February 3, 2020 Vol. 20 No. 01

Stats: After age 47, life gets brighter Economist David Blanchflower, PhD, of Dartmouth University, Hanover, New Hampshire has authored numerous peer-reviewed articles on happiness, wellbeing and life satisfaction, typically combining economics with areas of psychology and sociology. His most recent work, published by the US National Bureau of Economic Research, documents a U-shaped curve of happiness over the lifespan that is relevant globally, reaching a nadir at age 48 in developed countries and 47 in less-developed countries. To define the curve, Blanchflower used various measure of well-being – in particular, happiness and life satisfaction – as well as other measures such as an individual’s life experience, living standards, and where they live.

The latest articles make for fascinating reading, relevant to everyone over age 50 and those wanting to learn more about the forces that may be underpinning the concept of “midlife crisis,” which Blanchflower affirms is real. Interestingly, the work also seems to affirm the value of fostering the dimensions of wellness at every age, and understanding what may go awry (Blanchflower sought, in part, to explain the surge in midlife suicides) when wellness seems to be lost. The good news is that feelings of wellbeing surge upward again after the nadir, implying that aging may have a positive effect on happiness.

According to an article on the studies posted on Bigthink.com, Blanchflower posits three possible reasons for midlife crises and people’s ability to recover: 1- people learn to adapt to their strengths and weaknesses and what they’ve achieved in life; 2- people become grateful for the good things in their lives; or 3- cheerful people may live longer, and the U-shaped curve may simply reflect this.

SOURCES: National Bureau of Economic Research (January 2020). Blanchflower D. “Is happiness U-shaped everywhere?” and “Unhappiness and age”; NPR (January 21, 2020) Rosalsky, G. “More Data on the Midlife Crisis.”

What factors influence life plan resident wellness? The Mather Institute, Evanston, Illinois, is in the midst of a five-year longitudinal study on aging well. The recently published second-year findings looks specifically at life plan community resident wellness, revealing associations between specific personality traits and healthy behaviors, as well as overall health. The 61-page report is filled with data and insights that can inform programming and motivational strategies to boost physical activity, social activity, healthy eating and spiritual engagement.

Among the findings: - Residents with higher scores on personality traits of openness to experience and extroversion reported the highest levels of healthy behaviors. - Residents who form strong bonds within their community tend to have better overall health. - Conscientiousness is a plus in terms of engaging in physical activity and a healthy diet, but may be less so for involvement in social activities. - Higher perceived control is associated with more physical and social activity and a healthy diet, but less personal contemplation and meditation.

The last two findings are from the intriguing table on p. 6 of the report, which links specific personality traits, person resources, communal and organizational factors to positive and negative behavioral outcomes.

SOURCE: Mather Institute (January 2020). “The Age Well Study Report; Year 2 Findings.” 1 February 3, 2020 Vol. 20 No. 01

Hand sanitizers often used improperly The coronavirus is on everyone’s mind right now, and there are few proven preventive strategies. The first of several recommendations from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is: “Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol if soap and water are not available.”

Yet, a recent study shows that many healthcare workers – and, presumably, most everyone else – don’t use alcohol-based hand sanitizers correctly. In the test of 0.75-milliliter, 1.5ml, 2.25 ml and 3ml dollops, smaller amounts of sanitizer sometimes dried within the 20-30 second time frame recommended by the World Health Organization for optimal effectiveness, but none dried that fast when the largest amounts were used. In general, gels dried faster than foams.

Further, the healthcare worker volunteers tested needed at least 2.25 ml of sanitizer, and sometimes more if they had big hands, for optimal coverage of the front and back of hands. However, 86% used a single pump of product, regardless of whether that dose was 0.75 ml or 1.5 ml.

What does this mean in the real world? Probably that better dosing mechanisms and ways of assessing drying time are needed. For individuals, it can't hurt to use the alcohol-based sanitizers, but right now, at least, don’t overestimate their preventive power.

Frequent handwashing with soap and water is still the best preventive strategy, followed by the other CDC recommendations.

SOURCE: American Journal of Infection Control (January 13, 2020). Kenters N, et al. “Product dose considerations for real-world hand sanitizer efficacy.”

Social mobility linked to life expectancy A first-of-its-kind study found that social mobility – the ability of individuals to exceed the socioeconomic status of their parents – may play an important role in explaining why gaps in life expectancy between rich and poor people in the US are larger in some places than in others. The findings have policy and potential programmatic implications for the industry.

In their analysis of data from individuals living in 1,559 US counties, the researchers found that higher county- level social mobility was associated with greater longevity and a lower longevity gap between rich and poor county residents.

Moreover, across all counties, moving from the lowest to highest levels of social mobility was associated with a reduction in the longevity gap by 1.4 years among men and 1.1 years among women – approximately one-fifth of the longevity gap.

The authors note that because the study was observational, it cannot prove cause and effect; nevertheless, they suggest that recent declines in social mobility could be a key contributor to the widening longevity gaps between high- and low-income individuals in the US. They also suggest that the link between social mobility and the longevity gap could explain emerging health trends such as increasing mortality rates from alcohol use and abuse, and rising suicides among middle-aged individuals.

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“Policies to bolster social mobility can have important consequences for population health,” they write. They point to a study showing that adults who received vouchers to move to higher-income neighborhoods as part of the US Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing program experienced improvements in physical and mental health, whereas trade policies that curbed economic policies for manufacturing workers were linked to rising mortality.

SOURCE: JAMA Internal Medicine (January 21, 2020). Venkataramani A, et al. "Association of Social Mobility with the Income-Related Longevity Gap in the United States."

How much seniors housing will be needed going forward? NIC has uncovered some complex interactions between occupancy and rent growth in assisted living property markets, with implications for evaluating the attractiveness of a market for seniors housing investment or development. Its latest report investigates a four-year window – from 3Q 2015 through 3Q 2019 – in 31 primary markets, both in aggregate and individually. It delves deeply into factors affecting both strong performance and deceleration and provides useful insights for organizations considering expanding, consolidating, merging, etc. The freely available white paper highlights key trends.

Among the findings: the strongest performing markets—those with the highest assisted living average annual asking rent growth rates and highest average all occupancy rates for the past four-years included San Jose, Portland, Sacramento, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Baltimore, Seattle and San Diego.

The weakest performing markets included Detroit, Orlando, Miami, San Antonio, Dallas, Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Denver.

The report concludes, “Markets with either (1) strong absorption of new inventory, (2) a lull in cyclical construction, and/or (3) high barrier to-entry markets with limited new stock often have higher occupancy rates and can typically command higher rates of annual rent growth.

“In contrast, saturated markets—and markets with sustained construction cycles—may experience suppressed rent growth and lower occupancy rates for multiple years until demand catches up with supply.”

SOURCE: National Investment Center for Seniors Housing and Care (NIC; January, 2020). Mace BB and Standish A. “Looking into the future: How much seniors housing will be needed?”

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