AGEING Flashcards
WHAT IS AGEING
the process of getting older. involves biological social and psychological aspects
what is life expectancy
a statistical measure of how long a person can expect to live
why has the average age of the population increased?
better public health
better education
better nutrition
advances in medicine
why do people age?
programmed ageing build into dna-
hayflick limit- cells in vitro will divide a certain number of times and then stop
Hayflick phenomenon, is the number of times a normal human cell population will divide before cell division stops
Damage or error theories – accumulation of damage to DNA, cells and tissue.
§ E.G. loss of telomerases or oxidative damage.
§ This theory suggests that we can prevent ageing IF we can prevent this damage.
what challenges does society face as a result of population ageing?
- work life/ retirement balance
- medical system designed for single acute diseases (old people are more likely to have atypical or non-specific presentation of a disease.)
- Outdated and ageist beliefs and assumptions
- caring for older people
What proportion of over 65s live in a care home?
with trained registered nurses
3%
what is the sandwich generation?
people bringing up children whilst also bringing up an older relative
what is frailty?
Loss of biological reserve across multiple organ systems, leading to vulnerability to physiological decompensation and functional decline after a stressor event
how can we prevent and treat frailty?
eating healthy
exercise
drink and smoke less
prevention is better than cure
what are the non specific presentations of frailty?
Falls Reduced mobility Recurrent infections Confusion Weight loss “Not coping” at home Iatrogenic harm
what are the problems faced with when diagnosing older people?
sometimes diseases/conditions can be missed by assuming presentation is down to frailty
symptom is attributed to another cause or “old age” –> delays in treatment.
Older people are less likely to have common, “textbook” symptoms of disease
which drug is most likely to be the cause of hospital admission?
NSAIDS
what are the possible iatrogenic harms old people are faced with?
adverse drug reactions hospital aquired infections pressure sores constipation bad hospital food so malnutrition psychological/ cognitive damage
what are the age related prolelms with the brain?
o CSF within the surrounding brain increases.
o Ventricles enlarge.
o Gaps between major gyri widen- atrophy of the brain with loss of neurons
- reduction in grey and white matter
what are the normal cognitive changes in older people?
Processing speed slows
Working memory slightly reduced
Simple attention ability preserved, but reduction in divided attention
Executive functions generally reduced
