First, the good news: people are living longer. The bad news is that because of this, they are developing all kinds of other problems. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), are a particularly telling measure, representing the sum of years lost to illness and premature death #econarchive (2012) http://econ.st/1vAdyjP
How the burden of global diseases has changed in the past two decades
A NEW series of papers, published in the Lancet on December 13th, provides the most complete portrait of global health ever painted. Led by Christopher Murray of the University of Washington, the study quantifies who is dying from what; where and when they are dying; why they got ill in the first place; and whether those who live longer are living sicker. Different regions suffer different afflictions, but the data reveal a clear shift. The good news is that people are living longer. Between 1970 and 2010, the most basic metric for health—life expectancy at birth—rose from 56.4 years to 67.5 years for men and from 61.2 years to 73.3 years for women. Remarkable progress has been made in the fight against infectious disease, and mortality rates for children have dropped. The bad news is that, as people live longer, they are developing all kinds of other problems. DALYs, or disability-adjusted life years, are a particularly telling measure. They represent the sum of years lost to illness and premature death. In 1990 infectious disease, malnutrition and ailments of mothers and newborns accounted for 47% of DALYs (see pie charts below). In 2010 they comprised just 35%, with chronic diseases accounting for 54% and injuries for 11%. The toll of chronic diseases looks set to rise, as populations age and become wealthier. Infectious disease remains a big problem in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia. For the rest of the world, the main concerns are the ailments you do not catch.
Read more in this week's print edition here. See more charts and interactive graphics here.
Come and celebrate the 160th birthday of Oscar Wilde on 16th October at Trafalgar Studios in London. Watch a brilliant and moving performance of ‘The Trials of Oscar’ Wilde' followed by a Q&A with Wilde’s only grandchild Merlin Holland. Ticket includes a free programme and glass of prosecco with 25% of the ticket price going to the charity Stonewall.
If you are unfamiliar with the componentry of your genes, telomeres are the tiny caps on the ends of DNA strands. They shorten and fray as a cell ages, although the process is not strictly chronological. Obesity, illness and other conditions can accelerate the shortening, causing cells to age prematurely, while some evidence suggests that healthy lifestyles may preserve telomere length, delaying cell aging.
Ageing is a daunting process, not least because some of the first things to fail are also the most useful, such as memory, attention and motor skills. The idea that some form of regular mental activity can postpone mental decline is not new. Now researchers have found another: playing a certain type of video game could help the elderly stay sharper for longer http://econ.st/1em4h7X
Nobel prize for chromosome find
Chromosomes house genetic material
This year's Nobel prize for medicine goes to three US-based researchers who discovered how the body protects the chromosomes housing vital genetic code.
Elizabeth Blackburn, Carol Greider and Jack Szostak jointly share the award.
Their work revealed how the chromosomes can be copied and has helped further our understanding on human ageing, cancer and stem cells.
The answer lies at the ends of the chromosomes - the telomeres - and in an enzyme that forms them - telomerase.
The 46 chromosomes contain our genome written in the code of life - DNA.
When a cell is about to divide, the DNA molecules, housed on two strands, are copied.
But scientists had been baffled by an anomaly.
For one of the two DNA strands, a problem exists in that the very end of the strand cannot be copied. Protecting the code of life
Therefore, the chromosomes should be shortened every time a cell divides - but in fact that is not usually the case.
If the telomeres did repeatedly shorten, cells would rapidly age.
The discoveries ... have added a new dimension to our understanding of the cell, shed light on disease mechanisms, and stimulated the development of potential new therapies
The Nobel Assembly
Conversely, if the telomere length is maintained, the cell would have eternal life, which could also be problematic. This happens in the case of cancer cells.
This year's prize winners solved the conundrum when they discovered how the telomere functions and found the enzyme that copies it.
Elizabeth Blackburn, of the University of California, San Francisco, and Jack Szostak, of Harvard Medical School, discovered that a unique DNA sequence in the telomeres protects the chromosomes from degradation.
Joined by Johns Hopkins University's Carol Greider, then a graduate student, Blackburn started to investigate how the teleomeres themselves were made and the pair went on to discover telomerase - the enzyme that enables DNA polymerases to copy the entire length of the chromosome without missing the very end portion.
Their research has led others to hunt for new ways to cure cancer.
It is hoped that cancer might be treated by eradicating telomerase. Several studies are under way in this area, including clinical trials evaluating vaccines directed against cells with elevated telomerase activity.
Some inherited diseases are now known to be caused by telomerase defects, including certain forms of anaemia in which there is insufficient cell divisions in the stem cells of the bone marrow.
The Nobel Assembly at Sweden's Karolinska Institute, which awarded the prize, said: "The discoveries... have added a new dimension to our understanding of the cell, shed light on disease mechanisms, and stimulated the development of potential new therapies."
Carol Greider, now 48, said she was phoned in the early hours with the news that she had won.
She said: "It's really very thrilling, it's something you can't expect."
Elizabeth Blackburn, now 60, shared her excitement, saying: "Prizes are always a nice thing. It doesn't change the research per se, of course, but it's lovely to have the recognition and share it with Carol Greider and Jack Szostak."
Professor Roger Reddel of the Children's Medical Research Institute in Sydney, Australia, said: "The telomerase story is an outstanding illustration of the value of basic research."
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said: "The Medical Research Council extends its congratulations to Blackburn, Greider and Szostak on winning the 2009 Nobel Prize.
"Their research on chromosomes helped lay the foundations of future work on cancer, stem cells and even human ageing, research areas that continue to be of huge importance to the scientists MRC funds and to the many people who will ultimately benefit from the discoveries they make."
Each chromosome consists of a DNA double helix bearing a linear sequence of genes, coiled and recoiled around aggregated proteins (histones). Their number varies from species to species: humans have 22 pairs plus the two sex chromosomes (two X chromosomes in females, one X and one Y in males). During cell division each DNA strand is duplicated, and the chromosomes condense to become visible as distinct pairs of chromatids joined at the centromere
Origin
late 19th century: coined in German from Greek khrōma'colour' + sōma 'body'.
1the length of time that a person has lived or a thing has existed:he died from a heart attack at the age of 51his wife is the same age as Carlahe must be nearly 40 years of ageyoung people between the ages of 11 and 18
a particular stage in someone’s life:children of primary school age
the latter part of life or existence; old age:with age this gland can become sluggish
2a distinct period of history:an age of technological growtha child of the television age
Geology a division of time that is a subdivision of an epoch, corresponding to a stage in chronostratigraphy.
archaic a lifetime taken as a measure of time; a generation:Nestor is said to have lived three ages when he was ninety years old
(ages/an age) informal a very long time:I haven’t seen her for agesit would take an age to tell her everything
verb(ages, ageing or aging, aged)
[no object]
grow old or older, especially visibly and obviously so:you haven’t aged a lotthe tiredness we feel as we age
[with object] cause to grow, feel, or appear older:he even tried aging the painting with a spoonful of coffee
(especially with reference to an alcoholic drink) mature or allow to mature: [no object]:the wine ages in open vats or casks
[with object] determine how old (something) is:we didn’t have a clue how to age these animals
Phrases
act (or be) one's age
[usually in imperative] behave in a manner appropriate to someone of one’s age and not to someone much younger:“Act your age” is not advice to behave like an adolescent
come of age
(of a person) reach adult status.
(of a movement or activity) become fully established:space travel will then finally come of age
of an age
1old enough to be able or expected to do something:the sons are of an age to marry
2(of two or more people or things) of a similar age:the children all seemed of an age
through the ages
throughout history.
Origin:
Middle English: from Old French, based on Latin aetas, aetat-, from aevum 'age, era'
Spelling help
Aging is usually spelled without an e, although ageing is also correct.
Increasingly, Retirees Dump Their Possessions and Hit the Road
SOME call themselves “senior gypsies.” Others prefer “international nomad.” David Law, 74, a retired executive recruiter who has primarily slept in tents in several countries in the last two years, likes the ring of “American Bedouin.”
They are American retirees who have downsized to the extreme, choosing a life of travel over a life of tending to possessions. And their numbers are rising.
Mr. Law and his wife, Bonnie Carleton, 69, who are selling their house in Santa Fe, N.M., spoke recently by phone from a campground in Stoupa, Greece, a village on the southern coast of the Peloponnese. He explained that they roam the world to “get the broadest and most radical experience that we can get.”
They recently decided to fold their tent. “Hey, we’re getting to be too old for this,” said Mr. Law about camping out. But they intend to continue what he termed their “endless holiday” in a more comfortable and spacious recreational vehicle.
Between 1993 and 2012, the percentage of all retirees traveling abroad rose to 13 percent from 9.7 percent, according to the Commerce Department.
Make sure travel insurance covers medical evacuation to the United States. A rider or separate policy may be required.
Bring noise-canceling headphones for immediate access to peace.
Consider downloading the Point It app, a catalog of photos of items travelers need with translations in several languages.
Buy a few pairs of fast-drying microfiber underwear, which take up less space in luggage than conventional knickers.
About 360,000 Americans received Social Security benefits at foreign addresses in 2013, about 48 percent more than 10 years earlier. An informal survey of insurance brokers found greater demand by older clients for travel medical policies. (Medicare, with a few exceptions, does not cover expenses outside the United States). While many retirees ultimately return home or become expatriates, some live like vagabonds.
Lynne Martin, 73, a retired publicist and the author of “Home Sweet Anywhere: How We Sold Our House, Created a New Life, and Saw the World,” is one. Three years ago, she and her husband, Tim, 68, sold their three-bedroom house in Paso Robles, Calif., gave away most of their possessions, found a home for their Jack Russell terrier, Sparky, and now live in short-term vacation rentals they usually find through HomeAway.com.
The Martins have not tapped their savings during their travels, alternating visits to expensive cities like London with more reasonable destinations like Lisbon. “We simply traded the money we were spending for overhead on a house and garden in California for a life in much smaller but comfortable HomeAway rentals in more interesting places,” Ms. Martin said by email from Paris.
On her blog, Barefoot Lovey, Stacy Monday, 50, a former paralegal and mediator who lived in Knoxville, Tenn., wrote: “I used to dream about all the places I would go as soon as I was old enough to get away. But then ... life happened.” On May 1, 2010 — like many itinerant baby boomers Ms. Monday can quickly recall the date her journey started — she embarked on her dream trip. She “crisscrossed the U.S. three times” and visited Mexico, Ireland, France, Italy, Morocco, Spain and many other countries.
“I sold everything I had,” Ms. Monday recalled earlier this summer from San Francisco before she headed to Las Vegas, Dallas, Memphis and Knoxville. “I paid off all of my debt. I have no bills and no money.” She estimates that she now spends $150 a month — sometimes less if she is saving up for a flight — and earns a modest income through “odds-and-ends jobs,” as well as the tip jar on her blog.
To stick to her tight budget, Ms. Monday volunteers for nonprofits and organic farms in exchange for room and board or finds free places to stay through Couchsurfing.org. The company puts its membership of people 50 and older at about 250,000.
Ms. Monday monitors ride-share boards at Couchsurfing and Craigslist for free or inexpensive transportation, and she travels light. “I get away with a couple pairs of jeans, a pair of shorts, a skirt and four or five shirts and a pair of pajamas,” she said.
When she answers the ubiquitous question, What do you do? Ms. Monday notices that most women respond with encouragement, while many men are less supportive. “They say: ‘You should be home. That’s not safe. You are old.’ I get that from a lot of the men,” she said.
Photo
David Law and his wife, Bonnie Carleton, on the Great Wall of China.
Hal E. Hershfield, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of California, Los Angeles who studies the influence of time on consumer behavior, observes that many “pre-retirees” still assume retirement is a “decrepit, sitting on a porch, maybe playing golf, ice-tea type of life.”
But current retirees are “changing the way they think,” he said, “because they are still healthy and sort of young at heart.” In the last 50 years, retirement “wasn’t this period that we spent years and years in,” Mr. Hershfield continues. “It really, truly was the end of life.”
Galit Nimrod, a research fellow at the Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Aging at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, says an extended postretirement trip can assuage a sense of loss from ending a career. Travel can “act as a neutral, transitional zone between voluntary or imposed endings and new beginnings” and “serve as a healthy coping mechanism,” Dr. Nimrod said by email.
Gary D. Norton, 69, acknowledges that he felt “afraid of retirement” when he left his job of 34 years as a science professor at a South Dakota community college.
In 2002, he and his wife, Avis M. Norton, 67, a retired farmer, sold their house, bought an R.V. and started volunteering full time for two nonprofits: Nomads on a Mission Active in Divine Service, or Nomads, and RV Care-A-Vanners, an initiative of Habitat for Humanity.
The couple typically rebuilds houses damaged by natural disasters, projects that usually last several weeks. Mr. Norton, who now specializes in drywall finishing, and his wife, who studied carpentry, say they cherish the chance to give back to society while seeing the country. “Now what we’re doing is so satisfying and fulfilling, even though we have some health issues, we say we don’t want to quit,” said Mr. Norton, who estimated that he and his wife had repaired damaged homes in 28 states.
The chance to volunteer on international conservation projects and the opportunity to live like a local inspired Danila Mansfield, 58, and her husband, Chris Gill, 64, to sell their house in San Jose, Calif., last year. They got rid of nearly everything they owned — the exceptions being two suitcases, clothing and a pair of guitars (Mr. Gill’s prized Gibson ES-335 electric guitar is stowed at a friend’s house, but he totes around a travel guitar) — and do not even rent a storage space.
The purge of possessions was “a little nerve-racking” at first, but ultimately “hugely liberating,” said Ms. Mansfield, who is currently in South Africa. She and her husband plan to volunteer on game reserves to protect endangered species and then study great white sharks.
So far, their travels have surpassed expectations. They drove from San Jose to Florida over five months, before cruising to Europe. High points included meeting a judge at a bar in Amarillo, Tex., who invited them to visit his drug court, catching crawfish with locals in Louisiana’s bayou country and making new friends in Austin, Tex., who invited the couple to stay with them in South Africa.
But Ms. Mansfield has also hit bumps in the road. In Galveston, Tex., and New Orleans, an acute respiratory illness required three visits to urgent care centers. “It was really dragging me down,” she recalled. At one point she cried for home, but then managed to brighten her mood. “I kept telling myself, ‘This is home,’ ” Ms. Mansfield said. “Where I am is home.”
When's the right age to start preparing for being old? Here in the UK, the Ready for Ageing Alliance has set out an eleven point prescription to help individuals get ready for their autumn years. Advice includes getting fit, making friends and planning your finances. Is fifty the right age for that kind of advice? When do you think "old age" begins? Let us know your thoughts and tune in to World Update with Julian Marshall at 0900GMT.
‘Ready for Later Life’ pack targeted at 50-year-olds
Source : ILC-UK Published on 26 August 2014 02:00 PM
The Ready for Ageing Alliance has set out an 11 point prescription to help individuals prepare for ageing.
The Alliance, a coalition of 8 organisations, came together in 2013 to make the case for action to ensure that our society is ready for ageing. The coalition urges individuals to keep fit, eat healthy, and plan ahead.
The Ready for Ageing Alliance is publishing the prescription ahead of the launch of its Manifesto on 8 September 2014.
The Manifesto will set out ideas for how policymakers can better respond to the challenges of ageing.
Older people need access to advice and services
The Ready for Ageing Alliance points out that our responsibility to age well needs to be supported by a series of rights.
Policymakers must ensure that we are all well equipped to ensure we are ready for ageing. It argues that individuals need access to advice, services and opportunities for learning.
The Ready for Ageing Alliance calls for the creation of a ‘Ready for Later Life’ pack. The aim is to help people at the age of 50 to access additional information and advice on preparing for ageing.
Are you ready for ageing? 11 point prescription
Get fit: Keeping physically active is one of the most important things we can do to ensure a healthy old age. Learn to ride a bike or get out to the park. Not everyone can do a marathon, but most of us should keep fitter than we do.
Save for your old age: Yes, you will get a state pension. But for most people, it is unlikely to provide the sort of income you are used to. Saving is important at any age. But the younger we start, the greater we benefit from investment returns and compound interest.
Pay off your debts: Having debt can be a major barrier to preparing for ageing. Get advice from a charity such as Age UK or Stepchange and start planning for the future.
If you smoke, stop or cut down: Smoking reduces our life expectancy and can make it more likely that we suffer poor health or need care in old age. You are never too young or old to stop.
Be healthy: Eat a healthy balanced diet, drink enough water, and not too much alcohol. Be mentally active. Keep yourself informed about how you can prevent ill health and ask your GP if you need any adult vaccinations.
Plan ahead: Too few of us plan for the future. And planning for old age is difficult as few of us expect to suffer ill health, bereavement or a job loss. But a little thinking about how we respond to these challenges can make for a better old age. If we are to have longer working lives, it is unlikely that many of us will stay in the same job for a long time. We need to accept our careers may change and invest in careers advice and retraining. In addition, don’t be afraid of thinking about your own death, however far off it may be. Ensure you have taken out a Will and consider a Power of Attorney.
Keep your friends and make new ones: Isolation and loneliness in old age hits far too many people. Maintain friendships and build new networks and relationships across the life-course and into older age. And build relationships in your home community, not just where you work.
Adapt your home: As we age, we want and need different things from our housing. Our homes may have become too big or may no longer suit our needs. If this is how it is for you, think about moving home. Everyone should take opportunities to upgrade home energy efficiency.
Keep up to date with the kids: The world is changing around us. Keep your mind active and engaged, from new digital technology through to new attitudes. Make sure you aren’t missing out and take every opportunity to talk to younger people. Try to get yourself online. Listen to One Direction (at least once).
Talk about ageing: Ageing should be seen as a positive experience. Too few of us talk about ageing as anything but a passing joke. Talk to friends and family about this list.
See retirement positively: A time of change. A time perhaps of getting out more, taking more exercise, eating better, giving up smoking and making new friends. A time to have fun.
David Sinclair, Spokesperson for the Ready for Ageing Alliance said:
‘We should all take responsibility for ageing well. But if we are to keep active, it is important to ensure there are services available to help us do so.
‘If we want people to continue to be engaged as older workers or volunteers, we must end ageism. At the age of 50, everyone should be sent a sent a Ready for Later Life pack, signposting them to information and advice on preparing for ageing.’
The discoveries ... have added a new dimension to our understanding of the cell, shed light on disease mechanisms, and stimulated the development of potential new therapies
