Marital Spats May Decline as Couples Age

Over time, partners realize their differences won't change, so they try to defuse conflict, study says

By Robert Preidt

HealthDay Reporter

MONDAY, July 1 (HealthDay News) -- One of the benefits of a long marriage may be fewer arguments as the years go by, a new study finds.

Researchers at San Francisco State University report that as married couples grow older, they become more likely to handle disagreements by simply changing the subject.

The findings are in keeping with prior research showing that as people age, they avoid conflict in favor of more positive experiences, to try to make the best of their remaining years.

The new study included 127 long-time married couples in middle or old age who were followed for 13 years. They were videotaped during 15-minute talks centered on contentious topics ranging from housework to finances.

The researchers wanted to see if the couples' use of a common and harmful type of communication -- called the demand-withdraw pattern -- changed as they aged. In this pattern, one partner blames or pressures the other for change, while the other partner tries to avoid talking about the problem and withdraws from the discussion.

This type of avoidance generally is believed to cause damage to relationships because it prevents conflict resolution, and this may be particularly true for younger couples who may be dealing with issues that are newer to them.

Most aspects of demand-withdraw communication remained steady over time among the couples in the study, the researchers said, but with age both partners became more prone to changing the subject or diverting attention away from the argument.

The researchers reasoned that older couples have already had decades to voice their disagreements, so avoidance may be a way for them to move the conversation away from "toxic" areas and toward something more pleasant.

The age of the partners in a marriage appears to drive this shift in communication, but the change might also be influenced by the length of the relationship.

"It may not be an either/or question. It may be that both age and marital duration play a role in increased avoidance," study author Sarah Holley, an assistant professor of psychology and director of the university's Relationships, Emotion and Health Lab, said in a university news release.

In order to learn more about these influences, Holley hopes to compare older couples in long-term marriages with older newlywed couples.

Holley said demand-withdraw communication occurs in all kinds of couples. She compared heterosexual, gay and lesbian couples in a 2010 study and found "strong support for the idea that the partner who desires more change ... will be much more likely to occupy the demanding role, whereas the partner who desires less change -- and therefore may benefit from maintaining the status quo -- will be more likely to occupy the withdrawing role."

The study was published online July 1 in the Journal of Marriage and Family.

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Many Seniors Suffer Mental Decline in Silence: CDC

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, May 9 (HealthDay News) -- About 13 percent of Americans 60 and older say they have increasing problems with thinking and memory and that they suffer growing confusion, a new report released Thursday shows.

One-third of these people add that the confusion or memory loss caused problems at work or with social activities and household chores, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The findings underscore the need to be alert for early signs of dementia or Alzheimer's disease, experts said.

"This is the first data of this kind," said report co-author Angela Deokar, a CDC public health advisor. In 2011, older adults from 21 states answered survey items on whether they'd suffered increased confusion or memory loss in the past year.

According to Deokar, signs to look out for include the following:

Asking the same questions over and over again,Getting lost in familiar places,Not being able to follow directions,Becoming more confused about time, people and places.

These problems go beyond normal forgetfulness, Deokar said.

Since this is the first such report, it is not possible to see if there is an increasing trend or if these data are similar throughout the nation, she said. The survey is ongoing, however, so in a couple of years more information should be available.

The report was published in the May 10 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

People experiencing cognitive decline -- the gradual loss of the ability to think, reason and remember -- can face considerable challenges. Even so, only 35 percent of them have discussed the problem with their doctor, the researchers found.

Such conversations are important, because they make planning for the future easier as a person's mental health continues to decline, according to the report.

A dementia expert noted that these kinds of symptoms should be taken seriously.

People experiencing them "should have thorough medical exams to exclude treatable metabolic or cardiac diseases," said Dr. Sam Gandy, associate director of the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, in New York City.

Report co-author Deokar noted that people with these symptoms can reach out to the aging services network, including agencies on aging and the Alzheimer's Association.

When causes of mental decline are identified early there is the opportunity to treat reversible causes, the report authors said. If the cause isn't reversible, as with Alzheimer's disease, there is more time to develop advance directives, to enroll in clinical trials and to plan for care needs.

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. SOURCES: Angela Deokar, M.P.H., public health advisor, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Sam Gandy, M.D., associate director, Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, New York City; May 10, 2013, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

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Why does balance decline with age?

Posted June 05, 2013, 2:00 am

In a previous column you wrote about the importance of balance exercises as we age. But why does our balance get worse as we get older?

A number of changes that come with aging can affect our balance.

Inside our ears is a balance center called the vestibular system that detects where our body is in space. Are we upright or lying flat; are we standing on our feet or performing a handstand?
The vestibular system is connected to centers in the brain that also control our balance. When the vestibular system and brain determine that we’re about to fall over, the brain directs the body to take corrective action. Maybe we twist back upright so we don’t fall. Maybe we’re too far off center to avoid falling, so our arms and hands stretch out to brace our fall.
As we age, cells in the vestibular system die off. This affects how accurately we detect our position in space. That, in turn, affects our ability to correct our position. For example, if we start to tilt to the right and the vestibular system doesn’t detect this quickly, it becomes harder for the brain to prevent falling to the right.Our sight, the ability to focus and see things clearly, diminishes with age. So do depth perception, night vision and sensitivity to contrast. Eye problems can impair, blur or distort vision. The loss of these visual cues compromises balance. Corrective lenses or surgery may help.Blood pressure can dip suddenly when you stand up, causing dizziness, lightheadedness, blurry vision, even fainting. Standing up slowly — sitting first on the side of the bed when you rise, for example — may help.We lose a lot of muscle mass and strength as we age. We also lose power — a function of strength and speed — which affects balance, too. If you start to trip, power helps you react swiftly. Exercise can help you rebuild strength and power, or at least slow the pace of decline.Our reflexes and coordination slow with age. Thus, you may be more likely to stumble — and take more time to react when you do.

Many health problems can interfere with balance. They include, but are not limited to, arthritis, stroke, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis.

Medications may also increase your risk of falls. They can cause blurred vision, dizziness, lightheadedness and drowsiness. Some medications may damage the inner ear, spurring balance disorders.

Along with regular aerobic exercise and weight training, balance exercises are important as we get older. Such exercises really can help you improve your balance. I’ve posted some of these simple exercises before, but I think it’s worthwhile to highlight them again, so I am including them below.

These exercises are a good first step towards improving shaky balance. They can be done by people of many ages and abilities, including those who are elderly, frail, or recovering from illness or surgery.

Reps: 10

Sets: 1

Intensity: Light

Tempo: 2–4–2

Starting position: Sit up tall in a chair. Lift your chest, keeping your shoulders down and back. Brace your abdominal muscles and bend your elbows, palms toward each other.

Movement: While exhaling, roll your shoulders further down and back, away from your ears. Turn your arms out so your palms face forward, squeezing your shoulder blades together. Hold. Slowly return to starting position.

Tips and techniques:

Think of squeezing a tennis ball between your shoulder blades.Keep your spine neutral and brace your abdominal muscles throughout the movement.Breathe comfortably.

Too hard? Squeeze your shoulder blades together gently.

Too easy? Hold squeeze for eight counts and do three sets.

Reps: 10 on each side

Sets: 1-3

Intensity: Light to moderate

Tempo: 2-2-2

Starting position: Stand up straight behind a chair, holding the back of it with both hands. Put your feet together and evenly distribute your weight on both feet.

Movement: Slowly lift your right leg straight out to the side about 6 inches off the floor. Hold. Return to starting position. Finish all reps, then repeat with the left leg. This completes one set.

Tips and techniques:

Exhale as you lift your leg.Keep your shoulders and hips aligned throughout the exercise.

Too hard? Just touch your foot out to the side on the floor.

Too easy? Hold your leg up for eight counts, or close your eyes.

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Flu Infections Continue to Decline

Title: Flu Infections Continue to Decline
Category: Health News
Created: 3/8/2013 4:35:00 PM
Last Editorial Review: 3/11/2013 12:00:00 AM

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Hearing Loss Linked to Mental Decline in Elderly

Jan. 22, 2013 -- Hearing loss and mental decline are two common conditions of aging, and now a new study finds that they may be related.

Older people with hearing deficits were more likely than those with normal hearing to develop problems with memory and thinking over the course of the study.

On average, the study participants with hearing issues had significant mental impairments three years earlier than those without them.

About two-thirds of adults over the age of 70 have some degree of hearing loss. 

And the number of people with dementia is projected to double over the next two decades as the population ages.

The researchers now hope to study whether hearing aids can slow mental decline in the elderly.

Otologist and epidemiologist Frank R. Lin, MD, PhD, led the study. He says only about 15% of people who need hearing aids get them. Lin is an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore.

“Our findings emphasize just how important it is for physicians to discuss hearing with their patients and to be proactive in addressing any hearing declines over time,” he says.

The investigation included close to 2,000 men and women in their 70s and 80s who took part in an aging and health study that began in the late 1990s.

Hearing was tested in year five of the study, and the men and women underwent a series of tests over the next six years to assess declines in memory and thinking.

The men and women with hearing loss showed evidence of these declines 30% to 40% faster than the people with normal hearing. And those people with more hearing loss had steeper declines in mental function.

The study was published online in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

While it did not address how age-related hearing loss may worsen problems with memory or thinking, Lin says there are several theories.

One theory is that the social isolation common among people with untreated hearing loss leads to mental decline. Previous research has identified loneliness as a risk factor for such decline, he says.

Another theory is the idea that the working memory is limited with respect to the amount of information it can hold and the operations it can perform.

“The job of the inner ear is to take in sounds and encode them with accurate fidelity before the signal goes to the brain for decoding, but with hearing loss the brain has a very hard time doing that,” Lin says. “If the brain constantly has to expend more resources to decode sound, this may come at a cognitive cost.”

Neurologist and Alzheimer’s researcher Marc L. Gordon, MD, calls the research compelling, but he says more studies are needed to confirm that hearing loss has a direct impact on mental decline and to understand the reasons for the link.

He adds that the study emphasizes the importance of addressing not just hearing loss but also vision loss in the elderly.

“This reinforces the notion that evaluating and treating these sensory impairments may be even more important for an aging person’s overall well-being than we have known,” he says.

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