"We know that the stronger your bones are when you are young, the more that some aging effects won't end up as broken bones," Studenski said. "Because you've got stronger bones when you're young, even if you lose a little bit they won't get to the point where they break."

The same is true for the brain. "There is clear evidence that building your brain when you are young is a good way to protect against having problems in daily life with brain function when you're old," according to Studenski.

She offers these other tips for keeping the aging mind sharp:

-- See your doctor regularly and follow their advice. Many health problems -- such as high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, or not eating right -- can make it hard to keep your mind sharp. It's important to get regular check-ups to make sure you're in good health and that any health problems you may have are under control.

-- Exercise regularly. Walk, dance, bike, swim, garden, for at least 30 minutes of exercise, three times a week, Studenski suggests. Exercise increases blood flow to the brain, which helps keep the brain healthy and working well and may even help new brain cells grow.

-- Get enough sleep. Getting less than 7 or 8 hours of nightly shut-eye can make it harder to concentrate and remember.

-- Eliminate stress. Stress can also make it harder to concentrate, learn and remember, and, over time, stress can make it hard to get a good night's rest. Exercise, prayer and meditation are good stress relievers.

-- Think, think, think. The more you use your brain, the better it'll work. Read a book. Do a crossword puzzle. Play bridge. Join a discussion group at a senior center or church. Take a class at your local community college. Learn to play the piano or to speak Spanish.

-- Socialize. Spending time with other people also seems to give your brain a boost. Find ways to meet and get to know others. Join a club. Volunteer. Get a part-time job.

-- Eat right. A diet low in saturated fat but rich in fruits and vegetables and B vitamins is good for your brain. Have fish a couple of times each week, especially fish packed with omea-3 fatty acids, like salmon and tuna. Ask your doctor if you should also take multiple vitamin each day.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

Usefulness of hospital quality measures questioned

Last Updated: 2006-12-12 16:00:09 -0400 (Reuters Health)

By Megan Rauscher

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - How a hospital rates in terms of the quality of care it provides does not appear to be closely linked to patient outcomes, according to a study in this week's Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study found that patients with three common conditions fared no better, for the most part, at hospitals with high performance grades on Medicare quality measures than at those with low performance grades.

The authors of the report, Drs. Rachel M. Werner and Eric T. Bradlow of the University of Pennsylvania, say "attention should be focused on finding measures of health care quality that are more tightly linked to patient outcomes. Only then will performance measurement live up to expectations for improving health care quality."

The quality of care delivered at hospitals in the United States often varies. "What we would like is a kind of 'Consumer Reports' for hospitals so that patients can find out which hospitals are better and then go to these hospitals," Werner said.

Medicare has taken "an important step" toward that goal, she noted, by publishing hospital performance in all acute care hospitals in the United States on their website "Hospital Compare."

Werner and Bradlow looked for ties between hospital performance and how well patients fared with heart attacks, heart failure, or pneumonia, using information from Hospital Compare for 3,657 acute care hospitals in the US.

Across all three conditions, the differences in "risk-adjusted" death rates between hospitals in the lower range of performance scores versus those performing in the upper range were small, the investigators report.

"Because the differences in hospitals are so small, it is unlikely that this information will be very useful to patients," Werner said. "This is particularly true because patients might not live close to the better hospitals."

"It is not helpful to know that another hospital is better if it is only a tiny bit better," she explained. "And it is even less helpful if the better hospital is 50 miles farther and you are having a heart attack."

"But evaluating hospitals is clearly a good idea and Hospital Compare is an important start," Werner said. "With time, the system will get better."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association, December 13, 2006

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.