On Aging

The physical therapist will advise, but you're going to have to do the work.

Farewell, Heating Pad: Physical Therapists Say It Doesn't Help

8:56am September 17, 2014

by Nancy Shute

Heating pads and other passive treatments don't do any good if the goal is gaining strength and mobility, according to the Choosing Wisely campaign. Instead, it's all about the exercise.

Mountains of "little blue pills" and their chemical kin have transformed the way many people think about sex and aging.

Love And Sex In The Time Of Viagra — 16 Years On

5:37pm September 11, 2014

by Ina Jaffe

Longer lives means more decades of intimacy. Drugs that help male physiology match desire have affected more than just the body, men who take these pills say.

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Suicides Rise In Middle-Aged Men, And Older Men Remain At Risk

5:37pm September 11, 2014

by Alison Bruzek

Researchers don't know why middle-aged men are increasingly likely to kill themselves. But they say it shows that efforts to reduce the toll of suicide should be focused on men.

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Dale Conour with his son Quinn, 2. Conour's two children from a previous marriage were already young men when Quinn was born.

Making Fatherhood An Insider's Game: Becoming A Dad, Again, At 49

9:12am September 09, 2014

by Richard Gonzales

More men are having kids later in life — and some are having babies, for the second time, in middle age. That means they're changing diapers while their peers are sending their own kids to college.

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Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant? Page 10.

A Cartoonist's Funny, Heartbreaking Take On Caring For Aging Parents

1:26pm May 08, 2014

In Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?, Roz Chast combines text, cartoons, sketches and photos to describe her interactions with her parents during the last years of their lives.

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Women make up nearly two-thirds of the people in the U.S. diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

Gene Linked To Alzheimer's Poses A Special Threat To Women

7:35pm April 14, 2014

by Jon Hamilton

Scientists have figured out one reason women might be more vulnerable to Alzheimer's: A risk gene doubles women's chances of getting the disease but has minimal effect on men.

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Anita Wallace runs a child care service in rural Athens County, Ohio. She hadn't saved much for retirement before the Appalachian Savings Project offered to match half of her savings up to $600.

Rural Appalachia Helps Some Women Save For Retirement

5:22pm March 25, 2014

by Jennifer Ludden

An experimental program is trying to teach self-employed women the importance of long-term financial security. "You take care of yourself because nobody else is going to," one recruiter says.

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The Healthy, Not The Young, May Determine Health Law's Fate

12:37pm January 27, 2014

by Julie Rovner

Much has been made of the need for young, healthy people to sign up if the Affordable Care Act is going to work. But it may be that the key word here is not young, but healthy. Insurance companies get paid more for older people, regardless of their health.

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Helping Families Have The Most Difficult Conversation

11:35am December 28, 2013

The Conversation Project is encouraging families to discuss their end-of-life preferences before it's too late. Founder Ellen Goodman speaks with NPR's Linda Wertheimer about helping people initiate these conversations, and why they are so important.

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Three generations live under this roof: (from left) 19-year-old Jamie Dusseault, grandmother Jacque Ruggles, mother Marci Dusseault and 22-year-old Chelsie Dusseault.

One Roof, Many Generations: Redefining The Single-Family Home

10:12am October 28, 2013

by Peter O'Dowd

Homebuilders are finding there's a post-recession demand for bigger houses, and it's partly thanks to boomerang kids who can't find jobs and aging parents who can't afford to live alone anymore.

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