Retirees leaving sociable workplaces may experience accelerated cognitive decline

A study published recently in Age and Ageing, the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society, provides new evidence that workers retiring from occupations which involve high levels of social stimulation may be at greater risk of accelerated cognitive decline in later life.

The study, which was conducted by researchers at University of Liège, in collaboration with the Universities of Bordeaux and South Florida, surveyed 1,048 individuals over the age of 65 from Bordeaux. Participants were evaluated at 2 year intervals for a period of 12 years. Psychologists’ evaluations included detailed assessments of subjects’ mental cognition, general health and information about their former occupation. Three independents raters were asked to evaluate the level of social and intellectual stimulation for each occupation.

Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds

Dr Zoe Wyrko is a Consultant physician at University Hospital Birmingham and is the Director of Workforce for the BGS. In this blog she discusses the recent Channel 4 programme in which she appeared, Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds. She tweets @geri_baby

I’ve always had a soft spot for care homes. As a child I would occasionally go into work with my Mum and meet some of the old ladies she talked about. When I was older I started work in the same nursing home as a kitchen girl on Saturdays, and then later progressed to health care assistant. I remain proud of my training record from that time, showing I am competent to deliver personal care, clean dentures and cut nails.

This is why I was excited when an approach came from CPL productions, who were looking for geriatricians to be involved with a television programme they wanted to make about introducing children to a care home environment.

Retirement is nothing to be afraid of according to new research

Research published today in Age & Ageing, the scientific journal of The British Geriatrics Society, reveals that retirement promotes enjoyment of everyday activities and general well-being. The study examined participants’ enjoyment of activities such as going to the gym or reading a magazine, as they transitioned from work into retirement. Retirees reported that they actually got greater enjoyment from doing the same things they did before retirement.

November issue of Age & Ageing out now

The November 2015 issue of Age and Ageing, the journal of the British Geriatrics Society, is out now!

A full table of contents is available here, with editorials, research papers, reviews, short reports, case reports book reviews and more.

Hot topics this issue include:

• Retirement and sedentary behaviours
• High-velocity resistance training
• Single versus shared rooms in hospital
• Antihypertensives in frail older people
• Inflammation and frailty

The Editor’s View can be read here.

This issue’s free access papers include:

• Genetic variant of Interleukin-18 gene is associated with the Frailty Index in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

• Hydration and outcome in older patients admitted to hospital (The HOOP prospective cohort study

• Development of a self-administrated quality of life questionnaire for sarcopenia in elderly subjects: the SarQoL

• Dementia priority setting partnership with the James Lind Alliance: using patient and public involvement and the evidence base to inform the research agenda
  

• Dementia in older people admitted to hospital: a regional multi-hospital observational study of prevalence, associations and case recognition

The key to happy retirement… independence

Sarah Wallace, Head of Services at the Charity Crossroads Care CNL, talks about their Homeshare programme and how it is a scheme that helps older people keep their independence and remain in the home they love. 

I like to think that as I get older, I will be able to keep my independence.  But will increasing care costs mean that I’ll just struggle alone at home?  Recently, I met Felicity who has recently struggled with ill health, meaning that she has had to consider alternative ways to maintain her independence.  In this search, Felicity came across the new Homeshare programme which we run here at the charity Crossroads Care CNL.

Perfect match

The Homeshare scheme uses a ‘matching’ service which helped Felicity find someone to share her house with because her disabilities make it tough for her to live alone.  The Homeshare scheme has changed her life and that of her sharer.

They might be drawing their pension but they’re not sitting around – retired people are less sedentary than those who work

Alan Godfrey is a Research Associate at the Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle, and for the LiveWell Programme to promote improved health and well-being in later life. They tweet at: @LiveWellUK

A recent study from the Institute of Ageing and Health (IAH) at Newcastle University has suggested that retirement may have a positive effect on time spent being active (walking). To date, little is known about the effects of retirement and age on this form of physical activity as previous research has relied on diaries or estimates of activity (from self-reported time spent inactive) during a person’s daily/weekly schedule.

The current study, led by Dr. Alan Godfrey and recently published in the journal Age and Ageing, studied the ambulatory and sedentary (time spent sitting/lying) behaviours of 98 older adults (48-89 years) from the cohort of healthy adults recruited as part of the ICICLE Gait study headed by Professor Lynn Rochester at IAH.