The Effect of Smoking on Trends in U.S Mortality at Older Ages
Samuel Preston is the Fredrick J. Warren professor of demography, Population Aging Research Center, at the University of Pennsylvania. Preston talked with PRB about the current rates of smoking in the United States and its contribution to mortality in the United States and other developed countries. This webcast is underwritten by the U.S. National Institute on Aging, Behavioral and Social Research Unit, through a grant from the University of Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging. Funding has also been provided by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. (April 2009)

Cognitive Impairment and Decline: Interview With Kenneth Langa, University of Michigan
With continued population aging—the number of Americans ages 65 or older is projected to swell from around 41 million to 65 million over the next 15 years—the loss of cognitive function among some older Americans foreshadows a potentially enormous social and economic burden on individuals, families, communities, and the nation. In this interview, Kenneth Langa, University of Michigan School of Medicine and Institute for Social Research, discusses cognitive impairment and its causes, trends, and effects in the United States. He warns that certain trends may adversely affect the brain health of Americans, especially rising obesity rates and a consequent increase in diabetes, which is also associated with declining cognitive function among older adults. (April 2009)

Education, Medical Treatment, and Social Networks Can Promote 'Brain Health' Among U.S. Elderly
With continued population aging and increasing numbers of elderly, the loss of cognitive function among some older Americans foreshadows a potentially enormous social and economic burden on individuals, families, communities, and the nation. Three researchers present their findings on how education, income, better treatment of stroke and heart disease, and other factors affect the severe decline in cognitive ability among nearly 10 percent of U.S. elderly. (March 2009)

Brazil's Fertility Falls Below Two-Child Average
Recent population estimates from Brazil's national statistical office (IBGE) peg the national fertility rate at just 1.9 lifetime children per woman in 2007, lower than previous rates estimated by the UN, the U.S. Census Bureau, PRB, and other international organizations that estimate population measures. Notably, this new estimate is below the long-term replacement fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman—and below the 2.1 estimated for the United States in 2007. (February 2009)

Social Security Systems Around the World
This e-newsletter is the 15th in a series funded by the University of Michigan Demography Center. This issue, "Social Security Systems Around the World," reviews research sponsored by the National Institute of Aging, and other research, on the social security system in the United States and worldwide in order to better understand their effects and possible means of reform. (January 2009)

Rethinking Age and Aging

This Population Bulletin illustrates how to use new measures of population aging that take into account changes in longevity over time and place. None of the usual indicators of aging available adjust for increases in life expectancy. New measures described in this Population Bulletin take life expectancy differences into account. (BUL63.4; December 2008)

PRB Discuss Online: What Are the Financial Implications of Aging in the United States?
The U.S. population is aging. The ratio of elderly to the working-age population in the United States will roughly double over the next few decades, straining the finances of the U.S. Social Security system and other government programs. Ron Lee, professor of demography and economics at the University of California-Berkeley, answered participants questions on this topic. Read a transcript of the questions and answers. (November 2008)

Obesity, Economics, and Health
This e-newsletter is the 13th in a series funded by the University of Michigan Demography Center. This issue, "Obesity, Economics, and Health," reviews research sponsored by the National Institute of Aging, and other research, on the health consequences of obesity and the factors associated with becoming obese. (September 2008)

Use of Biomarkers in Predicting Health and Mortality
This e-newsletter is the 14th in a series funded by the University of Michigan Demography Center. This issue, "Use of Biomarkers in Predicting Health and Mortality," reviews research sponsored by the National Institute of Aging and other institutions that investigates the link between biological risk factors and health or mortality in the older populations. (September 2008)

Tracking Trends in Low Fertility Countries: An Uptick in Europe?
PRB has made a major update to its table of total fertility rates (TFRs) in countries with low or very low fertility rates. The newest tabulations suggest that fertility may be rising in some countries. We will have to wait to find out if this signals a more general trend. (September 2008)