New healthy aging data report finds CT growing older in every community

Connecticut is the 7^th oldest state in the country, according to a new analysis by UConn Boston and Tufts Health Plan Foundation, with 23% of state residents over age 60. The challenges of aging are not evenly spread across the state. Visit the site to see how seniors in your town/city compare to the state average on hundreds of indicators covering access to care, chronic disease incidence, falls, nutrition, wellness, oral and behavioral health. For example, the percent of residents age 60 or over by municipality varies from 11% (Mansfield) to 45% (Salisbury). Rates of falls in the last year by people 60 and over ranged from 19% (Clinton, Guilford, Killingworth, and Madison) to 32% (Plainfield, Putnam, Killingly, Sterling, and Thompson). Alzheimer’s or related dementia prevalence varied from 8% in Oxford to 21% in Hartford. The group released similar reports for Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Later this year, the CT Age Well Collaborative plans to release recommendations for healthy aging in our state.