Gerontology News and Research

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

AFAR receives renewal award from NIA to pursue research into the biology of aging

The American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), has received a renewal award for up to $2 million over five years from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) to continue its role as the Nathan Shock Centers for Excellence in the Biology of Aging Coordinating Center (NSCs).

23 Oct 2020

Greater social engagement related to better microstructural integrity of the brain in older adults

Older people who report greater levels of social engagement have more robust gray matter in regions of the brain relevant in dementia, according to new research led by scientists at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health.

19 Oct 2020

Even light physical activity can significantly boost health, shows study

More than 5 million people around the world die from causes associated with a lack of physical activity. Two research teams at UC San Diego School of Medicine sought to understand sedentary lifestyles, with one study finding that even light physical activity, including just standing, can benefit health, and the other that Americans are still sitting too much.

13 Oct 2020

People’s trust in media is associated with COVID-19 prevention behaviors

Whether someone wears a mask, practices physical distancing or performs other behaviors to prevent COVID-19 infection may be linked to what media outlets they trust.

9 Oct 2020

Older adults use cannabis for medical purposes, study finds

With growing interest in its potential health benefits and new legislation favoring legalization in more states, cannabis use is becoming more common among older adults.

7 Oct 2020

NIH awards $13.8 million to conduct studies on pre-dementia and Alzheimer's disease

Joe Verghese, M.B.B.S., M.S., , an international leader in aging and cognition research at Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Health System, has received two grants from the National Institutes of Health totaling $13.8 million to conduct studies on pre-dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

5 Oct 2020

Research shows the validity, reliability of isokinetic strength testing of older adults with COPD and stroke

The use of isokinetic dynamometers with older adults extends far beyond orthopedics, but the reliability and responsiveness of isokinetic measures in conditions like COPD and stroke are still being evaluated, report experts in Isokinetics and Exercise Science.

30 Sep 2020

Personality traits are associated with cognitive resilience in older adults

Our aging brains collect tangles and sticky plaques that can interfere in our cognition and memory. But some older adults with this neuropathology have more cognitive resilience than others, reports a new Northwestern Medicine study.

25 Sep 2020

Social inequities in Black and South Asian immigrants increase risk of severe COVID-19 infection

Black, South Asian and Aboriginal populations from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds in Canada are nearly four times more likely to have three or more medical conditions that have been identified as risk factors for severe illness from COVID-19.

25 Sep 2020

Functional ability of older people has improved in the last three decades

The functional ability of older people is nowadays better when it is compared to that of people at the same age three decades ago.

21 Sep 2020

NIA awards $4.6 million to establish USC-Buck Nathan Shock Center

The University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the Buck Institute for Research on Aging have received a five year, $4.6 million National Institute on Aging award to jointly establish a Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging.

18 Sep 2020

Salk institute to establish world-class consortium to study cellular and tissue aging in humans

The Salk Institute will establish a world-class San Diego Nathan Shock Center (SD-NSC), a consortium with Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Institute (SBP) and the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), to study cellular and tissue aging in humans.

17 Sep 2020

Older adults living in disadvantaged neighborhoods more likely to experience post-op delirium

Where you live can increase your risk for experiencing delirium after surgery. So said a study that showed older adults who live in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods are two times more likely to experience delirium after surgery than their counterparts from more affluent communities.

31 Aug 2020

High extraversion and low neuroticism associated with more physical activity in women

Personality traits help to understand why some people are physically active and others are not. A new study from the Gerontology Research Center and the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, shows that the role of personality may vary depending on how physical activity is measured.

28 Aug 2020

Older adults experienced mental health problems during COVID-19 pandemic

Older adults experienced greater depression and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study by Indiana University researchers, and relationship strength (perceived closeness to network members) moderated the relationship between loneliness and depression.

27 Aug 2020

Study: Mortality burden of dementia may be greater than previously thought

Dementia may be an underlying cause of nearly three times more deaths in the U.S. than official records show, according to a new Boston University School of Public Health study.

24 Aug 2020

New treatment approach strengthens motor function and muscle of aged mice

In an aging society, one of the most important and urgent tasks of scientific research is to counteract the decline in motor function and muscle weakness that accompanies the aging process.

17 Aug 2020

Study shows exercise induces changes in sweat biomolecule levels

A new study shows that in addition to blood, endurance exercise induces changes in sweat biomolecule levels. These findings lay the groundwork for the development of future noninvasive exercise monitoring systems that utilize sweat as a biomarker source.

12 Aug 2020

Standard risk-adjustment methodologies have been unfairly penalizing CAHs, study suggests

Critical access hospitals provide care to Americans living in remote rural areas. As important health care access points, these hospitals serve a population that is disproportionately older, impoverished and burdened by chronic disease.

10 Aug 2020

Hospital mobility programs can improve outcomes in older patients

A paper published today in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society reported results of an initiative designed to enhance implementation of hospital mobility programs aimed at improving quality of care and outcomes for older patients.

6 Aug 2020