ABCDE
HEALTH SCIENCE “
tuesday, august 10, 2010 &
GREEN LANTERN
Nuclear’s
footprint To what extent is fission
eco-friendly? E3
Health & Science will not appear next week. We will be back Aug. 24.
INSURING YOUR HEALTH
A Medicare change Preventive care for seniors will be easier and cheaper. E2
With natural fibers, you get what Mother Nature makes, and you have to live with it.” How and Why, E3
AGING WELL
Taking away more than the keys
Scrutiny of older drivers may pay off, but loss of independence can be painful
by Sandra G. Boodman Special to The Washington Post
M
y father was furious. Then 83, he lived inde- pendently in a retirement community and prid- ed himself on being an excellent driver who, ear- ly in his career as a scientist, had been involved in pioneering auto safety research. He had al-
ways loved the freedom of driving and could claim a nearly spot- less record: a minor accident or two and a similar number of tickets, none recent, in more than 65 years. So why was his trust- ed internist ordering him to undergo a driving evaluation? Alarmed by his increasingly risky behavior behind the wheel, the result of end-stage congestive heart failure and accompany- ing dementia, and stymied by his refusal to take taxis or the pri- vate minibus that provided door-to-door service around his Boston suburb, my sister and I decided we had to act. She held onto the car keys that he had given her for safekeeping during a brief hospitalization and, without telling him, called his doctor, who broached the subject during one of my father’s increasingly frequent appointments. Then we both refused to give him back his keys unless he passed the two-part test that I scheduled for him.
driving continued on E4
Wisdom of the aged
is verified Researchers find that happiness grows with advancing years, too
by Josh Tapper
With 14 siblings screaming at one another, mediator Carolyn Miller Parr threatened to summon a securi- ty guard at D.C. Superior Court. That lowered the temperature in the room. When the family returned for a sec- ond session, disagreements escalated again. This time Parr took a gentler approach, coaxing the siblings to put their mother’s interests above their own squabbling. They settled the dis- pute that day.
“I used to very quickly choose
sides,” says Parr, who’s 73 and co- founder of Beyond Dispute Associ- ates, a mediation and arbitration practice. Now, she says, “I’m much less judgmental of people.” By reappraising the situation and adjusting her emotional response, Parr illustrates — and scientists are coming to accept — the way wisdom actually does increase with age. Contrary to largely gloomy cultural perceptions, growing old brings some benefits, notably emotional and cog- nitive stability. Laura Carstensen, a Stanford social psychologist, calls this the “well-being paradox.” Al- though adults older than 65 face chal- lenges to body and brain, the 70s and 80s also bring an abundance of social and emotional knowledge, qualities scientists are beginning to define as wisdom. As Carstensen and another social psychologist, Fredda Blan- chard-Fields of the Georgia Institute of Technology, have shown, adults gain a toolbox of social and emo- tional instincts as they age. Accord- ing to Blanchard-Fields, seniors ac- quire a feel, an enhanced sense of knowing right from wrong, and therefore a way to make sound life decisions. That may help explain the finding
that old age correlates with happi- ness. A study published this year in
wisdom continued on E5
How we may handle the coming boom in old age. E6
Driving behaviors that may prompt intervention
Difficulty merging into traffic or staying in lane.
Abrupt lane changes.
Increased aggressiveness or irritation while driving.
Speeding or going too slow for road conditions.
Several fender benders or unexplained dents on the car, garage or mailbox.
Warnings or traffic tickets.
Difficulty turning the head or moving the foot from the gas pedal to the brake.
Getting lost in familiar surroundings.
Using a “co-pilot” such as a spouse or friend to direct driving.
— Sandra G. Boodman
SOURCES: AARP; National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; the Hartford; AAA Foundation for Safety
Most seniors adapt to loss of a partner
by Abigail Jones and Scott Sell
For months after her husband of 52 years died last spring, Laurel Frisch struggled to read a book. She couldn’t make decisions; she only occasionally left her Rockville home. In those rare moments when she could summon the energy, she wandered aimlessly through stores. “I thought that I had prepared my- self for it,” Frisch, 72, says of life as a widow. “Maybe I did, but I’m still feel- ing devastated. I’m still feeling practi- cally immobile.” Psychological and emotional losses
change older Americans’ lives. How they navigate a cascade of challenges — particularly social isolation, death of a spouse and depression — can de- termine the course of their final dec- ades. These struggles often intertwine. Illness, for example, compromises in- dependence and mobility. What be- gins as arthritis, for someone living in a walk-up apartment, can lead to social isolation, a cause of depres- sion. Depressed people may grow
loss continued on E5 PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY C.J. BURTON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST E DM VA
CONSUMER REPORTS
Keeping your wits
Brain studies show lifestyle is important. E2
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