A meeting with the National Council of Senior Citizens resulted in President John F. Kennedy designating May 1963 as Senior Citizens Month, encouraging the nation to pay tribute in some way to older people across the country. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter’s proclamation changed the name to Older Americans Month, a time to celebrate those 65 and older through ceremonies, events and public recognition.
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Don’t have a stroke. It’s excellent advice, given that stroke is the nation’s third-leading killer and a major cause of serious, long-term disability in adults.
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Do you know your skin? Beyond your face and hands, which you probably look at every day, do you know what the skin on the inside of your arms or the bottom of your feet looks like? It’s important to know what your skin looks like – every inch of it – so that if a suspicious lesion appears or a mole starts to change, you can make an appointment with a dermatologist to be checked for skin cancer.
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Increasingly, health professionals are recognizing that depression among older adults is a serious problem that needs to be treated. They’re also recognizing that adult children are often oblivious.
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A significant number of the elderly — more than one in four — will eventually need someone to make end-of-life decisions about their medical care, a new study suggests.
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Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the brain that affects the transmission of messages to the muscles. It is characterized by tremor, stiffness of the muscles, and difficulty in initiating movements. Over one million Americans have Parkinson’s disease. It occurs most often in later life, but can also affect younger people. Men face almost twice the risk of developing the condition.
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Consider adding vitamin D in your daily diet. A new study suggests that high levels of vitamin D in older adults can cut the risk of heart disease and diabetes.
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A new questionnaire and measurement scale to evaluate anxiety may be welcomed by the growing number of senior citizens concerned about the disorder because of the simplicity and rapid results determination using these tools. Anxiety becomes more common as we get older, according to the American Geriatrics Society Foundation, because medical, psychological, and social problems tend to build up.
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Memory loss is something we all experience in life. We forget familiar names, we cannot remember where we left our wallets and purses the previous evening, and we can’t remember everything needed at the grocery store without having a list. This type of memory loss is perfectly normal and as we age, such mild forgetfulness may start happening more and more.
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Ah, the empty nest. Your teenagers have moved out of the house. You have time to take a yoga class, have lunch with a friend, or learn a new hobby-until Dad moves in with you because he can no longer live alone. Caring for aging parents is tough, no matter how much you love them.
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