News Briefs: Pet Ownership; Aspirin & Prostate Cancer; Weight Loss & Joint Replacement
Pet Ownership is Beneficial, But Comes With Risks
According to the National Poll on Healthy Aging, about 55 percent of people age 50 to 80 have a pet. They report many benefits from pet ownership, including more enjoyment from life, increased social connections, a sense of purpose, reduced stress levels, and less pain. About 64 percent of older pet owners also said their pets helped them stay physically active: a number that increased to 78 percent among dog owners. But if you’re among the latter, beware: 6 percent of poll respondents said they had fallen or injured themselves due to their pet. A recent study (JAMA Surgery, March 6) found that the number of bone fractures incurred while dog walking more than doubled between 2004 and 2017 in people age 65 and older. Nearly 80 percent of the fractures occurred in women, with hip and upper-extremity breaks being the most common. If you regularly walk your own dog or anybody else’s, be mindful and alert when it comes to staying upright.
Aspirin and Prostate Cancer
Many seniors with heart disease take daily low-dose aspirin to reduce their risk of heart attack. Research also suggests the drug may slow the spread of cancer. However, new data (Annals of Internal Medicine, March 4) on its potential benefits for cancer mortality isn’t promising. Researchers looked at 29,136 men, average age 70, who were diagnosed with prostate cancer. During follow-up, 7,633 died of prostate cancer and 5,575 died from other causes. The analysis suggested that regular low-dose aspirin did not have a protective effect against death from prostate cancer in the first year after the cancer was diagnosed. Other recent studies also have looked at the benefits and risks of aspirin therapy, and we’ll be covering the findings in an upcoming issue. But overall, any benefits seen for aspirin need to be weighed against the increased risk of bleeding that accompanies the drug. You should avoid taking daily aspirin unless your doctor has recommended it.
Weight Loss Before Joint Replacement
If you are morbidly obese—categorized as having a body mass index (a ratio of weight to height) of 40 or greater—you are at greater risk of complications during and after joint replacement surgery. With this in mind, obese people are usually advised to lose weight beforehand. While five to 10 pounds is the usual recommended target weight loss, it hasn’t been clear how much weight you have to lose to improve recovery after joint replacement—but a new study of 203 morbidly obese knee replacement patients suggests that closer to 20 pounds may be the range to aim for. The data (presented at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, in March) showed that morbidly obese people who lost at least 20 pounds before knee replacement had a shorter length of stay in the hospital, and were less likely to need post-surgical care in a rehabilitation facility. If you are obese or morbidly obese and considering joint replacement, discuss with your doctor how you can safely lose weight before the surgery.
Coping With Loneliness
One in four older adults say they feel isolated at least some of the time, and one in three say they lack regular companionship, according to the National Poll on Healthy Aging. These feelings of loneliness showed up most in people age 50 to 80 who also reported health issues and unhealthy habits. More than one-quarter of poll respondents said they had social contact just once a week or less with family members they don’t live with, or with friends and neighbors. Living alone was highly associated with feeling lonely: 60 percent of those who lived alone reported feeling a lack of companionship, and 41 percent felt isolated. Women had a slightly greater risk of loneliness than men. You can access the poll at its website (www.healthyagingpoll.org). See From the Editor, p2, for advice on avoiding loneliness.
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