Ageing Flashcards
Define Ageing
biological process of growing old, with associated changes in physiology and increased susceptibility to disease and increased likelihood of dying.
What is life expectancy and what is it for males and females
Statistical measure of the number of years a person can expect to live
79.2 for males and 89.2 for females.
What are the 2 theories for ageing
Programmed ageing
Damage or error theories
Summarise the programmed ageing theory
describe how genetic, hormonal and immunological changes over the lifetime of an organism lead to the cumulative deficits we see as ageing.
These theories suggest that this is part of an inescapable biological timetable, just as growth and puberty are programmed to occur.
Summarise the Damage or error theories
describe the accumulation of damage to DNA, cells and tissue.
For example, loss of telomeres or oxidative damage as the cause of ageing. If we could repair this damage, we could prevent ageing.
What is population ageing
increasing age of an entire country, due to increasing life spans and falling fertility rates
What are some reasons for population ageing
Better nutrition
Better public Health - better sanitation, fewer infectious diseases
Better education
Less violence
What are the reasons fr the changing nature of the older population
Increasing numbers of BAME older people Increasing education of older people Reduction in poverty More people are working for longer More complex/nuanced retirement process
What challenges does society face as a result of population ageing?
Working life/retirement balance - dependency ratio
Extending healthy old age not just life expectancy
Caring for older people, the sandwich generation
Outdated and ageist beliefs/assumptions
Medical system designed for single acute diseases
identify the altered presentation of disease with age and give examples of difficulties in managing it
Older people are more likely to have an atypical or non-specific presentation of disease.
Frailty, changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics
What is frailty and how does it affect management of older people
decreased reserve and resistance to stressors due to cumulative decline across multiple physiologic systems and causing vulnerability to adverse outcomes
How do changes in pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics affect management of older people
Makes drug treatments in older people cause harm
Drug trials tend to use younger people, affecting treatment evidence.
What is the sandwich generation and what proportion are women and in paid work
1.25m sandwich carers in the UK
caring for an older relative
whilst bringing up children
68% women
78% also in paid work
Why does care for the elderly and its changes present a problem for ageing
Councils reducing money spent on social care
Fewer people getting help
Councils reducing/freezing amount paid to care agencies
What are the key physical changes associated with ageing in the brain
Volume of CSF within the surrounding brain increases with age - the ventricles enlarge and the gaps between the major gyri widen.
Brain reaches a maximum weight at around 20 years and remains the same till around 40-45 years, after which it decreases in weight at a rate of 2-3% per decade.
