[ { "post_id": "508", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "Legionnaires’ disease: The gardening risk that can turn deadly; what you need to know", "post_content_short": "From the Herald:<\/strong> A Christchurch woman still remembers how a spring gardening job more than a decade ago left her fighting\n\tfor her life with Legionnaires’ disease.\n\n

\n\tAnne-Marie Prendeville became critically ill after using potting mix in her garden in 2013, with doctors telling her husband to “prepare for\n\tthe worst”.\n\n

\n\tHer experience comes as\n\tHealth New Zealand figures<\/a>\n\tshow Canterbury recorded 36 cases of Legionnaires’ disease in the year to August 31, accounting for nearly a quarter of cases nationwide and\n\ttwo-thirds of those in the South Island.\n\n

Of the 54 South Island cases, 46 required hospitalisation.\n

Nationally, there were 152 cases over the same period, with 135 requiring hospital treatment.", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/508\/Screenshot-2026-10-12-104219.png", "post_content_type": "url", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/nz\/legionnaires-disease-the-gardening-risk-that-can-turn-deadly-what-you-need-to-know\/JNA2PCLGNNANTGBOTGMXMDEHQI\/", "post_date": "2026-10-11 21:43:28" }, { "post_id": "507", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "'I'm an exercise physiologist: here's one way to greatly lower your risk of dementia'", "post_content_short": "

\n\tFrom One News:<\/strong> Exercise physiologist and personal trainer Courtney McCormack works at Salus Strength, a small Auckland gym\n\twhere the focus is on high-intensity, low-volume strength training. A lot of her clients are older people looking to preserve or develop\n\ttheir strength to ensure a longer, more active life. McCormack shares seven basic truths about movement in middle-age and beyond, and\n\texplains how to fit it into your life, without drama.\n\n

1. Improved body strength can lower the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease<\/h2>\n

\n

\n\tThe correlation between a strong body and a sharp mind isn’t just anecdotal – Courtney McCormack points to a UK Biobank study of 148,659\n\tolder adults which measured their grip strength.\n\n

\n

\n\t“Grip strength is a simplistic but helpful over-arching gauge of total body strength,” she says. “And the study showed that people in the\n\thighest third of grip strength had a 31% lower risk of developing dementia and a 26% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.\n\n

\n

And the really good news? It’s never too late.", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/507\/Screenshot-2026-10-12-103623.png", "post_content_type": "url", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.1news.co.nz\/2026\/10\/11\/using-your-muscles-lowers-your-risk-of-dementia-and-you-dont-even-need-to-join-a-gym\/", "post_date": "2026-10-11 21:37:45" }, { "post_id": "506", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "Women are mailing their hair across New Zealand. Here's why", "post_content_short": "From RNZ:<\/strong> Each week, about a dozen women from around New Zealand send Vicki Ogden-O’Fee a lock of their hair. ​
\n
\nIt’s not weird at all. ​
\n
\nOgden-O’Fee, a Christchurch hair stylist of 43 years, uses the test strands to determine how a client’s hair will respond to what has been\ndubbed grey blending. It is a boutique service that varies between clients, involving highlights, lowlights and tones to gradually integrate\ngrey hair into a low-maintenance colour. Often, the hair samples paint a story of someone who has dyed or bleached over their greys for\nyears, adding complexity to the transition.", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/506\/Screenshot-2026-10-12-101835.png", "post_content_type": "url", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/life\/lifestyle\/style\/grey-blending-the-new-menu-item-at-your-hair-salon", "post_date": "2026-10-11 21:21:05" }, { "post_id": "505", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "Free breast screening extends to women aged 71 from today", "post_content_short": "From the beehive:<\/strong> From today, women turning 71 are eligible for free breast screening as BreastScreen Aotearoa's age\n\textension programme enters its second year, Health Minister Simeon Brown and Women's Minister Nicola Grigg say.\n\n

\n\t\"Breast cancer is the most common cancer among New Zealand women, with around 3,700 diagnosed every year. Extending free screening means\n\tmore of those cancers will be found early, when they're most treatable,\" Mr Brown says.\n\n

\n\t\"Last October we took the first step in a four-year rollout, extending free screening to women aged 70 and 74. From today, women turning 71\n\tare included, with those turning 72 and 73 to follow each October over the next two years.\n\n

\"Once the extension is fully in place, approximately 120,000 more women will be eligible for free screening.\"\n

Mr Brown says the Government has been building capacity so services can keep pace with demand.\n

\n\t\"All four new mobile screening units have now been delivered, bringing the national fleet to 14. Each can screen around 5,000 women a year\n\tand brings mammograms to women in provincial centres, small towns, and rural communities, so fewer women need to travel long distances to be\n\tscreened.\n\n

\n\t\"Alongside the mobile units, five new or redevelopment sites have been established in Whangārei, Takapuna, Greenlane, Kāpiti, and Counties\n\tManukau.\"\n", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/505\/Screenshot-2026-10-02-094349.png", "post_content_type": "url", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.beehive.govt.nz\/release\/free-breast-screening-extends-women-aged-71-today", "post_date": "2026-10-01 20:45:17" }, { "post_id": "504", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "Seven common age-related eye changes you shouldn’t ignore", "post_content_short": "From the Herald: While some of these changes can be a normal part of ageing, others may signal an underlying eye condition.<\/strong>\n\n

\n\tJames Byczek was out to dinner with his wife and a friend when he noticed what he thought was a fly buzzing around the room. “I asked them\n\tif they saw it, too, and they said no,” he said. Later, at home, the floating spot had transformed into a thick, squiggly black line in his\n\tleft eye. “I thought, ‘that’s weird, I must have something in my eye’,” Byczek, then 56, recalled. But he didn’t see anything when he looked\n\tin the mirror.\n\n

\n\tByczek, who lives in the US, booked an appointment with an optometrist, who told him to go to the emergency department. Three days later, he\n\twas in surgery for a retinal detachment.\n\n

\n\tDeveloping a detached retina – when the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye pulls away from its normal position – is fairly\n\tuncommon. The average person’s lifetime risk is less than 1%. However, if you are very nearsighted, have had a previous eye injury or have a\n\tfamily history of detachment, your chances of experiencing one are higher. Age increases that risk, too. “One of the main considerations\n\twith eye health is that age is a risk factor for nearly every eye disease,” said Teri Geist, president of the American Optometric\n\tAssociation and an optometrist at Midwest Eye Care in Omaha, Nebraska.\n", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/504\/Screenshot-2026-10-02-093904.png", "post_content_type": "url", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/lifestyle\/seven-common-age-related-eye-changes-you-shouldnt-ignore\/premium\/6U44Q2CSCVBGJIS4PHIKDN2FNI\/", "post_date": "2026-10-01 20:41:47" }, { "post_id": "503", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "The 84-year-old powerlifter proving strength has no age limit", "post_content_short": "Justine began lifting weights to supplement her athletics training but was so taken with the discipline that she now powerlifts\n\tcompetitively – and is making history while she’s at it.\n\n

\n\t“My background is in athletics,” she says. “I used to compete in athletics at school and college. I took it back up again 15 years ago and\n\tcompete in the discus, shot put, hammer, javelin and weight throw.”\n\n

\n\tAs she got older, Justine noticed changes in her body that meant she needed to adapt her approach. “I used to rely on speed and technique,\n\tbut my speed was declining. Fast spins I could do a decade ago became more difficult, my knee\n", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/503\/Screenshot-2026-10-01-162340.png", "post_content_type": "url", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/newsroom.co.nz\/2026\/09\/27\/the-84-year-old-powerlifter-proving-strength-has-no-age-limit\/", "post_date": "2026-10-01 04:00:04" }, { "post_id": "502", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "Helping Older People Stay At Home Longer Is Critical Before The Aged Care System Reaches Breaking Point", "post_content_short": "From Scoop:<\/strong> New Zealand needs to invest more in helping older people remain at home for longer or face mounting pressure on\n\thospitals, residential care and family carers.\n\n

\n\tTo mark International Day of Older Persons<\/em> (1 October 2026), Presbyterian Support Northern's (PSN) Enliven Home and Disability\n\tSupport Services is calling on the Government to make ageing at home a national priority.\n\nThis International Day of Older Persons, Enliven is calling for ageing at home to be a national priority<\/em>\n

\n\tEnliven General Manager Wendy Hoskin says this year's theme, The Age of Longevity: Rethinking Systems for Longer Lives,<\/em> highlights\n\tthe need for the government and communities to rethink how we support an ageing population.\n", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/502\/Screenshot-2026-09-30-155814.png", "post_content_type": "url", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.scoop.co.nz\/stories\/GE2609\/S00075\/helping-older-people-stay-at-home-longer-is-critical-before-the-aged-care-system-reaches-breaking-point.htm", "post_date": "2026-09-30 03:00:35" }, { "post_id": "501", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "NZ ‘can do better’ to support older workers", "post_content_short": "From University of Auckland News: <\/strong>Work is a big part of people’s lives – and that doesn’t stop when they turn 65, says\nUniversity of Auckland’s Dr Deepika Jindal. A new study aims to identify challenges faced by older workers. Photo: GettyImages.Research\nexploring the employment experiences of older New Zealanders has been launched by University of Auckland's Dr Deepika Jindal.A professional\nteaching fellow in the Business School, Jindal hopes her study will identify challenges facing older workers and give organisations insights\ninto changes they can make to better support them.In the 1990s, about five percent of people aged 65 and over were in paid employment, but\nby 2024 this had increased five-fold to about 26 percent, she says.“Some older people are driven by financial necessity, but others find\nmeaning and social connection through work.“Some have said they want to retire, but feel life would be empty without work,” Jindal says.", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/501\/Screenshot-2026-09-28-160524.png", "post_content_type": "url", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.auckland.ac.nz\/en\/news\/2026\/09\/28\/deepika-jindal-older-workers-career-crafting.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com", "post_date": "2026-09-28 03:07:39" }, { "post_id": "500", "post_category_id": "28", "post_title": "Open Letter to MPs", "post_content_short": "", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/500\/Screenshot-2026-09-24-135809.png", "post_content_type": "page", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/news\/media-releases-and-statements\/open-letter-to-mps\/", "post_date": "2026-09-24 01:17:27" }, { "post_id": "499", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "Alzheimer's disease starting to be considered a treatable condition - study", "post_content_short": "Alzheimer's disease is starting to be considered as a treatable and preventable condition, a major new report says.\n

\n\tThe World Alzheimer Report 2026, released today from Alzheimer's Disease International, says despite years of slow progress, clinical trials\n\tare now on the brink of diagnostic and medical breakthroughs.\n\n

\n\tThe number of people living with dementia globally is projected to surpass 139 million by 2050, the report said, becoming one of the leading\n\tcauses of death throughout the world.\n\n

But while a cure is still far away, medical research is radically shifting the understanding of the disease.\n

\n\t\"I think for a long time there's been a fairly nihilistic view in the dementia world, that it is something that can just happen as you age\n\tfor example, and that we can't do anything about,\" neurologist, neuroscientist and Alzheimers NZ spokesperson Dr Campbell Le Heron said.\n", "post_icon": "https:\/\/www.ageconcernauckland.org.nz\/media\/website_posts\/499\/Screenshot-2026-09-21-150707.png", "post_content_type": "url", "post_content_url": "https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/health\/1483456\/alzheimer-s-disease-starting-to-be-considered-a-treatable-condition-study", "post_date": "2026-09-21 03:11:02" }, { "post_id": "498", "post_category_id": "1", "post_title": "How learning te reo Māori in her 70's transformed one Pākehā grandmother's view of Aotearoa", "post_content_short": "\"Open your heart.\"\n

\n\tThose are the kupu one Pākehā grandmother hopes will encourage more New Zealanders to take their first step toward te reo Māori and te ao\n\tMāori.\n\n

\n\tGael Finlayson-Davis, grandmother of six and great-grandmother of two, now in her 70s, became an unexpected symbol of this year's Matariki\n\tcelebrations after speaking\n\tthrough tears at the national hautapu ceremony<\/a>\n\tat Takaparawhau.\n\n