https://medicalxpress.com/healthy-aging-news/ en-us Latest health news and information about Healthy Aging Older people could be monitored safely in their own homes without the need for intrusive cameras or wearable devices thanks to new research by Nottingham Trent University (NTU). https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-elderly-people-independently-longer-home.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:20:13 EDT news710695741 The hip joint is a well-known point of failure in the human body, especially as we age. It's no wonder the problem is familiar: In the U.S. alone, someone fractures a hip roughly twice every minute; it happens 27 times a minute worldwide. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-endocrinologist-discusses-life-death-stakes.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 17:00:04 EDT news710684425 New research from the Bogalusa Heart Study has found that greater exposure to clinical obesity during young adulthood is associated with a greater burden of white matter changes in the brain by midlife, providing new insight into how metabolic health across the life span may influence brain health. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-life-clinical-obesity-linked-brain.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:00:09 EDT news710683081 Amid the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), a team led by researchers from Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has conducted what they describe as the most extensive systematic evaluation to date of associations between ADRD and nearly 200 environmental exposures—from pollution to diet to social connections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-environmental-exposures-alzheimer-disease-dementias.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:40:20 EDT news710679722 The timing of a hospital appointment does more than tell you when to see a doctor. It can also shape how you get there. For some older patients, an early appointment can fall before their free bus pass becomes valid. An unreliable bus service can mean having to leave much earlier than necessary. And an appointment at a specialist hospital rather than the one closest to home can turn a straightforward journey into one that involves several connections. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-hospital-greener-harder.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 14:00:53 EDT news710676242 Andrea Romanos-Nanclares, Ph.D., of the Channing Division of Network Medicine within the Department of Medicine at Mass General Brigham, is the lead author of a paper published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology, & Women's Health titled "The Nurses' Health Studies: a half-century of discovery in women's health." A. Heather Eliassen, ScD, of Mass General Brigham and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, is the senior author. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-women-health-reveal-lessons-disease.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 11:40:18 EDT news710673663 Osteoporosis weakens bones and makes them more likely to break. The disease affects about 10 million Americans over age 50, including one in five women. And those numbers are expected to rise as the share of Americans 65 and older climbs from 18.9% to 23.4% by 2060. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-qa-fda-decision-osteoporosis-drugs.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 10:20:01 EDT news710667481 Muscle health is linked to how well people recover from illness, maintain independence as they age and retain strength and function during weight loss. But it isn't always a central consideration in clinical nutrition. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-muscle-health-bigger-clinical-nutrition.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 09:40:29 EDT news710663701 Oxidized lipids—fats structurally altered by enzymes, oxygen or free radicals—are double-edged swords that can both quell and ignite systemic inflammation, according to a new comprehensive review aimed at sharpening the overall understanding of an intricate class of highly reactive molecules. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-rogue-lipids-routine-cellular-stress.html Thu, 08 Oct 2026 06:40:01 EDT news710594139 Skeletal muscles are capable of regenerating themselves following an injury, a process that depends on muscle stem cells. In healthy resting muscle, these cells are predominantly in a quiescent state. However, following an injury, they are activated, begin to proliferate and subsequently start to develop into specialized skeletal muscle cells (differentiation). These cells then fuse with one another or with existing muscle fibers, generating new or repaired muscle fibers. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-protein-lmod1-clues-muscle-regeneration.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 19:20:01 EDT news710609761 Population surveys and research studies suggest that meaningful social connections are strong predictors of health and longevity. In other words, a sense of belonging to a social group and strong social bonds appear to be linked with better health and a longer lifespan. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-linked-younger-adult-brains-accounting.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 13:20:15 EDT news710594129 Marianne Blake has lived in the same home for nearly half a century. She plays bridge regularly, drives to her hair appointments and, at 88 years old, enjoys her independence. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-clinical-trial-ai-medication-device.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 12:20:01 EDT news710590682 Early detection of cognitive impairment can connect patients with evaluation and treatment sooner, but many screening methods are difficult to incorporate into routine primary care. A study led by Regenstrief Institute research scientist Arthur Owora, Ph.D., MPH, evaluated a scalable approach that combines electronic health record data with a brief patient questionnaire to identify patients who may benefit from further cognitive assessment. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-early-cognitive-impairment-primary.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:20:01 EDT news710586782 People were about 19 percentage points less likely to recommend life-sustaining treatment for a seriously ill patient with dementia than for a patient without dementia, even when an advance directive requested life-sustaining care, according to new research from the University of Colorado Anschutz. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-survey-life-sustaining-patients-dementia.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:00:29 EDT news710494142 A new study led by University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers finds that adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face a significantly higher risk of developing dementia or mild cognitive impairment later in life. The research, published today in JAMA Psychiatry, also found that people who carry a higher genetic risk for ADHD face a greater chance of cognitive decline even without a documented diagnosis. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-health-link-adhd-fourfold-higher.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 11:00:07 EDT news710519701 New treatments that can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease could provide significant lifetime benefits to patients and society, with even greater benefits when initiated earlier, according to new research from the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-alzheimer-treatment-earlier-benefits-patients.html Wed, 07 Oct 2026 09:00:01 EDT news710577541 Cleaning kitchens and bathrooms, operating heavy machinery, carrying out agricultural work and performing repair and maintenance tasks: These are some of the activities that new research associates with poorer health later in life. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-physically-intense-health-index-burden.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 15:40:06 EDT news710516221 As extreme heat events become more frequent and severe across the United States, older adults face growing health risks that extend far beyond discomfort, according to a new policy analysis published in Public Policy & Aging Report. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-analysis-underscores-threat-extreme-older.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 12:20:09 EDT news710503681 Imagine your mom has just been discharged from the hospital to a rehabilitation center after hip replacement surgery. She has the paperwork, the facility's address—and a long list of questions. Will her insurance cover her entire rehab stay? Does she have enough pain medication until she gets settled? Will the hospital transfer her prescriptions? Are they accurate? https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-professional-patient-advocate.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:20:18 EDT news710501582 Our birthdays tell us how long we have lived, but not necessarily how our bodies are aging. Biological age reflects the condition and function of our cells and tissues, shaped by genetics, lifestyle, environment and disease. In people with chronic conditions such as cancer, kidney disease and heart disease, researchers have observed signs of aging that appear earlier than expected for a person's age. This is known as accelerated biological aging. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-biological-aging-clues-term-health.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:40:01 EDT news710499301 People who are overweight or obese when they are diagnosed with dementia are likely to live longer than those in a normal weight range, according to a new study by Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and NYU School of Global Public Health. The findings suggest that weight status at the time of a dementia diagnosis may provide meaningful prognostic information about survival and underscore the need for greater attention to nutrition among those with dementia. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-obesity-link-death-dementia-importance.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:20:02 EDT news710496961 A new global definition of clinical obesity classifies far fewer children as obese than widely used body mass index (BMI) thresholds, according to a large international study. The findings could lead to changes in how childhood obesity is identified and managed. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-childhood-obesity-common-health-based.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 10:10:01 EDT news710494201 Dr. Brent Tipping, a geriatrician at Wits Donald Gordon Medical Center (WDGMC), says that hearing loss more than doubles the odds of dementia, with visual impairment (both near and far) also elevating the risk. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-loss-earlier-attention-dementia.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 09:40:07 EDT news710494381 No one likes to feel left out of the conversation—including people living with dementia. Sometimes, all it takes is a little extra thought to make sure everyone feels included. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-reminisce-people-dementia.html Tue, 06 Oct 2026 08:00:12 EDT news710488382 A terracotta-tiled village in the mountains of Sardinia may offer researchers a rare opportunity to uncover the secrets of exceptional longevity. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-sardinian-village-longevity-hotspot.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 17:40:01 EDT news710438402 Two new studies highlight how communication gaps can complicate efforts to protect vulnerable users of technologies such as social media and AI chatbots. Researchers will present the work at the 29th ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW 2026), held Oct. 1–14 in Salt Lake City. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-social-media-safety-messaging-ai.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 16:40:02 EDT news710430901 For millions of people, osteoarthritis slowly breaks down the joints, bringing pain, swelling and stiffness that make free movement harder with time. It is largely a condition of age, with 73% of those living with it older than 55. For years, the wear and tear that comes with aging and physical trauma was considered a major driver of the disease. A recent study published in Science, however, points to a metabolic disease that is also highly common among this demographic as a contributing factor in osteoarthritis progression. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-high-blood-pressure-osteoarthritis-joint.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:20:12 EDT news710416649 Pain may not increase linearly with age, with the sharpest rises occurring before age 55, according to a global analysis of more than 6 million people published in Nature Medicine. The findings could help researchers compare pain across populations and improve global pain monitoring and prevention. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-women-pain-men-global-analysis.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 14:40:04 EDT news710425322 Gait is a fundamental activity of daily living and can reflect multiple aspects of physical and cognitive function in older individuals. Slower gait speed is commonly associated with frailty, a condition in which the body has a reduced ability to withstand stressors. Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which involves a decline in cognitive function without a major loss of independence in daily activities, is also associated with slower gait. However, because frailty and MCI often occur together, it has remained unclear whether the association between MCI and gait speed is independent of physical function. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-frailty-mild-cognitive-impairment-linked.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:40:07 EDT news710420282 As we grow older, our bodies accumulate "zombie cells"—living cells that have stopped dividing or functioning normally but linger in our tissues, contributing to chronic inflammation and age-related diseases. A new study led by Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers and published in Nature Aging helps explain why these cells, formally known as senescent cells, become increasingly difficult to eliminate. The research also points to a potential strategy for helping the body rid itself of these cells. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-10-zombie-cells-accumulate-age.html Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:00:27 EDT news710416501