The Community Connection at the Sealy Center on AgingStay Connected. Stay Engaged. Stay Inspired.

Welcome

At the Sealy Center on Aging, we believe that growing older should mean growing stronger, through knowledge, community, and meaningful opportunities. That’s why we created the Community Connection, a program designed to keep older adults in Galveston County informed, engaged, and empowered.

Launched in 2022, the Community Connection has more than 1,300 subscribers who receive our quarterly newsletter by email or traditional mail. Each issue is filled with valuable updates, including:

Spotlights on groundbreaking aging research at UTMB Health
Invitations to participate in clinical studies that can improve health and wellbeing for older adults everywhere
Local events and programs tailored to seniors in our community
Volunteer opportunities, such as AmeriCorps Seniors, where you can give back and stay active

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The Community Connection is more than a newsletter! It’s a way to stay plugged into the latest discoveries, connect with people who share your interests, and find new ways to stay involved in your local community.

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Contact Us

Sealy Center on Aging (SCOA)
301 University Blvd.
Galveston, TX 77555-0177
Directions and Maps
Phone: (409) 747-0008
Email: aging.research@utmb.edu

Newsletter Team

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We're Growing, Together!

Thanks to strong community partnerships and outreach, the Community Connection is expanding every day. Whether you hear about us through a senior center, social media, or a postcard at an event, the invitation is the same: be part of a growing network of older adults shaping the future of aging in Galveston County.

Sign up for the Community Connection newsletter and become part of a vibrant community of older adults making a difference.
Follow and engage with us on Facebook, where we share news and resources as well as event announcements that are relevant to local older adults.
Learn more about getting involved with AmeriCorps Seniors.
Visit the Learning Center, now located at the Osher Long Life Institute at UTMB Health.

AmeriCorps Seniors

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Learning Center

Newsletter Archive

Current Studies

News from the Sealy Center on Aging

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New UTMB Research Reveals Causes Behind American Life Expectancy Gap

Apr 22, 2025, 13:25 PM by SCOA

A newly published study by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch offers fresh insights into a critical public health concern: why Americans live shorter lives compared to people in other wealthy nations.

Published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the study was led by Dr. Neil Mehta, Professor of Epidemiology and Associate Dean of Research at the School of Public and Population Health (SPPH), UTMB Pepper Center Scholar and leader in the Health of Older Minorities Pre and Postdoctoral Training (T32), and Dr. Octavio Bramajo, a postdoctoral fellow at UTMB’s Sealy Center on Aging (SCOA). Their research investigates how deaths from cardiovascular disease (CVD) contribute to the growing life expectancy disparity between the United States and its economic peers between 2008 and 2019.

Their analysis shows that cardiovascular disease accounts for the entire growth in the life expectancy gap between the U.S. and a set of 10 other high-income countries for women, and about half of the growth among men. This puts heart health at the center of one of the most visible indicators of national well-being.

“CVD is largely preventable and treatable, yet it remains a major contributor to the growing gap between the U.S. and other high-income countries,” Dr. Mehta emphasized. “The reason for the U.S.'s lagging trend with respect to CVD deaths is highly concerning and the causes of which are poorly understood.”