7- Stress and Aging

Question 1

What is the #1 disease factor of the 21st century?

Answer 1

stress

Question 2

What is the definition of aging ?

Answer 2

can be defined as a progressive, generalized impairment of function resulting in a loss of adaptative response to a stress and in a growing risk of age-associated disease

Question 3

By 2050, what will be the situation of the global population ?

Answer 3

The population of older people will exceed that of children

Question 4

What is the historical precedent of the phenomenon of aging population

Answer 4

There is no historical precedent

Question 5

What explains more of the increase in deaths due to cancer and heart disease ?

Answer 5

People weren’t affected by them because they didn’t live long enough to get them

Question 6

What is the exponential increase of life expectancy due to ? (2 main factors)

Answer 6

modern medicine, more precisely penicillin

general societal hygiene

Question 7

What is the percent decline in physical strength and senses every year ?

Answer 7

1%

Question 8

What is the percentage of people over 65 that are obese ?

Answer 8

25%

Question 9

What are the 3 major causes of death in old age ?

Answer 9

Heart disease, cancer, stroke

Question 10

What is fluid intelligence ? how does it change in old age ?

Answer 10

fluid intelligence is the ability to solve abstract relational problems, ability to solve new problems, use logic in new situations, and identify patterns
it decreases with age

Question 11

What is crystallized intelligence ? how does it change in old age ?

Answer 11

ability to use learned knowledge and experience, retrieving information from memory

decreases with age

Question 12

What is senile dementia characterized by ?

Answer 12

altered personality
difficulty in relation to others
forgetfulness
memory loss 
disorientation

Question 13

When do adults stop growing new brain cells ?

Answer 13

Never. Recent research has shown that adults continue to grow them throughout their lives

Question 14

How does higher education have an effect on later brain function ?

Answer 14

Adults with higher levels of education show significantly less atrophy of cerebral cortex

Question 15

What types of memory decline in older adults ? What memory does not decline ?

Answer 15

Decline in episodic and working memory

Not so much in semantic memory (common knowledge)

Question 16

What are the goals of successful aging when it comes to memory?

Answer 16

Not eliminating memory decline, but reducing it and adapting to it

Question 17

What memory task are older people better at than younger adults ?

Answer 17

Prospective memory tasks, involves remembering to perform a planned action or intention at some future point in time

Question 18

What is Hayflick’s Cellular Clock Theory ?

Answer 18

That cells can divide a maximum of about 75-80 times
As we age, our cells become increasingly less capable of dividing.
Hayflick places upper limit of lifespan at about 120 years.

Question 19

How is telomere research related to Cellular Clock Theory?

Answer 19

Telomeres are DNA sequences that cap chromosomes, and each time a cell divides, telomeres become shorter and shorter.
Age-related telomere erosion linked with impaired ability to recover from stress and an increased rate of cancer.

Question 20

How is compassion related to telomeres and the cellular clock theory?

Answer 20

compassion increases telomerase, which fixes telomeres

Question 21

How is the Cellular Clock Theory related to injury repair ?

Answer 21

Injuries heal less quickly in older people because the cells divide less quickly

Question 22

What is the Hormonal Stress Theory?

Answer 22

Aging in the body’s hormonal system may lower resilience to stress and increase likelihood of disease.
With age, hormones stimulated by stress that flow through HPA system remain elevated longer than when we were younger.
Prolonged, elevated levels of stress-related hormones associated with increased risks for many diseases including heart disease and cancer.

Question 23

What is the Free-Radical Theory?

Answer 23

injury caused by free radicals initiates a self-perpetuating cycle in which oxidative damage impairs mitochondrial function, which results in the generation of even greater amounts of oxygen free radicals

Question 24

What is the chain of events in Free Radical Theory?

Answer 24

Oxidative cell damage leads to mitochondrial damage, releasing free radicals

DNA damage, cross-linking proteins, mitochondria damage
Forming age pigments
Impaired function

Question 25

Is the frailty of old age reversible ?

Answer 25

Yes

Question 26

What are the three most common stresses for older people

Answer 26

• diseases
• loss of social status after retirement
• death of spouse/child/sibling

Question 27

How much time does it take to accept loss and start normal interaction ?

Answer 27

1 year

Question 28

What is the main abused substance in older adults ?

Answer 28

alcohol

Question 29

What is memory?

Answer 29

Storage, retention, recall of information including past experiences, knowledge, thoughts

Question 30

How does functional capacity change with age? How does the right lifestyle influence this ?

Answer 30

It decreases, but won’t change that much with the right lifestyle

Question 31

What is the most important thing for successful aging ?

Answer 31

Physical activity

Question 32

In the study that looks at cardio-respiratory fitness, risk factors, what is the group most at risk of dying ?

Answer 32

Low cardio-respiratory fitness, with 2-3 risk factors

Question 33

In the study that looks at cardio-respiratory fitness, risk factors, how does exercise affect risk of death?

Answer 33

Even with 2-3 risk factors, exercise dramatically decreases risk of dying - the high cardiorespiratory fitness, 2-3 risk factor group has a low risk of dying

Question 34

In the study that looks at cardio-respiratory fitness, risk factors, what were the risk factors considered ?

Answer 34

current smoking
SBP > 140 mmHg
Chol > or = 240 mg/dl