New Study Says High Heat Where We Live Accelerates Aging
Longevity has become a popular buzzword in anti-aging conversations, including those related to real estate. Simply put, this approach asks how the places where we live can help us stay young, energetic and vibrant. The key, according to a recent study conducted by the University of Southern California's Leonard Davis School of Gerontology, may lie in real estate's long-standing mantra: Location, location, location!
'People in neighborhoods that experience more days of high heat show faster aging at the molecular level than residents of cooler regions,' reported gerontology and sociology professor Jennifer Ailshire, the study's lead author. So, what should you look for when selecting a new neighborhood for your 'forever' home, particularly if you're looking in the Sunbelt?
Living in an area with more heat days ages you faster on a biological level, the study reveals. These changes could happen relatively quickly – maybe your first summer in your new neighborhood – and could accumulate over time. 'This correlation persisted even after controlling for socioeconomic and other demographic differences, as well as lifestyle factors such as physical activity, alcohol consumption and smoking,' the study's co-author, postdoctoral student Eunyoung Choi, noted.
The study team looked at 3,600 participants aged 56 and older from across the country over a six-year period. Using blood samples, they looked for changes in how individual genes impact biological age at each time point, comparing them to their location's heat index reports 0f 'Caution' levels (80°F to 90°F), 'Extreme Caution' levels (90°F and 103°F), and 'Danger' levels (103°F and 124°F).
Sunbelt states have long attracted older adults, both for their warmer weather, more affordable housing prices and, frequently, tax advantages and family proximity. According to the Census, this trend continues, with Texas and Florida experiencing the largest numeric gains from 2023 to 2024. Arizona, Georgia, both Carolinas and Georgia are also in the top 10 for numeric growth in that timeframe. While high heat can (and does) hit many areas in the country, you're likeliest to experience more of it in the regions chosen for their historically warmer weather.
So, what should you do if San Antonio, Sedona or Sarasota are your relocation ideals? Look for neighborhoods with plentiful trees and vegetation, experts suggest. These have a cooling effect and can reduce the impact of heat. A real estate professional with deep neighborhood knowledge can guide you to these areas. Also look at community and home amenities with an eye toward coverings, fans, misting and water access. If they're not present currently, what would adding one or more of them to your property cost?
These features should also be factored into any new construction or remodeling projects you have planned. As outdoor living has boomed across all home levels, from production to custom, covered spaces have dramatically increased too. Motorized louvered roof systems are one of the most popular approaches, giving flexibility to address heat with opened and closed options. Awnings and fixed coverings can help too if a louvered system isn't feasible. So do window coverings that can be automated to close during the hottest times of day to keep the home's interior cooler. In July 2022, I shared a 'Beat the Heat' article with Forbes.com readers offering more solutions that are still relevant.
If you're building a new home, adding on or replacing a roof, the Environmental Protection Agency suggests using a cool or green roof. Cool roof materials are highly reflective and emissive. Green roof systems use vegetation. Writing on its website, the agency says: 'Both cool and green roofs provide benefits of lower surface and air temperatures, and decreased energy demand.' It notes that a green roof costs more upfront but typically lasts longer.
With specific regard to green roof benefits, the EPA cites improved human health and comfort, 'Green roofs, by reducing heat transfer through the building roof, can improve indoor comfort, and lower the incidence of heat stress associated with heat waves.'
You can – and should – create a cooling landscape for your home to beat the heat. You're definitely going to want to use native plants that are adapted to the local environment and reduce water use and maintenance. Moana Nursery with three locations in Nevada, suggests planting shade trees around your home, using shrubs and ground covers to reduce heat reflection from hard surfaces like pavers and minimizing hardscape, layering your plants to trap cool air and provide shade at different height levels, creating planted windbreaks to direct cooling breezes toward your home, adding water features, and offering a range of other helpful ideas on a beat the heat section of its website.
It turns out that those charming older neighborhoods with canopies of shade trees that have long attracted home buyers have longevity benefits as well. They may not exist where you're home shopping, or where you currently live, but creating cooler shade areas outdoors on your property and keeping your home's interior cooler can increase both your comfort and lifespan.
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USA Today
19 hours ago
- USA Today
People living with Alzheimer's ‒ and their caregivers ‒ need more than hope
I hope my film sparks a conversation not just about the search for a cure but also about the necessity to care ‒ honoring the people we love and the caregivers who ease their journeys. In June 2021, I was sitting in a small outside café in Stowe, Vermont. My husband and I were chatting with a lovely elderly Peruvian man sitting nearby. His name was Pedro. He had a character-rich face, a warm smile and a mischievous twinkle in his eye. I'm a casting director in Los Angeles, perpetually on the lookout for interesting faces, and my husband and I love meeting people and striking up conversations with strangers. Just as I was about to quiz Pedro more on his life, I got a phone call from a recruiter at the University of Southern California's Keck medical center about a new drug trial for Alzheimer's disease. My husband, Charlie Hess, was living with early onset Alzheimer's, and though you might not notice right away, the challenges were real. Living with Alzheimer's doesn't need to be a story of pure tragedy. It's a terrible disease ‒ a disease that should be much further along in developing treatments ‒ but because Alzheimer's is more invisible than, say, a person battling cancer, the disease has largely been ignored. This accelerated trial for the drug known as donanemab held the promise of slowing the progression of Alzheimer's by clearing the amyloid plaque that many view as a key driver of the disease. It's a more complex trajectory ‒ Alzheimer's is a multifactorial disease ‒ but clearing amyloid might be akin to prescribing statins for people with high cholesterol to help keep their arteries from clogging and causing a heart attack. The USC recruiter insisted this medication donanemab was much better than Aduhelm, a drug I was well aware of that got provisional accelerated approval later that summer in 2021 but was mired in controversies from the get-go. The Food and Drug Administration's expert outside advisers voted not to approve it for many reasons, and Aduhelm finally was removed from the market by Biogen in 2024, as the manufacturer turned its focus toward another Alzheimer's medication that showed more promise. But the jury is still out whether these drugs, which cost up to $32,000 a year, and lengthy infusion therapy will be the answer. There are significant risks for Alzheimer's patients, and issues of cost and access to consider. I was at a loss that June day four years ago. The infusion, given once every six weeks, might slow progression. And I thought, while Charlie was still talking to Pedro, that in a year Charlie might lose conversations like this. The recruiter pressed me: Charlie was on their short list, and if we didn't decide in 24 hours, it would be gone. My stomach tightened. My mind kept thinking, 'If not now, when?' Families living with Alzheimer's are at a tipping point We said goodbye to Pedro. I looked Charlie in the eye and told him we had gotten a 'golden ticket' ‒ a spot in a trial for a new drug ‒ and we had to decide immediately. My husband was clear in his thinking and calm in his delivery. 'Why would we rush back to LA for a drug that is only a pile of promises?' Charlie said. 'I feel way better here in nature, slowing down. We have great doctors. If this drug proves to be the one, I'm sure you'll find a way to get me back in. The only thing I know is that nobody knows what to do with this, and we just have to keep living.' Opinion: Is it Alzheimer's or am I just getting old? Here's how to find an answer. Charlie sometimes struggles for words, but then suddenly finds clarity and speaks directly. That June in 2021, he did just that, and I think he was right. In February 2025, in a New York Times opinion column, journalist Charles Piller raised alarm about fraud and controversy in Alzheimer's research. His book, "Doctored: Fraud, Arrogance, and Tragedy in the Quest to Cure Alzheimer's," sent shock waves across the Alzheimer's community. It's a messy story, and I do not think all researchers are cooking their studies. Even so, drug companies certainly have a huge financial incentive, and we ‒ caregivers and people living with Alzheimer's ‒ are at a tipping point. What Alzheimer's looks like from the inside There may be more drugs approved in the future that are worth pursuing for some, but the risks are high, the costs are staggering, and the resources we put toward selling hope could undermine health care for everyone. Hope itself is perhaps the most powerful drug of all, but it won't cure Alzheimer's. We need a cure, but we also need to rethink the narrative. It's time we fund caregiver supports, and find a way to help people live with dignity and compassion alongside their disease. It's time we recognized that Alzheimer's doesn't just affect a person ‒ it profoundly impacts the whole family. Opinion: Dementia care for families has an unexpected ally ‒ you My own experience with Alzheimer's and this ongoing journey alongside Charlie profoundly influenced me to make "Walk With Me," a documentary that traces our life together and the quiet, intimate struggles of caregiving. The film is a deeply personal view into what Alzheimer's looks like from the inside ‒ not just for the person living with it, but also for the family that bears it alongside them. "Walk With Me" will be screening on Tuesday, July 29, in Toronto, Canada, in the same week that more than 10,000 people will be gathered there at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference to discuss new research, care options and more. I will be at the Toronto conference with my hopes up. But what I fear most is that what the drug companies will be selling is not a cure yet but rather another hope. While hope is a powerful drug, we are due for a reality check. We need to learn to live better by strengthening caregiver supports ‒ this vast, unpaid workforce that underpins much of health care today. My hope is that my film sparks a conversation not just about the search for a cure but also about the necessity to care ‒ honoring the people we love and the caregivers who make their journeys more human and compassionate. According to Statistics Canada, 4 in 10 Canadians ages 15 or older provide unpaid care, amounting to more than $97 billion in annual economic value. In the United States, 1 in 5 Americans provide unpaid care, valued at over $470 billion a year. Let's stop selling hope and start funding better care for all. Heidi Levitt is a casting director in Los Angeles. Her documentary "Walk With Me" will be screening on July 29 at the TIFF Lightbox theater in Toronto, Canada. It is playing film festivals all over the United States and internationally with the goal to find distribution to play the film widely theatrically and online. Please check the website for updates.
Business Insider
2 days ago
- Business Insider
81 and working to survive
Noah Sheidlower spent two days following Lydia and Bill Hinds, a married couple of nearly 30 years, who say they're just scraping by in central Connecticut. He reviewed their financial records for this story. He also interviewed more than 90 workers in their 80s and 90s, and 30 researchers and nonprofit leaders focused on older Americans at work. This story is part of a series on people working past 80. Lydia Hinds, 81, collapses onto her red couch, takes a deep breath, and lets out a defeated yell. She just returned home from what was supposed to be a five-hour shift wiping down appliances and helping customers at a Home Depot in Berlin, Connecticut. In the first four hours, she paused several times to catch her breath, so she clocked out an hour early. "I feel trapped working, but I can't stop working," Lydia says, sitting up to cuddle her basset hound, Brigette. Her husband, Bill, gives her a kiss but lets her be. The 90-year-old would like to get a job to help Lydia pay the bills, but because of health problems, there's little he can do. "I feel so guilty that I can't work," Bill says. "You can't work because of your age and your health issues," Lydia snaps back. "There's no sense feeling guilty about it." A certificate for a regional award that Lydia received from Home Depot, praising her dedication to the job, sits on their coffee table. Since starting in 2022, she's received two promotions, despite being unable to climb ladders or lift heavy objects because of her heart failure diagnosis last year. In a photo attached to the award, she's smiling from ear to ear. Now, the best Lydia can muster is a muted grin. If she stopped working and lost her $300 weekly pay after taxes, she and Bill fear they couldn't afford rent. A few weeks back, they had 44 cents in savings. They weren't sure what they would eat for dinner. Three printed-out job applications for remote customer service positions lie near her award. She doubts she'll get further than one interview, but each application is a glimmer of hope. "What company would hire an 81-year-old?" Lydia asks. "Hopefully one of them." A better-paying, less intense job could give them the boost they've yearned for, especially as Lydia's weekly hours some weeks have been cut from 22 to 17. Lydia is one of over half a million Americans over the age of 80 who still work as managers, retail salespeople, lawyers, drivers, and other jobs — over 4% of the Silent Generation. That number has gone up to 4.2% from 3.6% in the last decade due to various factors making full retirement impossible or undesirable for a growing number of seniors, according to a Business Insider analysis of Census data. "We do know that the 75-plus demographic is the fastest growing segment of the workforce," says Carly Roszkowski, vice president of financial resilience at AARP. Americans age 75 and over are twice as likely to be in the workforce now as they were in the early 1990s, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Those in their 80s or older are part of the Silent Generation of Americans born between 1928 to 1945. They grew up against the economic backdrop of the Great Depression and World War II, and learned to be financially cautious after seeing what their parents endured. However, they didn't have access to the same kind of personal finance advice and tools that are prevalent today. In recent months, more than 90 workers aged 80 and older told Business Insider in interviews how health challenges, loneliness, and increased cost of living all play into their decision to work at their age. Over a dozen say all they could find were minimum-wage jobs, and many work despite medical diagnoses. The financial strain bleeds into their relationships with spouses and children, and exacerbates a pervasive feeling of isolation. Right now, the Hindses take in $4,600 a month from their Social Security, Bill's pension from a TV station in Connecticut, and Lydia's monthly wages. Monthly rent for their one-bedroom apartment in a 55-plus development is $1,400, their car payment is $625 a month, their car insurance is $236 a month, and their Medicare combined is $426 a month. On top of that, they have emergency medical expenses, medications, grocery and gas bills, and utilities. They're left with close to nothing at the end of the month. "I keep thinking, 'What happened that we can't go out?'" Lydia says of the couple's social life. "But the rent's gone up, and it's eaten up most of the Social Security money. We're in deep trouble." Business Insider's '80 over 80' series draws on interviews with more than 80 people who are working past their 80th birthdays about their careers, retirement planning, living expenses, healthcare, and life lessons. Fill out this form to contribute to the series and read more here: How these 80-somethings are stitching together work, savings, and Social Security to get through the month The anti-aging secret these 80-somethings swear by: work Meet the 90-somethings with lessons to share on life, work, and money I'm 88, still working, and living with my stepdaughter. I lost most of the half a million I saved, but I still feel fulfilled. I'm 85 and don't have retirement savings — but I'm not too worried about it Healthy enough to work into their 80s Bill and Lydia say their financial mistakes were ones anyone could make. They never gambled, their investments weren't too risky, and they worked in decently paid jobs their entire careers. Still, some miscalculations, unavoidable health issues, and poor timing have put them in a wobbly financial situation. "Every month when it's time for my Social Security check, I get really tense. I'm so afraid it's not going to come," Lydia says. "If we don't get that, we're out of here. We're on the street." The number of cost-burdened households — those that spend more than 30% of their income on housing expenses — age 65 and older has steadily risen since the early 2000s. Research from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University found that among adults age 75 and older who live alone in metro areas, only 13% could pay for assisted living without having to dig into their assets. "I wish I had saved just $20 a week in my retirement account all those years ago," Lydia whispered during her shift. Even a small nest egg would relieve her stress. She has under $1,000 left in her 401(k) from Home Depot, down from nearly $10,000 at its peak, as she pulled out money twice for medical and day-to-day costs. In 2022, Bill and Lydia needed additional income. During the pandemic, they'd both suffered from health issues, including Bill breaking his leg, which kept them from working. They relied solely on Social Security, Bill's small pension of $335 a month from his time at the local TV station in advertising sales, and some savings. But when they couldn't sustain their lifestyle anymore that year, Lydia drove down the road to the closest Home Depot and applied for a job. Home Depot hired her at $16 an hour in the electrical department. She was 79. "I loved it at first, and I still enjoy my customers," Lydia says. "But when I started there, I didn't know I had heart failure." When Lydia noticed tasks like sewing curtains and gardening knocked her out, a doctor found that her heart was not pumping nearly enough blood. At work each day, she's expected to clean appliances, keep aisles tidy, and help customers with their needs for $19.55 an hour. Still, she kept her sense of humor. "When I got the echocardiogram, I joked with the doctors and told them, 'I forgot to tell you I'm pregnant,'" Lydia says. "They got a big laugh out of that." As her condition worsened, she would have to catch her breath just from walking down an aisle. Conversations with customers and coworkers, who call her "Ms. Lydia," keep her ignited. She says she's thankful that Home Depot has given her time off with pay, as part of her sick leave benefits, to go to doctors' appointments. She used Connecticut's paid family medical leave for six weeks because of her heart failure diagnosis. Home Depot didn't respond to a request for comment for this story. Lydia isn't alone in her battle between work and health. Similar circumstances have pushed many of those who are healthy enough to continue working. Others in her position may need the income, but aren't physically able to work. Beth Truesdale, a research fellow at the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, says a "shocking number of people" are pushed out of the labor force in their 50s and 60s, let alone their 70s and 80s. The percentage of people who are working drops sharply starting around age 51, across all genders and education levels. Truesdale's calculations from 2020 showed a roughly 20-point fall in the percentage of people working at age 61 compared to 51. That's not mainly because of early retirements, she says. It's because of factors like poor health, caregiving responsibilities, and physically demanding roles. Dozens of older Americans told BI over the last year that they had no choice but to retire earlier after a diagnosis or injury. Many rely solely on Social Security, which is about $2,000 monthly on average. Lydia's coworker, Tony Sparveri, 80, works for a similar reason as her. He started part-time at Home Depot two decades ago in the gardening department before transitioning to a full-time kitchen and bath design consultant. He's not on his feet all day, and says the work makes him feel youthful. He earns more than Lydia and works mostly for financial reasons, as taxes on his home and rising costs have burdened him and his wife. "Mentally and physically, I feel really good, and that's a blessing," Sparveri says. Still, he's concerned that many older people will continue to be hurt by rising prices and economic uncertainty. "People are suffering, and I don't want to put myself in that position." Love keeps them going through financial ups and downs One afternoon, Lydia searches every nook and cranny of the apartment in search of a CD by Bill's former jazz ensemble, recorded in 1996 with jazz pianist Bill Mays. He walks to a cabinet and pulls it out. She puts it into the CD player and starts dancing, humming the melody to the first track. Bill looks on with a slight smile. He started playing piano when he was 3, performed with a swing jazz band, and hosted an FM jazz radio show in Austin. "Most of those people are dead," Bill says of his old bandmates. "Well, you're not," Lydia quips. Bill and Lydia have lived in their current apartment for six of their nearly 30 years of marriage. This is Bill's second and Lydia's third marriage, and each has children from previous spouses. Lydia lost much of her savings in her 40s when her second husband abruptly closed one of the successful office and mail service stores they started together. He declared bankruptcy very shortly after. "It all went down the tubes," she recalls, noting she was able to get a previous job back shortly after. "I still don't know how I got through that." They didn't know each other at the time, but while Lydia was recovering from that financial setback, Bill was making $90,000 a year from performances and his work at the TV station. Lydia met Bill through a dating service in 1995. He picked her up for their first date in a white limousine, wearing a camel-hair coat. "I was going on dates with three women at the time, but when I saw her, I dropped them all," Bill says. "He had glasses three times bigger than he needed, which I took care of," Lydia jokes. Like any marriage, theirs has had its ups and downs. After a brief stint in Florida, they returned to Connecticut and spent most of their savings on a house that required more repairs than they had expected. Lydia had moved on from the now-closed mail stores and was working as a real estate agent, but says she rarely made enough money to be comfortable. Bill had left the TV station in 1994 to focus on his band and was playing at weddings, teaching piano lessons, and selling pianos. They had been able to save a little throughout their career, but never enough to think they could retire. "We put almost all of our money into that house," Lydia says. She says they bought it for $185,000 in 2002 and spent more than $100,000 on renovations. "It looked a lot better, and we figured we'd flip it and do OK." Then the 2008 recession hit "like a ton of bricks," Bill says. At the time, they had $75,000 invested in the market, but as the market fell, they pulled from their account to pay for their increased mortgage and property taxes. The couple hoped they'd get some money out of the home they'd renovated. But they defaulted on their mortgage in 2015, and a forced sale brought only $115,000. They filed for bankruptcy. The income from a side business Lydia had started to help people downsize their homes, and the piano lessons that Bill gave, weren't enough. They were among the more than 10 million Americans who lost their homes due to the Great Recession. The S&P 500 took over five years to fully bounce back after dropping more than half its value from its high in 2007 to its lowest point in 2009. For thousands of households approaching retirement age, this meant working longer after their savings shriveled. "I take a lot of responsibility. We've made mistakes, but also, who knew a recession was coming?" Bill says. "We all make mistakes, honey," Lydia says. While Americans on average are saving close to the recommended 15% of their income for retirement, many in their 80s and 90s grew up before financial education and 401(k)s were prevalent. Not saving enough was a common regret among the over 3,800 older Americans who shared with BI their retirement regrets and what aspects of their lives they would redo if they had the chance. Maura Porcelli, a senior director at the National Council on Aging, says the organization "saw people who thought they had done their due diligence in planning for retirement, the sort who thought their monthly budgets were going to be sufficient, who had all those hopes dashed." "We know that a good number of older adults are susceptible to a major life event that can knock out a major chunk of their savings," she says. According to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, the bottom fifth of households headed by someone 75 and older had a net worth of about $75,000 in 2022, including equity built up in their homes. For now, the Hindses are bracing for another life-shattering event. "If I lose her, I don't know what I'm going to do," Bill says. "She feels the same way." Working to survive and holding on to each other Some days after work, Lydia sits at her computer and applies for any job she could reasonably do. She tries to appear as sprightly as possible in her applications, sometimes emphasizing how she graduated from the University of Hartford mid-career in 1994. Though she omits her age from her résumé, she suspects that employers have been able to tell, preventing her from landing anything higher-paying than Home Depot. To counter her many rejections, she started building an online business selling funny gift cards, bags, and clothes. She hired a company to design her website, which cost a few hundred dollars. She works with a print-on-demand company to secure merchandise. She hopes it will take off enough that she can work fewer hours at Home Depot. There is little concrete data about the prevalence of potential ageism among workers in their 80s. Companies are prohibited from age discrimination against workers 40 and older per the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. Many of the dozens of workers BI spoke with say they suspected their age hindered their progress at work or hurt their job applications. "Managers are already thinking that 60 is too old, so there's little hope for someone who is much older," says Janine Vanderburg, who founded the anti-ageism nonprofit Changing the Narrative. "Many of the job boards for older workers are focused on lower-paid jobs where there's a demand. If you cannot pay your mortgage, your rent, whatever it is, and you need to work, it's better to do something than nothing." Though programs like the Senior Community Service Employment Program help lower-income Americans 55 and older get job training, the two dozen aging and work researchers and organization executives BI spoke to agreed there should be more resources for older Americans in the workplace. This could include more conversations with workplace leadership about advocating for older workers, more training on technology topics like AI, or local legislation codifying more protections against ageism. Lydia and Bill hope to move out of their apartment before their rent rises again. It's increased by nearly $300 a month since they moved in 2019, but they have nowhere to go. They're waiting for an open cottage at a nearby care facility, which would cost $1,650 for a one-bedroom unit, but they've rethought whether that would be feasible financially. "I want to be in a place where if something happens, we're still together — or at least we can visit each other easily," Lydia says. With all the financial strain, some days, Lydia wants to give up and say, "The hell with it." The couple attributes their longevity to their connection. They say they rarely fight, and when they do, it ends with laughs and comfort. "We're soulmates," Lydia remarks, pointing to Bill. Their relationship is vital because many people in their community, she says, are not well enough to live active lives. Plus, Lydia no longer speaks to her daughter after years of a souring relationship. Bill's relationship with his children is tighter. For his 90th birthday, most of his family flew to Connecticut. They're about to become great-grandparents. It's hard to maintain friends on a budget, Bill says. They've set aside some money to visit a friend on Cape Cod in October, and Bill has plans to see a film with a friend. One of the downsides of aging, he says, is losing friends left and right. Many have died, while others have drifted away. Their Christmas dinner table of 10 a few years ago has dwindled to just three. Amid financial frustrations and loneliness, they find moments of solace. Now and then, they drive the half hour to Hartford in their 2023 Hyundai Elantra for a concert or to the shore with their dog. But often, it's the little moments that distract them from their financial anxiety. For the first time in five years, Bill sits at the piano in their community's clubhouse. He strikes a few chords, cringing as the notes sound slightly too dissonant for his liking. "I have perfect pitch," Bill says. "When I shout, he can tell me what note it is," Lydia whips back. From memory, he plays selections from Claude Debussy's "Clair de Lune" and Frédéric Chopin's "Nocturnes," missing a note here and there to his frustration. Tears stream down Lydia's face as he serenades her with the out-of-tune piano. When he finishes a prelude, she hugs him tightly. It's moments like these that keep her going, she says, holding his hand on the walk back home. Once there, Lydia takes a green binder and places it on her coffee table. In it are 30 pages of notes in preparation for a September trip to New York City for Bill's 91st birthday. A dozen pages are devoted to receipts, directions, and other logistics, like a fancy Italian dinner at Carmine's and a $550-a-night hotel room on Broadway. But given their finances, they've canceled the dinner and are just doing a day trip without a hotel stay. They want to save for Lydia's birthday in August. "I wanted to do something special, but we can't swing it," Lydia says, grabbing a tissue to wipe her eye. "A lot of people don't make it to 91." One page sticks out. It's a receipt for the Broadway musical "Buena Vista Social Club": Two front-row balcony tickets cost her $700. She's paying $50 a month through November via a buy now, pay later app. Bill has long loved the music, and though the tickets were out of their budget, she says it's worth it. For just a day, they will feel wealthy. Nothing, not even the medical bills protruding from her desk, her dwindling paystubs, or a dozenth new medication, would get in the way of that.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Extreme heat is miserable and dangerous. It's also making us age faster
The soupy, smothering extreme heat that has scorched parts of the Northern Hemisphere this summer takes a hard toll on our bodies. It can make you feel nauseous, woozy and dehydrated. It can have pernicious health effects on multiple organs. But there's another, less well-known, impact of extreme heat: It makes you age faster. Prolonged exposure to soaring temperatures can cause a deterioration in our cells and tissues and speed up biological aging, according to a new and growing body of research. Chronological age refers to how long a person has lived, but biological — or 'epigenetic' — age measures how well our tissues and cells function. The difference between the two explains why sometimes someone's age does not seem to match their health and vitality. An accelerated biological age is the 'canary in the coal mine' for future risk of earlier onset of diseases such as cancer, dementia and diabetes, and early death, said Jennifer Ailshire, professor of gerontology and sociology at the University of Southern California Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. As climate change forces people to endure increasingly severe and longer lasting heat waves, scientists say there is an urgency to better understand the ways heat is slowly and silently undermining human health at a cellular level. How does heat accelerate aging? Our DNA is set at birth; it is the blueprint for how the body functions and cannot be changed. But the way DNA is expressed — the way this blueprint is carried out — can be affected by external factors that trigger chemical modifications that turn genes on or off like a light switch. External factors affecting these switches include behaviors, such as smoking and lack of exercise, as well as environmental factors, like heat. Heat stresses the body, making it work harder as it tries to cool down, which can damage cells. While a little bit of heat stress can be good for the body, helping increase resilience, prolonged exposure taxes the body over extended periods and can have long-term consequences. Research on animals has pointed to strong associations between heat and accelerated aging but, until recently, there were very few studies that looked at humans. Ailshire is one of the scientists trying to change that. She and another researcher, Eunyoung Choi, published the first population-scale research into this area in February. They analyzed blood samples taken from a group of more than 3,600 people across the United States aged 56 and above. They used tools called 'epigenetic clocks,' which capture the way DNA is modified and provide an estimate of biological age. They then linked this to daily climate data in participants' locations in the years before the blood samples were taken. Their results, published in February, found people who experienced at least 140 extreme heat days a year — when the heat index, a combination of temperature and humidity, was above 90 degrees Fahrenheit — aged up to 14 months faster than those in locations with less than 10 extreme heat days a year. This link between heat and biological aging remained even when taking into account individual factors such as exercise levels and income, although the study did not look at access to air conditioning or time spent outside. The strength of the association was significant, too. The results showed extreme heat had the same impact on aging as smoking or heavy alcohol use. Their findings are supported by other recent research. A 2023 study of more than 2,000 people in Germany found medium- and long-term exposure to heat was linked to accelerated biological aging. The impacts were particularly pronounced in women, who can be more vulnerable to heat as they tend to sweat less, meaning it's harder for them to cool down. People with diabetes or obesity were also more at risk, the study found. The effects can even start before birth. A 2024 study looked at accelerated biological aging in children in Kenya who were exposed to drought as fetuses. During pregnancy, their mothers endured heat, as well as dehydration and emotional distress. These factors can cause stress at a cellular level that needs to be repaired, which means less energy is available for other vital functions, potentially leading to accelerated aging, the study found. Heat stress can also reduce blood flow to the uterus and placenta. 'So we see an impact on growth that includes lower birth weights and an overall harder start to life — all of which can be reflected in faster biological aging,' said Bilinda Straight, a study author and a professor at the School of Environment, Geography, and Sustainability at Western Michigan University. What can people do? Thiese findings do not mean that everyone living in hot places will experience accelerated aging, Ailshire said. Each person has their own risk factors and there are ways to adapt. Access to cooling and avoiding exercise in the hottest parts of the day are important. Better nutrition, more exercise (in the cool parts of the day) and medication can also help, she added. Scientists have found drugs including metformin, prescribed for diabetes, and weight-loss medication Ozempic could slow aging. If people can change or find ways to adapt to their heat exposure levels, it may be possible to slow or reverse the accelerated aging process, Ailshire said. 'Because that's not permanent damage; it's an indicator of the potential for permanent damage. It doesn't necessarily signify that this damage has been done.' The area of study is very new. 'We are just at the start of understanding this process, particularly in humans,' Rongbin Xu, a research fellow at the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University in Australia. But as places warm up, and heat records continue to be smashed, scientists are going to have a lot more data about the myriad ways heat affects our bodies — and who is most vulnerable. 'If we can't do anything about rising temperatures, then at a minimum, we need to be increasing awareness and finding strategies,' Ailshire said. 'There has to be a way that we can get through this.' Solve the daily Crossword
