MATURE MARKET HEADLINES POSTED 9/25/98
National Grandparent Daze Seems Inevitable
"Over the river and through the woods ... to grandmother's house we go." Just about every boomer remembers singing that song at one time or another. But, now that boomers are becoming grandparents themselves, they can appreciate exactly why grandma chose to live so darn far away. The reason? A well-deserved respite. A bit of "peace and quiet".
Grandfolks back then enjoyed the grandkids on their own terms, like weekends and holidays ... after which the grandkids could be quickly dispatched back to the place from whence they came, back to their own home. Sadly though, boomer grandparents may never enjoy such a convenient relationship with the grandkids. That's because families are changing.
Divorce, separations, career setbacks, and financial emergencies encountered by today's adult children are having a boomerang impact on grandparents. For example, during times of crisis, adult children sometimes show up, with their own kids in tow, on the doorstep of grandparents. So these days, grandparents are finding themselves, "back in the saddle again" as head of a multi-generational household.
That unexpected responsibility comes as quite a surprise for new grandparents who thought the later years would be a time to spread their wings, free of child-rearing responsibilities. A sad set of circumstances for some grandparenets. And, current demographic trends, suggest we can expect more grandparents to be confronted by this reversal of fortune. It's enough to send any grandparent into a daze.
In 1997, 2.4 million of the nation's families were maintained by grandparents who had one or more of their grandchildren living with them, up about 400,000 (19 percent) since 1990. These families comprised 7 percent of all families with children under 18. 2.3 million grandparent-maintained families contained a grandmother and 1.4 million had a grandfather.
As of 1997, 55 percent of grandmothers and 47 percent of grandfathers who maintained homes for their grandchildren, were not yet age 55. If you think that's young, think again. 19 percent of grandmothers and 15 percent of grandfathers were ... under age 45. About two-thirds of grandparent-maintained families in 1997 included one or both of the children's parents.
Among grandparent-maintained families, the average household income in 1996 ranged from $19,750 to $61,632. In 1997, 3.9 million (6 percent) of the nation's children lived in a grandparent's home, up a whopping 76 percent from the 2.2 million (3 percent) who did so in 1970.
Finally, these children are more vulnerable than most kids. Not only do they lack the support of a traditional family structure, most (66%) are poor, and 50% are younger than 6. I guess you could say that "the times are still a'chang'in". And those changes are leaving many grandparents dazed.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
"Parental Preferences Predict Grandparenthood"
"Faith Is Tie That Binds Elders to Grandkids"
"10% of Grandparents Don't Visit Grandkids ... they raise them full time."
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Manufacturer Makes Lite of Boomer Trends
Aging America's baby boomer market is far too great an opportunity to ignore. What business could resist a market with 78 million potential customers? Not many. Austin-based Lumatec Industries is one Texas manufacturer willing to stake its success on fulfilling the needs and wants of Aging America. Lumatec Industries is a manufacturer of lighted travel accessories and flashlights.
The manufacturer is setting its sites on a line of lighted magnifiers designed for well-educated Boomers who, as avid readers, are looking for easy-to-use, sophisticated reading aids to take with them as they travel, use at home for hobbies, and enjoy favorite past times. Consider the fact that the average 80 year-old requires about three times the light required by a 30 year old, and you can understand the important role that illumination plays in the lifestyle of retirees and boomers.
Couple the need for illumination with the reading and travel habits of adults, and you're got quite a market potential for lighting products. According to American Demographics, 80% of today's travelers are 50-plus, and seniors spend two times more on books, newspapers, magazines, and other reading material than 25-34 year olds. And, as adult needs change with age, mature markets are ready for new product offerings.
Lumatec already meets many needs of older people, providing personal security, reading aids, and recreational accessories. That makes the boomer market a logic next step. "Lumatec knows the importance of addressing Boomers' need for well-designed reading aids at affordable prices," explains Peter Altman, President of Lumatec. "We responded to this demand with a full line of useful and versatile lighted magnifiers, many of which also offer a flashlight feature for personal safety and travel use."
Lumatec's latest magnifiers, LiteBar (tm) and LiteSquare (tm) fit the unique needs of boomers. LiteSquare features a large, 2"X4" illuminated 2X power lens with a built-in 6X power bifocal lens, bringing details into sharp focus. Retailing for $12.95, this product is perfect for use by collectors and hobbyists who prefer low-light work environments. LiteBar is a travel-version of the reading light that offers a smaller, retractable lighted magnifying bar.
Other lifestyle products include the NiteOut (a pocket-sized combination magnifier / flashlight in a compact case) and NiteOwl (a portable book light). The Good Housekeeping Seal, says Lumatec, has been extended to include the NiteOwl Book Light line, Travel Time, and Flash Card (a super-bright personal safety flashlight for illuminating the user's way to and from the car and home entry. The Good Housekeeping Seal offers a consumer guarantee of satisfaction. Lumatec's boomer product line is displayed online at: www.lumatec.com
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
"Home Builders Nail Down Boomer Market "
"Poll Says Hot Tubs Pull Boomers Together"
"Science Helps Boomers Battle Premature Aging"
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Boomers Better Prepared for Menopause
More than half (51%) of American women between ages 50 and 65 who had reached menopause said they are happiest and most fulfilled now, as compared to when they were in their 20s, 30s, or 40s. The finding comes from a national study, conducted by The Gallup Organization at the request of the North American Menopause Society (NAMS).
The women surveyed said many areas of their lives had improved since menopause, including their family or home life, sense of personal fulfillment, ability to focus on hobbies or other interests, relationship with their spouse and friendships. Sixteen percent of women surveyed said their sexual relationship had gotten better since menopause, while 17 percent said it had gotten worse, and 51 percent said it had remained unchanged. Nearly one in four women said their physical health had improved; however, nearly the same amount said their health had gotten worse.
Few women (3%) said their role at work had gotten worse. Instead, 22 percent said their work life had improved, and 47 percent said it had remained unchanged. One reason for women's positive experiences may be because 43% of menopausal women believe their generation brought menopause out of the closet and are talking about it more than previous generations.
Women also believe they have better nutritional habits than women in previous generations, as well as better understanding of menopause in general. Some women attributed the differences between generations to the fact that women today see their doctor more often and are more likely to treat menopause-related effects with hormones or other medications. The survey also showed that when women need information about menopause, they tend to look to women from their own generation, rather than women from their mother's generation.
Forty-five percent of women said they have never discussed menopause with their mother or someone from the previous generation. In fact, 60 percent said their mother's generation did not prepare them for menopause at all. Instead, 83 percent said they discuss menopause with a friend or someone from their own generation, compared to much fewer who discuss it with someone from their mother's or daughter's generation.
When it comes to being a role models for the next generation, 53 percent of the women surveyed said they believe their generation has somewhat or completely prepared the younger generation for menopause, as compared to only 12 percent who felt that way about their mother's generation. When asked what advice they would most like to offer younger women preparing for menopause, some women said to seek information, read about menopause, and ask questions so they are informed.
Other recommendations included taking actions to stay healthy, including exercise, eating right, and taking vitamins. Others said they'd most like to tell a younger woman "don't worry" about menopause or "relax".
The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) is a nonprofit organization solely dedicated to promoting the understanding of menopause. Additional information about menopause is available on-line at the NAMS website at http://www.menopause.org
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
"Menopause More Kind To Japanese Women"
"Scientists Search for Meaning of Menopause"
"Is Menopause ... All In Your Head?"
"Menopause Maven Founds Red Hot Mamas Club"
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Breast Cancer Researchers Study Tamoxifen
According to the National Institute of Health, researchers from the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (BCPT) discovered a 49% reduction in breast cancer incidence among high-risk participants who took tamoxifen (Nolvadex®, Zeneca Pharmaceuticals, Wilmington, Del.), a drug used for the past two decades to treat breast cancer. The BCPT was designed to see whether the drug tamoxifen prevents breast cancer in women who are at an increased risk of developing the disease.
The BCPT also looked at whether taking tamoxifen decreased the number of heart attacks and reduced the number of certain common types of bone fractures in these women. The women in the trial have taken tamoxifen or placebo daily for an average of four years. In this trial, healthy women assigned to take tamoxifen developed nearly 50% fewer cases of invasive breast cancer then those in the placebo group (participants who did not receive the drug). Women on tamoxifen also had 50 percent fewer diagnoses of noninvasive breast cancer.
Tamoxifen did increase the women's chances of three rare but life-threatening health problems: endometrial cancer (cancer of the lining of the uterus), pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung), and deep vein thrombosis (blood clots in major veins). Among these women at increased risk for breast cancer, women under age 50 appeared to suffer no excess risk of serious adverse effects from use of tamoxifen compared to the placebo group of the study. About 40 percent of the participants were ages 35 to 49, 30 percent were ages 50 to 59, and 30 percent were age 60 or older.
All age groups showed similar reductions in breast cancer incidence from amoxifen. Only women at increased risk for developing breast cancer participated in the study. Because the risk of breast cancer increases with age, women 60 years of age and older qualified to participate based on age alone. At age 60, about 17 of every 1,000 women are expected to develop breast cancer within five years.
Women between the ages of 35 and 59 who demonstrated an increased risk of breast cancer equivalent to or greater than that of an average 60-year-old woman were also eligible. A full report of the study is published in the September 16, 1998 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
"Vaccine Helps Immune System Fight Cancer "
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AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Funerals Fail To Foster Good Grief
For years, researchers have believed that outpouring of grief at funerals for someone who has died
unexpectedly helps those who were closest to that person, since funerals lessen denial about death.
Two University of North Texas psychologists, however, have discovered that those who lose friends
or family members as a result of an accident, murder or suicide view the funeral more negatively and
experience less help from it than those whose friends' or family members' deaths were expected.
Drs. Bert Hayslip and Charles Guarnaccia surveyed 438 individuals who had attended the funeral of a family member or friend during the past two years. Ninety percent had attended the funeral within the past year. More than half (265) attended the funeral for someone who had died suddenly via murder, car accidents, heart attacks, suicide or other causes. The other 173 participants lost their loved ones after long illnesses.
"We predicted that funerals would be more important to the survivors of unexpected deaths and that the survivors would therefore participate more in activities surrounding the funeral and view the funeral as meaningful and helpful," Hayslip says. "That was not the case." Survivors of those whose deaths were anticipated can make funeral arrangements before their loved ones' deaths and usually have support from others in preparing themselves for the death, Hayslip says.
"For those experiencing sudden loss, no specific support systems are available before the death. Individuals dealing with unexpected deaths tend to be in a state of shock, and therefore may be unable to participate in activities that acknowledge the reality of death, such as giving away the dead person's possessions," he says. "In addition, other family members and friends may take on funeral planning responsibilities." He adds survivors of those who die unexpectedly may assume personal responsibility for the death and become angry or feel guilty, thus viewing the funeral negatively.
"People tend to feel more positive about the funeral if they felt they had less control over the death. You cannot control whether or not a family member will die from cancer, but if a family member commits suicide or dies from a drug overdose, you may ask if you could have helped the person and prevented the death," Hayslip says. Survivors of those who die from "unpopular" reasons, such as suicide, are often not permitted the same latitude of emotion at funerals as survivors of those who die from "acceptable" deaths, he says.
"We saw a huge outpouring of grief at the death of Princess Diana because she died as a result of an accident she had no control over," he says. "But if she had died as a result of suicide, the funeral would have been a lot different. We didn't see as large of an outpouring of emotion for Kurt Corbain, who committed suicide." Hayslip and Guarnaccia also discovered the younger participants in the survey, as compared to older participants, believed the funerals they had attended were less meaningful and served them less well. "We can attribute this to the fact that people who are younger have less experience with death and attending funerals," Hayslip.
See related articles in the AgeVenture archives.
"Abuse Raises Elder's Death Risk By 300%"
"Brain Chemical Called Death Messenger"
AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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Highest Prostate Cancer Risk Is Black Male
Compared to other men, says UC Berkeley spokesperson, Kathleen Scalise, African American males stand a much higher chance of dying from prostate cancer even when they are diagnosed at similar stages of the disease and have access to the same care, according to University of California, Berkeley researchers. Their conclusions are reported in the journal "Cancer."
The new UC Berkeley study of men who died after being diagnosed with prostate cancer found that about half are killed directly by the disease. In the remainder of cases, death was attributed to other causes such as coronary heart disease or other cancers. Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death among men in the U.S. For African American men, "prostate cancer is twice as likely as for white men and they are much more likely to be diagnosed with advanced stages of the disease," said UC Berkeley Public Health Professor William A. Satariano, principle investigator on the project.
Even after adjusting for the age of patient and stage of disease at diagnosis, the likelihood of "dying of prostate carcinoma was 68 percent greater for black men than white men," Satariano reported. His co-authors are research specialist Kathleen E. Ragland of UC Berkeley's School of Public Health and Stephen K. Van Den Eeden of the Oakland Kaiser Permanent Division of Research.
Why African American men appear more vulnerable to the disease is not known and needs further study, said Satariano. Explanations could include different treatment choices despite having the same health plan and access to care, or a physical difference in reaction to the disease, the treatment, or other accompanying health conditions.
Other groups from the sample population that proved more likely to ultimately die of prostate cancer included those who were younger than 65, those diagnosed with more advanced stages of the disease, those treated with hormone therapy or those who lived longer than six months after diagnosis. Prostate cancer is most often found in older men. The incidence of the disease rises rapidly after age 50 and the median age at diagnosis is 72.
Satariano is concerned that mortality rates for prostate cancer, already high, may still be grossly underestimated. "This study suggests we need to understand more about the cancer's occurrence. What does it really mean to say someone has prostate cancer and heart disease? It may be that the prostate cancer aggravates the course of the heart disease.
When you attempt to examine the health of older people, multiple diseases is a complication," he said. In the end, "you have to wonder if the assignment of one cause of death really captures what happens," he said. "Especially for African American men, we're really just scratching the surface of understanding this."
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AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com
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