Heena Sharma Blog

Older women, who are sporty or bisexual , are more likely to have a higher than average number of sexual partners in a lifetime compared to their female peers, says a new study. Such women also share some social, demographic and behavioural patterns with men, like income influencing same sex preference among older men, the findings indicated. So far, studies on sexual behaviour and associated health risks have tended to focus on teenagers and young people rather than older age groups, say the researchers from the University College London. To plug this knowledge gap, the team included a sample of 3,054 men and 3,867 women aged 50 and above to explore the factors associated with the numbers of sexual partners they had. Information on ethnicity, marital status, household income, sexual orientation, health and lifestyle -- the frequency and quantity of smoking, drinking and physical activity -- was also gathered. The findings, published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive He

Just 35 minutes of walking or cycling three times a week along with a healthy diet may improve cognitive skills in older adults, a new study suggests. The study, published in the journal Neurology, examined the effects of both exercise and diet on cognitive skills. For the study, the team involved 160 persons with an average age of 65 and randomly assigned them to one of the four groups -- aerobic exercise alone; DASH diet alone; both aerobic exercise and the DASH diet; or health education, which consisted of educational phone calls once every week or two. The research team found those who exercised and consumed the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet that is rich in fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts, low-fat dairy products, whole grains, and lean meats, had greater improvements compared to health education controls. Participants who exercised showed significant improvements in cognitive skills when compared to those who did not exercise. Read Mo

Happiness can prolong life in older adults, say scientists including one of Indian origin.The study, published in the journal Age and Ageing, used data for 4,478 participants of a survey to look at the association between happiness, assessed in the National News : Happiness can prolong life in older adults, say scientists including one of Indian origin. The study, published in the journal Age and Ageing, used data for 4,478 participants of a survey to look at the association between happiness, assessed in the year 2009, and subsequent likelihood of dying due to any cause, until December 31, 2015. "The findings indicate that even small increments in happiness may be beneficial to older people's longevity," said Rahul Malhotra, assistant professor at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. "Therefore individual-level activities as well as government policies and programmes that maintain or improve happiness or psychological well-being may contrib