RENO, Nev. (AP)--_ Nevada is at the leading edge of an ``aging tsunami'' of baby boomers nearing retirement, and the state must prepare for it now, according to a report.
The Elders Count Nevada, 2009 report was prepared by the Sanford Center for Aging at the University of Nevada, Reno, in collaboration with several state agencies.
Among other findings, the report said older Nevadans drink and smoke more than seniors nationally, they eat fewer fruits and vegetables, and they are more than twice as prone to suicide.
Nevada seniors also live in one of the most shorthanded states in terms of health care professionals.
To prepare for 78 million baby boomers, the report's recommendations include ``enhancement'' of aging services and increasing awareness and training.
The report's authors said the need is greater than ever, even though social services are shrinking because of the state's budget crisis.
``The difference from two years ago is that we have more elders now than ever,'' said Lawrence J. Weiss, director of the Sanford Center and one of the report's authors.
``Our deficiencies in health care resources remain. In some ways, they're worse,'' he added.
The state's population of people 65 and older grew almost four times as fast as the national average between 2000 and 2007.
Nevada continues to have the nation's highest suicide rate among older adults, with 35.4 per 100,000 compared with 15.1 percent nationally.
As for smoking, chronic respiratory disease is the third leading cause of death for Nevada seniors, accounting for 18 percent of deaths compared with 9 percent nationally.
``This publication provides the facts necessary to decide how to deal with these problems,'' Weiss said of the report.
