Fact sheets on diabetes, women's health

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Aging Initiative recently released two new informative fact sheets for older adults and their caregivers. “Diabetes and Environmental Hazards” outlines simple and important preventative steps to reduce exposure to environmental hazards and protect one’s health. Environmental hazards can affect the health of people with diabetes, and people living with diabetes are considered at high risk for adverse health effects from exposure to harmful particles, or air pollution found both indoors and outdoors. Inhaling harmful microscopic particles found in air may even increase your risk of heart attack and stroke.

The fact sheet “Women and Environmental Health” offers information on how to reduce exposure to pollutants such as air pollution, pesticides, cleaning agents and lead. Heart disease is the number-one killer of women over 65 years of age. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, which accounts for half of all deaths among American women age 50 and older. Did you know that heart disease, COPD and asthma can be aggravated and worsened by environmental pollutants, particularly air pollution? In 2006, 34 percent of people age 65 and older lived in counties that experienced poor air quality.

Did you know that lead you were exposed to earlier in life is still in your body? During menopause, bone stores break down and release accumulated lead into your bloodstream. Among older women, blood lead levels may be up to 25-30 percent higher than prior to menopause. Higher blood lead levels can increase your risk for hypertension, atherosclerosis and reduced kidney function.

The Aging Initiative has created seven fact sheets and translated them into 15 foreign languages and prepared a low literacy series and large font for persons with low vision on the Web site. All of these fact sheets are downloadable from the Web site, and hard copies can be ordered online at no cost at http://epa.gov/aging/resources/factsheets/order.htm .

EPA Announces Awards for Communities that have Combined Smart Growth and Active Aging

By adopting smart growth principles, communities can design places that increase mobility and improve quality of life for older adults. Pedestrian-friendly, level walkways also increase access to these amenities and encourage older residents to walk to the doctor’s office or local stores. By providing a range of housing opportunities, communities can enable residents to move within their neighborhood as their housing needs change. Such life-long residents help to establish a strong sense of place within a community. The benefits of building healthy communities for active aging are being realized in communities across the country.

Two categories of awards were made today. The Commitment Award recognizes communities that have developed and begun to initiate a specific plan to implement smart growth and active aging principles. The Achievement Award will be given for overall excellence in building healthy communities for active aging.

The 2007 Achievement winners are the Atlanta Regional Commission and the City of Kirkland, WA. To accept the award for ARC is Cathie Burger, Chief of the Division of Aging Services and Joan McBride, the Deputy Mayor of the City of Kirkland.

The 2007 Achievement Award Winners are:

City of Rogers Adult Wellness Center, Arkansas

Carver County Public Health, Carver County, Minnesota

Town of Scarborough, Maine

Queen Anne’s County Housing and Community Development, Maryland

Brazos Valley Council of Governments, Texas

The EPA's Aging Initiative program spearhead the multi-agency effort, which was developed in partnership with the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Council on Aging's Center for Healthy Aging, the National Blueprint Office and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, through its Active for Life program. For more information on each winner see http://www.epa.gov/aging/bhc/awards/2007/ .