I am talking about spouses—not girlfriends, boyfriends, partners, flings and such. This findings was released by the American Journal of Public Health stating that upon study, seniors living with their long-time spouses and serious relationships tend to live longer lives than those living with their adult kids, much less those living in assisted living facilities.
Apparently, the most suitable living environment for older people is right in their own homes with a spouse looking after them. These seniors were found out to be acquiring preventive health care on a regular basis such as screenings and tests as compared to those living alone or living with their kids.
Remember Healthy People 2010? This government program aims to improve quality of life for all people residing in the US. For seniors, its main goal is healthy aging and that includes cancer screening, dental check-ups and vaccinations. These are preventive measures that all seniors should participate in but it appears that only those living with their spouses are taking the heed.
Some of the reasons why older adults prefer not to undergo these important checkups are not having enough time to do so, too busy with their work, fear of uncovering fatal diseases that will require them a lifestyle change and having to go through it alone. Also, this study found out that healthcare providers assume that when a senior is living with their kids, they receive enough health attention; doctors who made this research strongly warned against these assumptions and recommended to send their patients to necessary preventive healthcare departments at once to avoid late diagnoses.
Although the study did not suggest that this particular living arrangement lowers lifestyle diseases and other age-related illnesses, it did however, manage to have a higher number of seniors participating in preventive healthcare activities as compared to other living arrangement for seniors. The study cannot offer explanation as well, as to why living with adult offspring prevented seniors from obtaining their much needed preventive care.
Well, living with a spouse is different from other living arrangements there is. Your spouse will know at once when to get medical attention and if the other half is experiencing something different from what the person had in the past. Spouses of older adults are supportive and they know when and how to hold their spouses’ hand; they are more protective and considerate because they know this person all too well. Seniors living with a spouse need not think twice of expressing pain and discomfort to the other person in the house while those who live with their kids tend to keep distress to themselves and try not to disrupt their kid’s life in any way.
