Costco Connection - September 2012

By Fred Cicetti

IT TURNS OUT that old men—and women—have bigger ears than they had as young adults. In short, your ears grow larger as you age. I know this sounds like a myth, but it’s been proven by scienti;c studies.

; Researchers at the Veterans Administration Medical Center/Texas Tech University found that ear circumference increases an average of 0.51 millimeters per year.

“This study,” says Rui Tan, the lead researcher, “supports the view that as people age, their ears get larger, particularly the ear circumference. This enlargement is likely associated with aging changes of collagen (collagen is the ;brous protein part of bone, cartilage, tendon, and other connective tissue). The knowledge from this study allows us to calculate the age of an individual based on ear size: Subject’s age = 1.96 x ear circumference in millimeters − 88.1.”

; Research in the UK found similar results.

“A chance observation—that older people have bigger ears—was at ;rst controversial, but has been shown to be true,” Dr. James A. Heathcote at the Royal College of General Practitioners in England reported. Why ears get bigger when the rest of the body stops

h c STEVEN LAIT
growing is not answered by this research, he says.

Costco member Fred Cicetti, aka The Healthy Geezer ( www.healthygeezer.com), is a freelance writer who specializes in health.

September

RECOVERY MONTH, which has been observed for 23 years, originally focused on recognition for professionals who treat patients for substance abuse. In 1998 it shifted to celebrating the suc-cesses of individuals who had overcome addiction, and in 2011 it expanded to encompass all forms of behavioral health.

The core message of this initiative is multifold: Prevention works; treatment is effective; people can and do recover to live healthy and rewarding lives; behavioral health is essential to overall health.

National
Alcohol and
Drug Addiction
Recovery Month

behavioral health is essential to

Arthritis can trigger anxiety or depression

IMAGEZOO

RESEARCHERS FROM THE Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that one-third of U.S. adults with arthritis, age 45 years or older, report having anxiety or depression. According to findings that recently appeared in Arthritis Care & Research, a journal published on behalf of the American College of Rheumatology, anxiety is nearly twice as common as depression among people with arthritis.

The CDC estimates that all forms of arthritis affect 50 million Americans, making it the leading cause of disability nationwide. Previous studies have reported depression is common among those with chronic illnesses. However, experts suggest that anxiety is often underrecognized and undertreated, and until recently was overlooked as a potential risk factor for depression.

Anxiety disorders are based on physical symp-
toms, such as chest pains or tightness, heart palpi-
tations or nausea, that give rise to disturbing
thoughts. Those thoughts, over time, can and often
do morph into depression, which is characterized
more by fatigue, decreased energy and apathy.