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Geriatric palliative care news

Waist circumference, not BMI, can predict mortality in older adults

In a Journal of the American Geriatrics Society analysis of nationally representative data from 6,905 U.S. adults age 65 or older followed from 2011 to 2024, higher body mass index (BMI) was associated with lower mortality ...

Racism directly shapes and intensifies how people experience grief, study finds

Racism directly affects how people experience grief and bereavement, according to the largest study of its kind. Bereavement services must adapt to be anti-racist, avoid making assumptions based on race and accommodate individual ...

Chronic pain is missing from America's heat warnings

When a heat wave arrives, the public health advice follows a familiar script: Drink water, watch for heat stroke, check on people with heart or lung conditions. That list saves lives. But it leaves out something that shapes ...

Poor housing conditions can raise fall risk for older adults

Older adults living in homes with electrical or plumbing problems, insufficient space or poor lighting are more likely to experience a fall, according to a new study published Aug. 5, 2026, in the open-access journal PLOS ...

One in six hospital beds filled by dementia patients

The study is the most comprehensive review of dementia hospitalizations ever undertaken in the UK. The researchers outline how delayed discharges, lack of communication among NHS staff and hospital environments unsuitable ...

The potential problems of living longer: Q&A

Many scientists are trying to determine just how much medical intervention can lengthen the human lifespan. But Daniel Promislow, senior scientist and scientific advisor at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center ...

Three medical routines that older people may not need

Enough time had passed since the patient's previous colonoscopy that she met the criteria to undergo another, said Dr. Steven Itzkowitz, a gastroenterologist at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York.

UK heat risk leaves vulnerable people dangerously exposed

Older people, care home residents and those living in poor-quality housing are facing growing danger from extreme heat, as new research warns that the UK is failing to protect those most at risk. The work is published in ...

How advance directives may affect end-of-life care

Advance directives document patient preferences for future care, including end-of-life. An analysis in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society has found that older patients with an advance directive that had been uploaded ...

Routine coastal flooding could become deadly for older adults

Routine high-tide flooding in coastal communities could lead to thousands of deaths among older adults by the end of the century, according to a new study co-authored by Florida State University researcher Mathew Hauer. Published ...

Heavy caring responsibilities may hasten cognitive decline

Onerous caring responsibilities reduce brain function for people aged 50 and over, whereas light caring duties can actually be beneficial to middle-aged and older people's mental abilities, finds a new study led by University ...

Simple home test predicts mobility decline in older adults

Predicting whether a healthy 45-year-old will struggle to climb stairs or walk a decade later has long been a challenge for geriatric medicine. Now, a study published in JMIR Aging, reveals that early mobility decline can ...