse drug reactions, which could lead to hospitalization, as well as affect quality of life. Moreover, about 90 percent of older adults with heart failure have at least three other medical conditions, while more than 60 percent have at least five. Yet the study suggested the advantages of medication may offset the risks of polypharmacy for people with certain conditions, like diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

A new study by Kings College London published in Age and Ageing found extreme confusion or delirium to be the most common symptom of COVID-19 in frail seniors, reports The Independent . The researchers analyzed data from more than 800 people over the age of 65, including 322 hospitalized with COVID-19 and 535 people at home with a positive result using an app on behalf of friends and family. Older hospitalized adults classified as frail were more likely to have had delirium, compared with people of the same age who were not frail. Among those older than 65 using the app, delirium also was more frequent in frailer people with COVID-19 versus more robust people of the same age with the virus. "Current guidance in Ireland does not include confusion as a symptom to prompt testing," said Kings College's Mary Ní Lochlainn. "Doctors and carers should look out for signs of confusion or strange behavior in frail older people because it could be an early warning sign of COVID-19."

A prospective long-term study published in Ophthalmic Epidemiology found cataracts were associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms in seniors, whether present or previously removed, reports HCPLive . No similar associations were observed in age-related macular degeneration or glaucoma. "Some older adults are able to adapt well to vision loss, adopting a resilient attitude and positive coping skills," said researchers at the University of Ottawa. "However, other older adults struggle to accept and adapt to their vision loss and are at risk of depression." The investigators conducted the three-year study with follow-up visits from July 2015 and December 2018 with more than 23,000 participants. Depressive symptoms developed in 7.7 percent of the cohort within the study period, and cataract was associated with incident depressive symptoms and relative risk of 1.20, after controlling for multiple demographic factors. "Cataract-related factors besides visual acuity that might affect depressive symptoms include difficulty with glare sensitivity or contrast sensitivity, fear of cataract surgery, difficulty doing visual tasks, or complications with obtaining surgery such as long wait times or uncovered surgical costs," the researchers suggested.

An artificial intelligence startup in Vancouver, Canada, has unveiled a smart fall alert system designed to monitor seniors and report emergencies instantly to family or caregivers, reports Yahoo! Finance . AltumView's Cypress Smart Home Care Alert System watches the movements and activities of a senior and detects falls, waving for help, and wanderings, which are common among those with dementia. The system reports these incidents in real time via an app that can be accessed anywhere using a mobile device. The tool can assess fall risk by providing a visual heat map of an area where falls are frequent, allowing the caregiver to implement safety measures to prevent similar accidents from recurring. The sensor also can maintain the privacy of the person being monitored by showing caregivers a stick-figure animation instead of a raw video. Cypress does not retain personal data on the device and encrypts all communication between the sensor and the cloud. The technology is perfect for senior communities, home care service providers, and individual residences with aged family members. AltumView said the system also can help enhance the quality of service of long-term care communities and reduce the workload of senior care providers.

Dr. Jason Karlawish's work with the American Bar Association (ABA) on a pilot program in Vermont helped people in long-term care communities with dementia vote, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer . This has led to a new guide from the Penn Memory Center and the ABA Commission on Aging, detailing how caregivers can help voters with dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment. With a contentious presidential election approaching, the guide is critical for a generation that often considers voting essential. "Persons living with dementia are citizens and they need to have their rights respected just like everyone else's rights," Pennsylvania-based Karlawish said. While many with dementia live at home where loved ones can help them fill out ballots, others reside in long-term care communities ravaged by the first wave of coronavirus in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Although independent residents now have more freedom to come and go and visiting restrictions are relaxed, limitations are still in effect. The new guide offers simple voting rules, and people with cognitive impairment must say they want to vote, and they need to make their own choices. Families cannot discuss politics during the voting, and helpers can only read what is on the ballot, but not describe political positions.

Israeli biopharmaceutical startup ImmunoBrain Checkpoint (IBC) has developed an immune system-boosting antibody in order to realize a breakthrough treatment for Alzheimer's disease, reports the Times of Israel . The firm intends to initiate clinical trials in 2021. IBC claims the therapy is the first of its kind that taps the body's immune system to help repair the brain, and is based on 22 years of research by scientists at the Weizmann Institute of Science. In September, IBC announced that the Alzheimer's Association gave it $1 million under the 2020 Part the Cloud-Bill Gates Partnership Grant Program to support the Phase I clinical trial, which will examine the safety and activity of the IBC-Ab002 antibody. Weitzmann Professor Michal Schwartz led the research upon which the antibody was based, which she said can neutralize "one of the mechanisms that keeps the immune system under tight control. The key is to release such brakes modestly, at an optimal level," in order to prevent the side effects of overactivation. Schwartz said tests with animal models with Alzheimer's and dementia showed the antibody elicited a "robust improvement in cognition and a reduction of the pathology," with the effect extended to all the multiple toxic compounds that accumulated in the brain, "thus addressing the multi-factorial nature of the diseases and their heterogeneity among patients."

Grocery delivery service Instacart has announced a new Senior Support Service hotline to help customers older than 60 order online with less friction and more safety during the current pandemic, reports FOX Business . Consumers can call Instacart's Senior Support service number daily between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. to get help with onboarding their digital grocery store cart. Instacart has recruited over 60,000 seniors to order grocery delivery in the past month. The Senior Support Service specialist team is available to guide seniors through online services like setting up accounts, walking through how to choose their grocery store, digital aisle browsing, and filling up virtual carts to place their first order. The team also offers tutorials on features like setting grocery replacement reminders for items that may be in short supply. "Many seniors are less accustomed to using an app for ingrained household tasks like grocery shopping, so Instacart's Senior Support Service is designed to help them build confidence to use online grocery delivery more often and more independently," said the company's Mark Killick.

A study by Australian scientists published in the Virology Journal found that the virus that causes COVID-19 can survive for up to 28 days on surfaces, and persist longer at lower temperatures, reports The Guardian . The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) said the virus survived longer on paper banknotes compared to plastic banknotes, and lived longer on smooth surfaces rather than porous surfaces like cotton. "The virus can persist . . . but . . . I would say 90 percent of the problem and the transmission is related to being close to people who cough over you or sneeze over you or send you droplets," said Australian National University Professor Peter Collignon. "Probably around 10 percent of transmission is likely to be just hands and surfaces." The coronavirus also persisted 10 days longer than influenza on certain surfaces. CSIRO CEO Larry Marshall said establishing how long the virus survived on surfaces allowed researchers to more accurately predict and prevent its proliferation. Australian Center for Disease Preparedness Deputy Director Debbie Eagles said the study's results add credibility to the need for good practices like regular hand washing and cleaning surfaces. "While the precise role of surface transmission, the degree of surface contact, and the amount of virus required for infection is yet to be determined, establishing how long this virus remains viable on surfaces is critical for developing risk-mitigation strategies in high-contact areas," she concluded.

A randomized controlled trial from Norway published in the British Medical Journal found exercise intensity appears to make no difference to mortality risk among older adults, reports Medical Xpress . The investigators assessed the effect of five years of supervised exercise training compared with recommendations for physical activity on mortality in adults 70 to 77 years old. The trial included 1,567 participants (790 women and 777 men), average age 73. A total of 87.5 percent of participants reported overall good health and 80 percent reported a medium or high level of physical activity at the outset. Four hundred participants were assigned to two weekly sessions of high intensity interval training (HIIT), 387 were assigned moderate intensity continuous training (MICT), and 780 controls followed the Norwegian guidelines for physical activity, all for five years. Overall mortality rate was 4.6 percent at the end of those five years, and the researchers observed no difference in all cause mortality between the controls and combined HIIT and MICT cohort. No differences in cardiovascular disease or cancer were noted between the control group and the combined HIIT and MICT group. "This study suggests that combined MICT and HIIT has no effect on all cause mortality compared with recommended physical activity levels," the researchers concluded.