Publications » Press Releases

Since the study began in 1990, over 400 news articles and press releases have been published on the Health and Retirement Study as well as on research using HRS data. Selected releases are listed below:

  • New federal support enhances ISR Health and Retirement Study. "The University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study has received significant support from the National Institutes of Health in order to carry out three important new enhancements...
    • Add a new cohort of late baby boomers to its ongoing research sample.
    • Collect blood samples that will provide valuable information on the aging of the immune system and related molecular and cellular age-related changes.
    • Carry out a new population study of dementia in collaboration with sister studies around the globe."
    (December 2015; leaving this site)

  • Health shocks and retirement: The impact of the unexpected. "Health is a central factor in many people’s decisions about when to retire. Chances are we all know someone who has run calculations in their head—or on paper—about how many 'good' years they have left, and on how they want to spend them. But what happens when health unexpectedly goes downhill..." (October 2014; leaving this site)

  • Older adults satisfied with aging more likely to seek health screenings. "Adults over 50 who feel comfortable about aging are more proactive in getting preventive health care services, a new University of Michigan study found." (October 2014; leaving this site)

  • Watch your step: Older African Americans fall less often. "A University of Michigan study examining how race and ethnicity predicts the frequency of falls by older people shows that African Americans are less likely to fall than others." (July 2014; leaving this site)

  • 'Til sickness do us part: How illness affects the risk of divorce. "In the classic marriage vow, couples promise to stay together in sickness and in health. But a new study finds that the risk of divorce among older married couples rises when the wife - but not the husband - becomes seriously ill." (April 2014; leaving this site)

  • Optimistic spouse better for partner's health. "If your spouse expects good things to happen, your health may be in luck. Having an optimistic spouse predicted better mobility and fewer chronic illnesses over time, even above and beyond a person's own level of optimism, according to a new University of Michigan study" (April 2014; leaving this site)

  • Optimism associated with lower risk of heart failure. "Optimistic older adults who see the glass as half full appear to have a reduced risk of developing heart failure." (April 2014; leaving this site)

  • Mentally challenging jobs may keep your mind sharp long after retirement. "A mentally demanding job may stress you out today but can provide important benefits after you retire, according to a new study." (March 2014; leaving this site)

  • Happiness results in fewer doctor visits. "An apple a day may keep the doctor away, but happiness may be the best prescription, says a University of Michigan researcher." (December 2013; leaving this site)

  • To retire or not to retire? For many workers, the "new retirement" is no retirement.... "[B]oomers now hitting retirement age are hanging onto their jobs like pit bulls, and sometimes forgetting to retire altogether. In fact, it would be easy to conclude that boomers - people born between 1946 and 1964 - are a bunch of workaholics." (June 2013; leaving this site)

  • Children of long-lived parents less likely to get cancer. "The offspring of parents who live to a ripe old age are more likely to live longer and are less prone to cancer and other common diseases associated with aging, a study that involved a University of Michigan researcher has revealed." (May 2013; leaving this site)

  • Study finds dementia care costs among highest of all diseases; comparable to cancer, heart disease. "The costs of caring for people with dementia in the U.S. are comparable to — if not greater than — those for heart disease and cancer, according to new estimates by researchers at the University of Michigan Health System and nonprofit RAND Corporation. Annual healthcare costs tied to dementia, including both formal and unpaid care, reach $159-$215 billion — rivaling the most costly major diseases — according to the findings that appear in The New England Journal of Medicine." (May 2013; leaving this site)

  • Why retire later? U-M experts show how to encourage longer careers. What if every U.S. worker got an automatic 10 percent pay raise at age 55? According to a new University of Michigan study, most people would work quite a bit longer to enjoy the extra income before they retired. By eliminating social security payroll taxes starting when workers are 55-years old, the study shows that take-home pay would jump by 10.6 percent and they would work 1.5 years longer on average, paying more income taxes and helping to reduce the Federal deficit. (September 2012; leaving this site)

  • U-M Health and Retirement Study adds genetic data to NIH database. The University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, a 20-year nationwide survey of the health, economic and social status of older Americans conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research, has added genetic information from 12,500 consenting participants to the online genetics database of the National Institutes of Health. The genetic data was posted on March 27, 2012 to dbGAP, the database of Genotypes and Phenotypes, an online genetic database developed by the NIH. (March 2012; leaving this site)

  • Easing out of work: Scientists practice that which most Americans want: When Bob Willis thought about retiring, he knew just how he wanted to do it: Slowly — or maybe never. (June 2007; leaving this site)

  • Early retirement: Is it better to spend it at work or at play?: More than one of every five Americans age 62 and older who expected to retire early are still working, according to a new analysis of the prevalence of unanticipated work in retirement and its consequences for the well-being of older adults. (August 2006; leaving this site)

  • NIH renews $70 million ISR Health and Retirement Study: The award from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is the largest single research award in U-M history. (June 2006; leaving this site)

  • A hidden cost of depression: A new study reveals that depression among senior citizens carries a huge unrecognized cost: many extra hours of unpaid help with everyday activities, delivered by the depressed seniors’ spouses, adult children and friends. (May 2005)

  • Disabled at work: About one-third of all disabled people in their 50s — and half of all disabled men — became disabled because of their jobs, a new study shows. (April 2005)

  • Early retirement offers: U-M study shows how common they are, and the impact they have on employment of older workers. (May 2002)

  • Costs of family caregiving for elderly with cancer are significant, often forgotten; Costs will continue to increase as elderly population doubles in next 30 years. (June 2001)

  • Costs of caring for elders with dementia: Extra $18 billion a year in time spent by family and friends. (November 2001)

  • Improving memory among older Americans: (February 2001)

  • Older Americans who live with their children get more Medicare-paid help than peers who are just as disabled but live alone. (February 2001)

  • Disabled elderly women receive less home care than men: Elderly women more likely to provide care for husbands, more likely to receive care from children. (December 2000)

  • Economic penalty of extra pounds: U-M study identifies the cost of obesity to middle-aged women. (November 2000)

Sources: University of Michigan News and Information Services; University of Michigan Health System, Department of Public Relations and Marketing Communications.