Latest news with #JosefCoresh
Miami Herald
17-05-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Hearing aids effectively combat seniors' loneliness, study says
May 13 (UPI) -- Could loneliness occur for some older folks because they can't hear well enough to maintain essential social connections? Hearing aids appear to be an effective method of countering an epidemic of loneliness among U.S. seniors, a new study says. Seniors given hearing aids retained more friends than others who weren't provided the devices, researchers reported Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine. Folks with hearing aids retained an average of one additional person in their social network over three years, compared to a group only provided tips on healthy aging, researchers report. "These results support efforts to incorporate hearing aid coverage into Medicare as a means of addressing the nation's social isolation epidemic, which is especially risky for the elderly," said co-principal investigator Dr. Josef Coresh, a professor of population health at NYU Langone Health in New York City. "Making sure Americans can continue engaging with their family and friends as they age is a critical part of maintaining their quality of life," Coresh added in a news release. More than a quarter of seniors say they have little to no contact with others, and a third report feeling lonely, researchers said in background notes. In 2023, then-U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a report warning of an epidemic of loneliness and isolation in America that has contributed to health problems like tobacco use, obesity and addiction, researchers said. Loneliness and hearing loss also have been linked to depression, heart disease, cognitive decline and early death, researchers said. Two-thirds of seniors 70 and older suffer from hearing loss, researchers noted. Hearing plays a vital role in communication and social connection, and people who are hard of hearing might struggle to maintain relationships. For the clinical trial, researchers tracked nearly 1,000 men and women with hearing loss in Maryland, North Carolina, Minnesota and Mississippi. Half of the participants ages 70 through 84 were provided hearing aids, as well as counseling sessions and personalized instruction from an audiologist. When necessary, they also were provided tools like adaptors that connect hearing aids to televisions. The other half were given advice on healthy aging such as exercise tips and strategies for communicating with health care providers, but no hearing aids or hearing assistance, the study says. Researchers measured the participants' social isolation by tracking how regularly they spent time with others and assessing the size and variety of their social networks. Before the study, participants in both groups reported feeling equally lonely, researchers said. Three years later, loneliness scores had improved slightly among those who'd received hearing aids, but slightly worsened among those who hadn't, results show. "Our findings add to evidence that helping aging patients hear better can also enrich their social lives and boost their mental and physical well-being," lead researcher Nicholas Reed, an audiologist with the NYU Grossman School of Medicine's Optimal Aging Institute, said in a news release. Hearing aids and audiology appointments cost an average $4,700, which is usually paid out of pocket, Coresh noted. Researchers plan to continue following the participants for another three years, and to repeat the clinical trial in a more diverse group of patients, Coresh said. Coresh noted that participants received hearing care that was more responsive to patients' needs than is typically offered to the public. For example, damaged hearing aids were replaced within days rather than weeks. More information The Hearing Loss Association of America has more on social strategies for hearing loss. Copyright © 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Copyright 2025 UPI News Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Common aging symptom could worsen loneliness in seniors
Addressing hearing loss in the elderly could help alleviate the growing loneliness epidemic among senior citizens, according to a report from SWNS. A new study led by researchers at NYU Langone Health found that providing hearing aids and guidance on their use may help preserve vital social connections that often diminish with age, which could reduce feelings of isolation. Music Conductor With Parkinson's Sees Symptoms Improve With Deep Brain Stimulation The study, one of the largest of its kind, gathered data on older adults with untreated hearing loss from four states: Maryland, North Carolina, Minnesota and Mississippi. The researchers tracked two groups: one received hearing aids, counseling and personalized audiology support, while the other was provided with education on healthy aging, SWNS reported. To measure social isolation, the researchers evaluated the frequency of social interactions, the size and diversity of participants' networks, and the depth of their relationships. Read On The Fox News App Alzheimer's Rates Have Reached Staggering Number As Experts Call For Change Before the intervention, both groups reported similar levels of loneliness. Three years later, participants who received hearing care saw their loneliness scores improve slightly, while those who did not receive treatment reported worsening feelings of isolation, per SWNS. Those treated for hearing loss retained one additional social connection on average over a three-year period compared with those who received no hearing therapies and were instead educated about healthy aging. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter Participants given hearing aids were also found to have more diverse relationships with many different types of connections, such as family members, friends and acquaintances, as SWNS reported. They also maintained deeper, higher-quality bonds than those who were not treated for hearing loss. "Our findings add to evidence that helping aging patients hear better can also enrich their social lives and boost their mental and physical well-being," said Professor Nicholas Reed, the study's lead author from the NYU Grossman School of Medicine's Optimal Aging Institute, as reported by SWNS. Loneliness and hearing loss have both been linked to serious health concerns, including depression, heart disease and premature death, the expert noted. A previous 2023 report showed that hearing interventions may also slow cognitive decline among those at highest risk for dementia. Co-principal investigator Professor Josef Coresh added, "Making sure people can continue engaging with their family and friends as they age is a critical part of maintaining their quality of life." For more Health articles, visit The researchers plan to continue following the study participants for another three years, and will also aim to diversify the study group, they noted. "These results support efforts to incorporate hearing aid coverage into Medicare as a means of addressing the nation's social isolation epidemic, which is especially dangerous for the elderly," said Coresh, according to the article source: Common aging symptom could worsen loneliness in seniors
Los Angeles Times
11-02-2025
- Health
- Los Angeles Times
LA Times Today: United States dementia risk to double by 2060
A new study shows that as Americans live longer, our risk for dementia is rising. The new numbers are almost twice as high as previously thought. What does that mean for patients and for society? Dr. Josef Coresh, director of the Optimal Aging Institute at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, led that study and joined Lisa McRee to share what he's found.
Voice of America
10-02-2025
- Health
- Voice of America
How to Lower Your Risk of Dementia Starting in Middle Age
New research suggests the risk of Americans developing dementia over a lifetime may be much higher than once thought. A new study predicts about one million Americans will likely develop the disease each year by 2060. That is about twice the number of people estimated in earlier studies. The new finding is based on a large study involving a team from major U.S. medical centers and other research organizations. It recently appeared in the publication Nature Medicine. The study found that after age 55, people face up to a 42 percent chance of developing dementia, if they live long enough. The research showed the risk of dementia is highest after age 75. But the good news is that there are steps people can take to reduce the risks. One of them is controlling high blood pressure and other conditions, such as diabetes or being severely overweight, meaning obese. Health experts advise everyone, even those in middle age, to take steps to avoid such problems. Dr. Josef Coresh of NYU Langone Health was a lead writer of the study. He told The Associated Press, "All of our research suggests what you do in midlife really matters.' What is Dementia? It can be quite common for older people to take longer to remember a name or where they placed certain objects. But research on dementia suggests it is not a normal part of aging. Rather, the disease is a progressive loss of memory, language and other cognitive abilities over time. Getting older is currently the biggest risk and the U.S. population is aging at a fast rate. Dementia has many forms, the most common being Alzheimer's. Because the disease is linked to silent changes in the brain, signs or symptoms of dementia might not start showing until many years later. Other kinds include vascular dementia, when heart disease or small strokes limit blood flow to the brain. Many people also have mixed causes, meaning vascular problems could worsen existing dementia. Dr. James Galvin is an Alzheimer's specialist at the University of Miami. He noted that aging by itself is "not a guarantee that someone will develop dementia." Galvin was not involved in the new study. But he said the latest findings on that support previous research. Dementia risk by age Earlier studies estimated about 14 percent of men and 23 percent of women would develop some form of dementia during their lifetime. Since women live longer than men, they are more likely to get it. But the latest research examined more recent data from a U.S. study that followed the heart health and cognitive abilities of about 15,000 older adults from 1987 until 2020. In that group, the risk for dementia averaged 35 percent for men and 48 percent for women. One reason for the different rates is that the group of people studied lived longer. The study shows how the risk changes with additional years of life. Only 4 percent of people developed dementia between the ages of 55 and 75. Coresh describes this difference as an important 20-year window for protecting brain health. For people surviving common health threats until 75, the dementia risk then jumped — to 20 percent by age 85 and 42 percent between the ages of 85 and 95. Black Americans had a slightly higher risk, 44 percent, than white individuals at 41 percent. Ways to help lower dementia risk There are some health risks people cannot control. Besides age, people can inherit a gene version, or variant, called APOE4. This can raise the risk of getting Alzheimer's later in life. But medical researchers have identified some things people can do to delay, or possibly even prevent developing dementia. The University of Miami's Galvin advises people to exercise, avoid obesity and control blood pressure. He noted that, "What's good for your heart is good for your brain.' Stay socially and cognitively active, too, Galvin said. He urges people to try hearing aids if age brings hearing loss, which can create social isolation. He added, "There are things that we have control over, and those things I think would be really, really important to build a better brain as we age." I'm Jill Robbins. Lauran Neergaard reported this story for the Associated Press. Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English. Quiz - How to Lower Your Risk of Dementia Starting in Middle Age Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ______________________________________________ Words in This Story dementia – n. a mental illness that causes someone to be unable to think clearly or to understand what is real and what is not real cognitive – adj. of, relating to, or involving conscious mental activities (such as thinking, understanding, learning, and remembering) vascular – adj. of or relating to the veins, arteries, etc., that carry fluids (such as blood) through the body stroke – n. medical. a serious illness caused when a blood vessel in your brain suddenly breaks or is blocked inherit – v. biology. to have (a characteristic, disease, etc.) because of the genes that you get from your parents when you are born isolation – n. the state of being in a place or situation that is separate from others What do you think of this story? Write to us in the Comments Section.
