Aged

For all the talk of the graying American population, the United States places only 32nd among nations ranked according to the percentage of their population that is 65 and older, according to a government report. By this measure, Italy is the oldest country in the world, with 18% of its population having celebrated their 65th birthday. The United States, at 12.6%, is younger than Japan, virtually all of Europe and even Uruguay.

Assembly Republicans, seeking support for Gov. Pete Wilson's bill to make recession welfare cuts permanent, tried Thursday to somewhat protect aged, blind and disabled recipients. By a 37-28 party-line vote, the Assembly amended the bill to delay its effect for 1 million aged, blind and disabled people who get state welfare checks. The bill will be considered by the Assembly next week.

One reason why mainstream doctors who study aging have been skeptical of the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine is that they believe the group's physician admission standards are not stringent enough. A review by The Times of the 50 California doctors who are academy members lends some credence to that criticism.

Many government and private organizations offer information and assistance for seniors who want to remain in their own homes. Supportive services programs for naturally occurring retirement communities (NORC): * United Jewish Communities offers a description of the role of supportive services programs and a list of 40 specific communities that are part of its nationwide Aging in Place Initiative: www.norcs.

Sen.-elect Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), in announcing his first staff choices Tuesday, appointed his mother an unpaid liaison to the state's elderly people. Lieberman said his mother, Marcia Lieberman, 74, will serve as a special representative of the elderly.

More middle-age and elderly people are migrating to Florida than to any other state, a Florida State University professor concluded in a study released Friday. Florida leads all other states in net migration among two groups: age 55 to 64 and 65 and older, according to William J. Serow of the university's Center for Population Studies.

A Los Angeles judge Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order preventing the board of Sunset Hall, a retirement home for aged radicals, from pursuing plans to close the facility for at least 20 days. "There isn't much point in . . . having the residents moved out," Superior Court Judge John Zebrowski said during a meeting in chambers with attorneys for the board and for some of the residents opposed to the closure.

Older people in Hollywood are pretty ticked off. Not in a cute way, like that old lady (it's actually producer David E. Kelley's late grandmother) shouting "You stinker!" during the closing credits on "The Practice" and "Ally McBeal," but really ticked off, and plenty frustrated. Just consider what happened last week. On Oct.

A small dose of aspirin taken regularly reduces the risk of heart attack and stroke by about a third in women older than 65 but does not significantly cut the risk in younger women, according to a 10-year study that examined the drug's effects in women for the first time. For women older than 65, the decision to prescribe aspirin should be made on exactly the same basis as it is in men, the study found. The findings elevate aspirin's role in preventing heart disease in older women.

Fire officials blamed a lack of automatic sprinklers for the deaths of 16 people in a 10-story retirement home on Christmas Eve. At least 50 others were injured in the fire, which broke out on the first floor of the John Sevier Center just after dark, as the residents and loved ones gathered to celebrate the holiday. Black smoke poured up the elevator shaft and filled the 65-year-old brick building.