Evidence that dog ownership protects against the onset of disability in an older community-dwelling Japanese population.

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the association between dog and cat ownership, the onset of disability and all-cause mortality in an older population. Dog and cat owners take more regular exercise and have closer social relationships than non-owners. We further assess the beneficial effects of these moderating variables on the onset of disability and mortality. METHODS: Dog and cat ownership data were collected from 11233 community-dwelling adults age 65 years and older. These data were matched with data about the onset of disability held by the Japanese long-term care insurance system. Local registry data were used to ascertain all-cause mortality. RESULTS: During the approximately 3.5 year follow-up period, 17.1% of the sample suffered onset of disability, and 5.2% died. Logistic regression analysis indicated that, compared with a reference group of those who had never owned a dog (odds ratio fixed at 1.0), older adults who were currently dog owners had a significantly lower odds ratio of onset of disability (OR = 0.54 95% CI: 0.37-0.79). Our results further show that regular exercise interacts with dog ownership to reduce the risk of disability. The association of dog and/or cat ownership with all-cause mortality was not statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Dog ownership appears to protect against incident disability among older Japanese adults. Additional benefits are gained from ownership combined with regular exercise. Daily dog care may have an important role to play in health promotion and successful aging.

Changes in Life Expectancy and Disability-Free Life Expectancy in Successive Birth Cohorts of Older Cancer Survivors: A Longitudinal Modeling Analysis of the US Health and Retirement Study.

The population of older cancer survivors in the United States is rapidly growing. However, little is currently known about how the health of older cancer survivors has changed over time and across successive birth cohorts. Using data from the US Health and Retirement Study, we parameterized a demographic microsimulation model to compare partial cohort life expectancy (LE) and disability-free LE for US men and women without cancer and with prevalent and incident cancer diagnoses for 4 successive 10-year birth cohorts, born 1918-1927 to 1948-1957. Disability was defined as being disabled in ≥1 activity of daily living. These cohorts had midpoint ages of 55-64, 65-74, and 75-84 years during the periods 1998-2008 (the "early" period) and 2008-2018 (the "later" period). Across all cohorts and periods, those with incident cancer had the lowest LE, followed by those with prevalent cancer and cancer-free individuals. We observed declines in partial LE and an expansion of life spent disabled among more recent birth cohorts of prevalent-cancer survivors. Our findings suggest that advances in treatments that prolong life for individual cancer patients may have led to population-level declines in conditional LE and disability-free LE across successive cohorts of older cancer survivors.

Magnitude, Temporal Trends, and Inequalities in the DALYs and YLDs of Nutritional Deficiency among Older Adults in the Western Pacific Region: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease Study 1990-2019.

The population in the Western Pacific region is aging rapidly. Nutritional deficiency is prevalent in older adults; however, information regarding nutritional deficiency in this population is scarce. Using the 2019 Global Burden of Disease (GBD) results, the age-standardized disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) and years of healthy life lost due to disability (YLDs) from nutritional deficiency were estimated between 1990 and 2019 for this population. Average annual percentage change (AAPC) was used to assess temporal trends, and linear mixed-effects models were used to examine socioeconomic and sex inequalities. From 1990 to 2019, the age-standardized DALYs of nutritional deficiency in this population decreased from 697.95 to 290.95 per 100,000, and their age-standardized YLDs decreased from 459.03 to 195.65 per 100,000, with the greatest declines seen in South Korea (AAPCs < -5.0). Tonga had the least decline in DALYs (AAPC = -0.8), whereas Fiji experienced an increase in YLDs (AAPC = 0.1). Being female and having a lower sociodemographic index score was significantly associated with higher age-standardized DALYs and YLDs. The magnitude and temporal trends of the nutritional deficiency burden among older adults varied across countries and sex in the region, indicating that health policies on nutritional deficiency among older adults must be crafted to local conditions.

Estrategia Nacional para un envejecimiento saludable basado en el curso de vida 2018-2020 / National Strategy for healthy aging based on the life course 2018-2020

Como parte de sus responsabilidades, al Estado le corresponde proteger el derecho a la vida como un principio fundamental. Supone garantizar atenciones sociales y de salud en cada etapa de la vida para que las personas mantengan su bienestar desde el punto de vista mental, físico y espiritual; logrando llegar a la vejez con una capacidad funcional óptima. El envejecimiento de la población y el aumento de la proporción de personas mayores es el resultado de los aciertos de los sistemas de salud y de protección social de Costa Rica; no obstante, también representa un reto para garantizar que las personas mayores mantengan su calidad de vida y su potencial para seguir aportando al desarrollo social del país. Para que avancemos en el camino de un desarrollo equitativo para toda la población, se requiere el trabajo articulado de los diferentes actores que contribuyen al goce del más alto nivel posible de salud. Para ello el Ministerio de Salud, como rector de la salud, es el responsable de promover dicha articulación, para mejorar el trabajo de las instituciones y las acciones dirigidas a la población en situación de vulnerabilidad. Considerando que la sociedad costarricense está envejeciendo aceleradamente, y que el Plan Nacional de Desarrollo contiene una meta para aumentar la esperanza de vida saludable, el Ministerio de Salud convocó en enero de 2016 a un grupo de instituciones, con el apoyo de la Organización Panamericana de Salud/ Organización Mundial de la Salud (OPS/OMS), para definir una estrategia nacional y su respectivo plan de acción, con base en la Estrategia Mundial: Acción multisectorial para un envejecimiento saludable basado en el curso de vida. Como resultado, se ha elaborado este documento tendiente a alinear esfuerzos y trabajar activamente en un proceso de construcción que permita incidir en los factores protectores del envejecimiento y la salud aplicando el enfoque de curso de vida. Esta Estrategia Nacional contribuirá a la conceptualización a nivel país de un modelo de promoción de salud y desarrollo integral para el envejecimiento, que oriente la formulación de políticas, la participación social y la generación de entornos promotores de la salud. Lo anterior mediante el desarrollo de proyectos institucionales y locales, el fortalecimiento de los servicios de salud y de cuidados a largo plazo y la promoción de la investigación relacionada con los factores que impulsan el envejecimiento activo y saludable. De esta forma, podremos garantizar los derechos de las personas de acuerdo con la aplicación de la legislación, las políticas y los planes en salud existentes en todos los niveles; bajo la premisa de que es desde el ámbito comunitario que deben robustecerse aquellas acciones que, desde el curso de vida, ayuden a que las personas vivan más y mejor.