Gerontology News and Research

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Gerontology is the study of the social, psychological and biological aspects of aging.

Trazodone linked to safer delirium outcomes in older adults

A large U.S. study suggests that older adults hospitalized with delirium may experience better outcomes when treated with trazodone, commonly used to treat depression and sleep problems, rather than commonly used antipsychotic medications.

3 Feb 2026

Neighborhood disadvantage accelerates biological aging through emotional distress

While scientists have long known that living in a disadvantaged neighborhood is associated with biological symptoms of accelerated aging, emotional distress accounts for a significant portion of these effects, researchers found in a recent study.

29 Jan 2026

Shingles vaccination is linked to slower biological aging in older adults

This population-based study of U.S. adults aged 70 and older found that shingles vaccination was associated with slower epigenetic and transcriptomic aging, as well as lower systemic inflammation. No significant associations were observed for neurodegeneration or cardiovascular biomarkers, highlighting domain-specific molecular effects rather than broad clinical changes.

21 Jan 2026

Shingles vaccination may slow biological aging in older adults

Shingles vaccination not only protects against the disease but may also contribute to slower biological aging in older adults, according to a new USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology study.

20 Jan 2026

Majority of older adults in Ireland have poorly controlled high blood pressure

High blood pressure becomes more common after age 40years yet new research from The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA) at Trinity College Dublin shows that many people in Ireland with hypertension are still not optimally diagnosed or treated based on European Gudelines.

16 Jan 2026

"Blue zones" longevity claims validated by new research

A new peer-reviewed paper published in The Gerontologist provides the most comprehensive scientific response to date addressing recent critiques of the so-called "blue zones," regions of the world known for unusually high concentrations of people living long, healthy lives.

5 Jan 2026

New guidelines aim to standardize diagnosis of canine dementia

An international working group of canine cognition experts has released a set of guidelines for veterinarians to use in diagnosing and monitoring canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CCDS), or canine dementia.

5 Jan 2026

Simple reminder emails increase clinicians' use of database for safe opioid prescribing

A new randomized clinical trial finds that simple reminder emails substantially increase clinicians' use of a database that supports safe prescribing of opioids and other drugs, even though opioid prescribing patterns themselves did not meaningfully change during the study period.

30 Dec 2025

Wearable AI device detects early signs of frailty in older adults

University of Arizona researchers in the Gutruf Lab have developed a comfortable, easy-to-use wearable device that incorporates artificial intelligence to detect subtle warning signs of frailty, signifying a leap forward in elderly care.

22 Dec 2025

Lifelong physical activity linked to lower metabolic syndrome risk

A new Finnish study shows that adults who remain physically active throughout adulthood have a markedly lower prevalence of metabolic syndrome at the age of 61 than those whose leisure-time physical activity remains low.

19 Dec 2025

Social isolation emerges as a key, independent risk factor for cognitive decline

Using longitudinal data from the US Health and Retirement Study, this study applied causal inference modeling to disentangle the independent and joint effects of social isolation and loneliness on later-life cognitive function. It shows that reducing social isolation is associated with modest but meaningful protection against cognitive decline, with loneliness mediating only a small proportion of this effect.

17 Dec 2025

AI analysis of chest X-rays may reveal early signs of aging

Artificial intelligence may be able to reveal how fast your body is aging by analyzing a chest X-ray, according to a new study published in The Journals of Gerontology. Researchers found that a deep learning model was able to detect subtle, age-related changes in the heart, lungs, and overall health more effectively than leading DNA-based "epigenetic clocks."

17 Dec 2025

Slower cognitive reaction time associated with higher levels of frailty

Frailty is a syndrome resulting from age-related decline across multiple organ systems. A new study, conducted at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, shows that slower reaction time and lower response accuracy in cognitive tasks are associated with higher levels of frailty.

17 Dec 2025

New research highlights the importance of social engagement for cognitive health

New research from the University of St Andrews has discovered a direct causal effect between social isolation and a faster decline in later- life cognitive function. Pathological cognitive decline is most often driven by Alzheimer's and related dementias.

16 Dec 2025

Study elucidates novel mitochondrial mechanisms underlying anti-aging and longevity

As life expectancy continues to climb globally, the focus of many people has moved from longevity alone to living in good health.

10 Dec 2025

Finnish research pinpoints a higher risk among cohabiting survivors

Researchers at the University of Oulu, Finland, have identified significant differences in mortality among widows and widowers from cohabiting versus married relationships, depending on the deceased partner's cause of death. Accidental death increases the surviving partner's mortality risk more than death from illness. Mortality rises particularly sharply among those who had been living in cohabitation.

2 Dec 2025

New transplant approach resets the immune system to stop Type 1 diabetes

A combination blood stem cell and pancreatic islet cell transplant from an immunologically mismatched donor completely prevented or cured Type 1 diabetes in mice in a study by Stanford Medicine researchers.

18 Nov 2025

Study reveals widespread use of burdensome interventions for older dementia patients in Singapore

A new study by researchers from Duke-NUS Medical School has revealed that almost all community-dwelling older adults with advanced dementia in Singapore experience at least one potentially burdensome intervention in their last year of life.

17 Nov 2025

Study links short-term blood pressure variability to Alzheimer's-related brain loss

Even when blood pressure is well controlled, older adults whose blood pressure fluctuates widely from one heartbeat to the next may be at greater risk for brain shrinkage and nerve cell injury, according to a new study led by the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

30 Oct 2025

Retaining gonad function could be a potent strategy to fight late-life frailty

Frailty threatens older individuals because it increases their vulnerability to detrimental health outcomes, such as falling, longer hospitalization, or even shortened life expectancy.

29 Oct 2025