Volunteers wanted for ageing research

EXPERTS at the University of Sheffield are looking for volunteers to aid its pioneering research into ageing.

The South Yorkshire Ageing Study was launched in 2005 to help explore the changes which occur with normal ageing and to help better understand memory loss, dementia and physical disability in older people. It is also running a clinical trial to investigate the

"Over the past 50 years medicine has advanced at an almost unrecognisably fast pace and as a result people are staying physically fitter well into old age. Unfortunately with increased age comes an increased risk of developing problems such as memory loss and concentration difficulties.''

Anyone aged 40 or older can take part in the study. There is no upper age limit but volunteers need to be 55 or older to take part in the clinical trial.

Testing takes place at Western Bank and the initial appointment takes around two hours. It involves a series of simple questions and checks on memory, balance, hearing, vision and blood pressure. Those taking part in the omega-3 trial will be provided with a year's supply of fish oil and asked to return for a re-test between six months and one year after the initial appointment.

All participants will be entered into a prize draw (first prize £100).

Contact 222 4707 or 0773 683 8606 or email d.tarmey@sheffield.as.uk

Charity demands 3 things from G'ment

Age Concern and Help the Aged are calling on the G'ment to commit to 3 actions to help deal with the ageing tsunami that we keep writing about.

• Scrap the National Default Retirement Age which forces people to retire at 65 and allow people to continue working as long as they want or need to while they are able to do a good job.

• Provide financial incentives to employers who take on 50 plus workers who have been out of work for more than 6 months.

• Provide a tailored package of support for unemployed over 50s‚ including specialised training for JobCentre Plus staff to recognise the specific needs of older people job searching and providing them with meaningful‚ holistic support.

As we keep saying - is anyone listening out there?

Employment figures

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics confirm what we have been hearing from other Western countries, namely, that the current recession is hitting younger people more so than older people. Employment is up overall in the last year by 0.1% for the fifty pluses to SRA, and up 3.6% for those over SRA. The biggest increase is from women in employment. For the over 50's it was 0.2% and for post SRA 5.8%. For men it was a fall of 0.1% for the 50+'s and 0% for post SRA. The 18-24 shows a decrease of 4.6%. This is not to take away from the concern currently being reported by Age Concern and Help the Aged by older people worrying, with much justification, about future employment prospects of any kind. This simply means that the predicted impact of the recession on older workers has not been anywhere near so dramatic as some have predicted.

The World Won't Be Aging Gracefully. Just the Opposite

This is the title of a fascinating article in the Washington Post which compares countries around the world according to the impact of the coming ageing tsunami. The US comes out looking to have the fewest problems in the future but as for Western Europe, Russia, Japan and China - well - have a look and ponder.

Over-55s lifting share of jobs in Oz

An article in the Australian quotes some new research by Monash University which has found ageing workers are finding more jobs, while young people are being laid off. In fact people aged over 55 are the only ones in the labour market increasing their rates of employment, even after the economic downturn.

This is of particular interest in Australia which has announced an increase in the state pension age to 67 by 2023. The researchers say that their findings run counter to the argument that it was older workers who were facing the chop in the downturn, and destroyed the argument that extending the pension age to 67 would force people on to the dole.

it is difficult to see how our own G'ment can go on ignoring this issue and their plans to increase pensionable age to 68 by 2038 is now looking totally unrealistic with the huge deficit we have. Is anyone out there or even thinking about this? Just a bit too preoccupied in keeping their own seats at the moment....

Economic madness

2 contrasting stories today. The Times has a piece about the pioneering work of George Magnus, who is joining the growing numbers of us in making the point that the demographic time bomb that is with us is as great a natural disaster as climate change in the short term.

"Baby-boomers hitting retirement may not sound exciting next to the threat of countries disappearing into the ocean or drought wiping out food crops, but the threat is real and the results could be expensive. Mr Magnus puts this into context by explaining that the cost of cleaning up the banking crisis will be up to 25 per cent of GDP, but that the cost of the UK’s ageing population – the next four decades of pensions, healthcare, disability benefits and residential care – will cost 330 per cent of GDP." “The richest source of participation in this country is people aged over 55,” Mr Magnus, 60, said. “We have to change the nature of work and the workplace to allow people to work longer.” He states that a retirement age of 65 is a total nonsense. Our economy cannot support an increasing number of people living 20 unproductive years after that.

Yet on the other hand, a recent survey from Age Concern and Help the Aged shows that 1 in 7 HR managers plans to use the default retirement age to help cut jobs. Why is this craziness occuring? Because yet again we have no leadership on this issue from this current G'ment.

Make the most of every opportunity

We often run into people who bemoan the limited years that they have left. Well, we all have limited time and it is what you do with it that counts. Play this video to see how important this principle is at any age. The young lad on it almost certainly will not live to our ages as he has a life-threatening illness and was granted his single greatest wish by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. In our opinion, he shows us all what it really means to “own the moment.” I came across this on an excellent careers site which although American is certainly worth looking at if career change is an issue for you.

Boomers go back to basics

New research from Age Concern and Help the Aged shows that seven in ten older people are resorting to thrifty skills picked up during the war and post-war years to help them save money and make resources go further during the recession.

Trying to fend off the blows of the economic downturn‚ 70 per cent of people over 50s say they are getting back to trusted money-saving strategies learnt during previously tough times or handed-down from their parents. The survey shows:

• 91 per cent of people over the age of 50 say they budget carefully and spend within their means
• 87 per cent cook from scratch rather than buying ready-made meals
• 71 per cent reuse leftover food
• 54 per cent shop for food in the reduced section or buy reduced food at the end of the day
• 50 per cent sew or mend items for themselves or others
• 29 per cent grow their own vegetables.

The research also shows nine in ten older people believe the ‘make do and mend’ mentality could help younger generations weather today’s recession. Younger people share the same belief with 84 per cent of people aged 18-24 thinking they could benefit from skills handed down from tough war and post-war years.

Does looking after parents drive you to drink?

Yes - according to a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which warns that the amount of alcohol consumed by those between ages 45 and 64 has doubled in less than 15 years.

The difficulties faced by the sandwich generation that may help to cause this increase, include caring for elderly parents as well as children leaving home to go to university and loneliness, are leading them to reach for the bottle, it claims.

While much of the G'ments attempts to curb problem drinking has been directed at the young, alcohol experts are now calling for more attention to be paid to middle-aged and older people regularly exceeding the Government's recommended alcohol limits.

The average number of alcoholic units drunk by 45 to 64-year-olds rose from 5.3 units a week, or two and half standard 175 ml glasses of wine, to 9.8 units, or almost five glasses, between 1992 and 2006, the report found.

Does work drive you demented or is it the opposite?

British scientists have found a significant link between later retirement age and later onset of dementia in men. The research is published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

This result came from an analysis of 382 men with probable Alzheimer's by scientists from the Institute of Psychiatry and Cardiff University. Information based on education and employment was used to determine the effects of early life education, mid life employment and later life retirement on the age of onset of dementia.

Sounds like yet another good reason to keep working in some capacity or another!