CHAP 15 SLIDES Flashcards
Life span
the MAX number of years an individual can live.
* Approximately 120–125 years.
Life expectancy:
the number of years the average person born in a particular year will probably live.
Improved with advances in medicine, nutrition, exercise, and
lifestyle, along with a substantial reduction in infant deaths.
In 2020, extensive increase in deaths due to COVID-19
dropped the average life expectancy
from 78.8 years in 2019 to
76.1 in 2021.
Differences in life expectancy:
lowest estimated in Afghanistan (52.1 years)
Highest is Monaco (89.5)
In the US, what contributes to slower increase in life expectancy
child and maternal mortality rates
homicide rate
body mass indexes
Life expectancy also varies between ethnic groups and gender
women it was 79.1 in 2021 while 73.2 for men
Latino Health Paradox
Latinos live 1.2 years longer than Whites despite lower educational attainment and income level
Reasons can be extended family connections and lower rates of smoking
Centenarian
People living to 100 years and older
Chronic high mortality diseases are delayed for many years
Supercentenarian
People who live to 110-119
Evolutionary theory of aging:
natural selection has not eliminated many harmful conditions and nonadaptive characteristics in older adults.
Benefits of aging declines with age
Criticism of evolutionary theory:
Doesn’t account for culture
Hard to study
Cellular clock theory
Hayflick’s theory that the max number of times that human ceLls can divide is about 75-80
Telomeres
DNA sequence that cap chromosomes becomes shorter each time a cell divides
lifestyle can delay the telomere shortening
Free-radical theory
people age because normal metabolic processes within cells produce unstable oxygen molecules that damage DNA and cellular structures
Mitochondrial theory
aging is caused by mitochondrial decay
Sirtuins
a family of proteins that have been linked
- longeviity
- DNa repair
- aging
mTOR pathway
a cellular pathway that involves the regulation of growth and metabolism
Hormonal stress theory
as you age the body’s hormonal system will decrease and thus
- u get more stressed
- have more likeihood of disease
The brain will lose, percent of its weight between the ages of ,
5-10 ; 20-90
Neurogenesis:
The generation of new neurons
The Nun Study
In an ongoing investigation of aging in 678 nuns, brain researchers
have concluded that intellectual challenge contributes to better
quality of life and possibly the nuns’ longevity.
Cataracts:
the thickening of eye’s lens causes vision to become
cloudy, opaque, and distorted
Glaucoma
damage to optic nerve because of pressure created
by fluid buildup in the eye.
Macular degeneration
deterioration of the retina’s macula, .
Arthritis,
inflammation of the joints accompanied by pain, stiffness,
and movement problems, is especially common in older adults
Osteoporosis
is an extensive loss of bone tissue that causes
many older adults to walk with a stoop.
Selective attention:
focusing on a specific aspect of experience
that is relevant while ignoring others that are irrelevant.
Sustained attention:
focused and extended engagement.
Explicit memory:
the facts and experiences that individuals
consciously know and can state
Implicit memory:
memory without conscious recollections; skills
and routine procedures.
Episodic memory:
retention of information about the where and
when of life’s happenings.
Reminiscence bump:
older adults remember more events from
the second and third decades of their lives
Semantic memory:
a person’s knowledge about the world
Wisdom
is expert knowledge about the practical aspects of life
that permits excellent judgment about important matters
Cognitive neuroscience:
a discipline that studies links between the
brain and cognitive functioning
Dementia
is a global term for several neurological disorders
involving irreversible decline in mental function severe enough to
interfere with daily living
Alzheimer disease
is a progressive, irreversible brain disorder
characterized by a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning,
language, and eventually physical function.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI)
represents a transitional state
between the cognitive changes of normal aging and very early
Alzheimer disease and other dementias.
Respite care
can provide important breaks from the burden of
providing chronic care.
Parkinson disease,
a chronic, progressive disease characterized by
- muscle tremors
- slowing of movement
- partial facial paralysis
