Mortality

As you may recall from previous years, April 16th has been declared National Healthcare Decisions Day. For those unfamiliar, this day is set aside to encourage us all to think about and document our wishes about medical treatments we would- or would not- want during a serious illness or at…

With spring approaching, you may be thinking about the return of warmer weather. But the evidence is growing and getting more alarming with each passing year when it comes to hot weather. We know from NASA that 2024 was the warmest year on record for the world, with 15 consecutive…

There’s no getting around the reality that for so many older adults, loneliness continues to be an overbearing part of everyday life. As we have noted in previous posts, even if you have contact with other people and you’re not socially isolated, you may still experience profound loneliness (the subjective…

We can (almost) all agree that climate change is wreaking havoc on our planet: More volatile and dangerous weather patterns, more erosion of waterfront land, more temperature extremes, and, as we’ve recently witnessed in California, more dangerous wildfires in inhabited places. And that’s not even addressing the land, water, and…

There’s just no getting around the fact that as an older adult, you are at risk of falling and potentially causing serious injury to yourself. The reasons for falling are numerous and complex (everything from balance problems to vision or hearing issues, to weak muscles or problematic medications), but the…

You’re likely aware of the threat that extreme heat poses to older adults. What you may not realize is that cold weather, especially extremes like the polar vortex many of us have experienced this winter, can also pose a serious threat to humans, especially older adults.  In fact, there’s new…