Category: harvardhealth_news_UNDEFINED

Every second, someone age 65 or older suffers a fall, making it the No. 1 cause of injury-related death among this age group. The best way for older adults to protect themselves is to address the three main physical conditions that contribute to falls: weak stabilizer muscles, poor core strength, and balance issues. They can do this by improving their side-to-side motion through specific exercises and playing racquet sports, doing abdominal exercises, and practicing tai chi.

The routine yearly medical check-up is now more often referred to as the annual wellness visit, which allows people to formulate detailed health goals with their doctor and design plans to meet them, as well as assess the possibility of life-changing events, like heart attack, stroke, and cancer.

When navigating the health care system becomes challenging, a number of professionals can help. Some, such as home care aides or certified nursing assistants, can assist with errands such as getting to the doctor and picking up medications. Others, such as Aging Life Care Professionals or patient advocates, can develop and run a person’s overall care plan, negotiate with insurance companies, arrange to pay medical bills, research treatment options, hire and manage home care helpers, and more.

Unhealthy lifestyle habits, chronic diseases, and genetic conditions can damage the kidneys and reduce their ability to do their many jobs. But many precautions can help protect the kidneys. Examples include controlling diabetes; lowering high blood pressure; moderating intake of salt, alcohol, and protein; limiting intake of oxalate-rich foods such as spinach, almonds, or cashews; losing weight; stopping smoking; exercising regularly; staying hydrated; limiting the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); and getting annual kidney function tests.

A 2022 study of 350,000 healthy people found no evidence that high levels of physical activity fully offset the harmful effects of a low-quality diet, or that a high-quality diet fully offsets a lack of exercise.

A 2022 study of 160,000 former smokers, followed for about 20 years, found that those who were the most diligent about living a healthy lifestyle had a 27% lower risk of dying during the study period, compared with those who didn’t live a healthy lifestyle.

The miniaturization of electronics is leading to the development of next-generation devices to monitor health. People today are using various devices (typically smart watches) to measure their heart rate, the regularity of their heart rhythm, the quality of their sleep, their body temperature, and the levels of oxygen and sugar in their blood. And scientists are working on other devices—such as a thin strip of material that is pasted onto the skin—to constantly measure blood pressure, organ function, or certain body chemicals.

Many medications can affect sleep. These include prescription drugs as well as over-the-counter remedies. For example, decongestants, certain antidepressants, or beta blockers can make it hard to fall or stay asleep, and nicotine replacement medications can cause a person to have nightmares. Strategies to avoid drug-related sleep problems include taking the medication during the day, taking a lower dose, practicing good sleep hygiene (such as going to bed and waking up at the same time each day), or switching to a new medication.

Two main types of arthritis can affect the thumb and fingers. Osteoarthritis typically affects joints in the middle or end of the fingers or the base of the thumb. Rheumatoid arthritis more often affects the fingers’ middle joints or the joints that connect the fingers to the hand. Medications can halt or slow the progression of rheumatoid arthritis. There aren’t any drugs proven to halt or slow osteoarthritis. Using a splint or brace, using assistive devices (such as a shirt buttoner), and working with a certified hand therapist can help people cope with either type of arthritis.

People with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, a condition marked by trouble focusing and impulsive behavior, may be more likely to have cardiovascular disease that people without the disorder.