Longer Looks: Interesting Reads You Might Have Missed
Each week, KFF Health News finds longer stories for you to enjoy. This week's selections focus on health care among the rich, the diaper crisis, top surgery, and dementia.
Fortune:
Wealthy Americans Will Go To Extremes To Live Longer
The wealthiest Americans can and do spend more money on longevity practices, even potentially unsafe, experimental ones, the results show. The study found that higher-income groups, those who live in households making more than $250,000 per year, were far more likely to spend their time and money on their health than those in households making less than $50,000 per year. ... What’s more, 41% of higher-income Americans say they would download their brain onto a computer to live forever compared to 19% of lower-income Americans, according to the study. (Mikhail, 8/10)
Harvard Public Health:
America Has A Diaper Crisis. Here’s What Policymakers Can Do
America’s diaper crisis is a public health crisis. Without access to diapers, both parents and children face health risks. (Emam, 8/9)
The Star Tribune:
Realistic Tattoos Help Trans Community Feel Safer In Their Own Skin
Nipple tattoos involve re-creating the image of a nipple and areola on a client's chest. There are options in terms of color, shape and size. Nipple reconstruction can also be done surgically via skin grafts, but many people who've had top surgery opt for a tattoo. Tattoos have long been used by women who've undergone mastectomies to treat or prevent breast cancer. In recent years, they have grown in popularity for top surgery recipients. (Hanevold, 8/10)
On dementia and Alzheimer's disease —
Science:
Common Alzheimer’s Disease Gene May Have Helped Our Ancestors Have More Kids
Roughly one in five people are born with at least one copy of a gene variant called APOE4 that makes them more prone to heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease in old age. That the variant is so common poses an evolutionary mystery: If it decreases our fitness, why hasn’t APOE4 been purged from the human population over time? Now, a study of nearly 800 women in a traditional society in the Amazon finds that those with the disease-promoting variant had slightly more children. Such a fertility benefit may have allowed the gene to persist during human evolution despite its harmful effects for older people today. (J. Kaiser, 8/9)
Stat:
How A Symptom Of Dementia Informs Our Understanding Of Creativity
A small percentage of people with frontotemporal dementia also experience an explosion of artistic creativity. (Iskandar, 8/10)
The Washington Post:
Caring For Alzheimer’s Patients Brings New Challenges For Some Men
Caring for a loved one with a serious illness can be daunting for anyone. For some men, especially those who are older, the transition can also be unfamiliar and jarring. Many men are not socialized into providing care, said Michael V. Bueno, an assistant clinical professor of nursing at the University of California at Irvine who researches male caregiving. “When you hear the word ‘caregiver,’ the picture that comes up is always female,” he said. (Kam, 8/9)
