Topic: Aging

Planning for Retirement and End-of-Life Care
This e-newsletter is the 24th in a series funded by the University of Michigan Demography Center. The topic highlights work by National Institute on Aging (NIA)-supported researchers and others that examines the impact of planning on the well-being of older people and their families. Many of the findings are based on analysis of data collected through the NIA-supported Health and Retirement Study (HRS) that surveys every two years a representative sample of Americans ages 51 and older. (January 2012)

The Health and Well-Being of Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren
This e-newsletter is the 23rd in a series funded by the University of Michigan Demography Center. This issue, "The Health and Well-Being of Grandparents Caring for Grandchildren," provides an overview of the demographic characteristics of older grandparent caregivers and examines recent research supported by the National Institute on Aging and others on their health and well-being. (December 2011)

Trends in Life Expectancy in the United States, Denmark, and the Netherlands: Rapid Increase, Stagnation, and Resumption
This e-newsletter is the 22nd in a series funded by the University of Michigan Demography Center. This issue, "Trends in Life Expectancy in the U.S., Denmark, and the Netherlands: Rapid Increase, Stagnation, and Resumption," highlights key findings from a National Research Council expert panel that investigated the causes of stagnation in U.S. life expectancy at age 50 and above. (August 2011)

Volunteering and Health for Aging Populations
This e-newsletter is the 21st in a series funded by the University of Michigan Demography Center. This issue, "Volunteering and Health for Aging Populations," highlights recent findings from research affiliates of National Institute on Aging-supported centers specializing in the demography, economics, and epidemiology of aging. (August 2011)

Webinar Presentation on 2011 World Population Data Sheet
In this webinar recorded on July 28, 2011, PRB demographers Carl Haub, James Gribble, and Linda Jacobsen present key findings from the 2011 World Population Data Sheet that illustrate just how stark the contrasts are between rich and poor countries, and the implications of a world of 7 billion people. Focus countries include Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany, Guatemala, India, Italy, Uganda, and the United States. A question and answer session follows their presentations. (August 2011)

2011 World Population Data Sheet
Global population will reach 7 billion later in 2011, just 12 years after reaching 6 billion in 1999. Today's world population is double the population in 1967. But while the overall growth rate has slowed, the population is still growing, and growth rates in some countries show little if any decline. The Population Reference Bureau's 2011 World Population Data Sheet and its summary report offer up-to-date demographic, health, and environment data on 18 population, health, and environment indicators for more than 200 countries. (July 2011)

Germany: Beyond the Demographic Transition's End
This Population Bulletin looks at the four phases of the demographic transition as descriptive of past and future population growth. We highlight four countries to illustrate each phase and its implications for human well-being: Uganda (high birth rate, fluctuating death rate); Guatemala (declining birth and death rates); India (approaching replacement-level fertility); and Germany (low or very low birth and death rates). Germany's recovery from the devastation of World War II is often called an "economic miracle" because its economy is now Europe's largest. Immigration has been an important part of the country's modern demographic history. (July 2011)

More of Us on Track to Reach Age 100: Genes, Habits, Baboons Examined for Longevity Clues
In the countries with the longest life expectancies, average life span has grown over the past two centuries at the "absolutely remarkable rate" of about 2.5 years per decade, according to demographer James Vaupel of Duke University and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. Vaupel and other researchers in the growing field of biodemography are trying to unravel the often intertwined social and biological factors that contribute to longevity. A group of U.S. and European scientists met last month at Duke's Population Research Institute to share findings from their ongoing work. (July 2011)

How U.S. Older Adults Provide Care for Their Aging Parents, Adult Children, and Friends
As part of PRB's 2010-2011 Policy Seminar series, Suzanne Bianchi, a University of California Los Angeles sociology professor, examined new research on caregiving in later life. The study, conducted with Joan Kahn and Brittany McGill of the University of Maryland, explored whether retirement and marital status made a difference in how men and women helped others. (May 2011)

Benefits of the Baltimore Experience Corps Volunteer Program: Interview With Michelle Carlson, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Michelle Carlson is a professor in the Department of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a research affiliate of the Hopkins Center on Population Aging and Health. Carlson's research examines how both the environment in which someone lives and the medications they take can affect cognitive aging and dementia. In this interview, Carlson discusses the Baltimore Experience Corps volunteer program and an on-going study of the program's benefits. (May 2011)