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Background: Healthcare is currently struggling to provide access and coverage for an increasingly diverse aging population who frequently have multiple co-morbid conditions complicating their care and medical management. Methods: This retrospective study analyzed the prevalence and distribution of common co-morbid conditions (hypertension, dyslipidemia, dementia, and diabetes mellitus) in 316 elderly heart failure patients (age range 80–103; mean 87 ±4.9). Results: Chart review analysis showed a racial distribution of 65 African American versus 251 Caucasian patients (21 vs. 79%). Hypertension was comparable in both groups (98.5% African American vs. 92.4% Caucasian). Dyslipidemia, diabetes and dementia diagnoses were all approximately 20% higher in African American versus Caucasian patients. The concurrent presence of all four conditions was approximately three times more prevalent in African Americans (18.5%) versus Caucasians (7.2%). Conclusion: Our study is unique for studying disparity in octogenarian and nonagenarians residing in a rural setting. Our results also highlight the importance of making a special effort to engage older African American patients in seeking healthcare. In addition, strategies must be designed to reduce barriers that impede access and availability of resources and clinical care, especially in economically underserved regions of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As healthspan and lifespan research breakthroughs have become more commonplace, the need for valid, practical markers of biological age is becoming increasingly paramount. The accessibility and affordability of biological age predictors that can reveal information about mortality and morbidity risk, as well as remaining years of life, has profound clinical and research implications. In this review, we examine 5 groups of aging biomarkers capable of providing accurate biological age estimations. The unique capabilities of these biomarkers have far reaching implications for the testing of both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical interventions designed to slow or reverse biological aging. Additionally, the enhanced validity and availability of these tools may have increasingly relevant clinical value. The authors of this review explore those implications, with an emphasis on lifestyle modification research, and provide an overview of the current evidence regarding 5 biological age predictor categories: Telomere length, composite biomarkers, DNA methylation "epigenetic clocks," transcriptional predictors of biological age, and functional age predictors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the feasibility, usability, and acceptability of using remote monitoring systems (RMS) in monitoring health status (e.g., vital signs, symptom distress) in older adults (≥55) with chronic heart failure (HF). Method: Twenty-one patients (52.4% women, mean age 73.1 ± 9.3) were trained to measure and transmit health data with an RMS. Data transmissions were tracked for 12 weeks. Results: All participants initiated use of RMS within 1 week; 71%, 14%, and 14% of patients transmitted daily health data 100%, ≥75%, and