Day 4

Question 1

What plays into longevity?

Answer 1

• genetics
• environmental stressors (exposure to pollution)
• systemic stressors (income, discrimination, housing factors )
• personal factors/lifestyle (personality, smoking chronic stress)

Question 2

What is the average longevity? What is our maximum longevity?

Answer 2

Average longevity
- From birth: projected age at which ½ of people born in that specific year will have died
- Can examine projected longevity based on averages

M A X I M U M L O N G E V I T Y
- Oldest age that any individual lives
- Without external factors: 120-150
- With genetic theories & research: ~120
- Oldest recorded person = 122

Question 3

Active vs dependant life expectancy

Answer 3

Active life expectancy:
- living to old age while remaining independent

Dependent life expectancy:
- living to old age while requiring significant assistance with others
- can be temporary or permanent

Question 4

Impact on longevity

Answer 4

Genetics

Environmental factors: access to health care, pollution, long term stress income, where you live… etc.

Question 5

Poverty

Answer 5

• lack off access to resources
• Environmental factors: experience higher amounts of exposure to toxins, systemic factors that make it more likely that people who are marginalized on other identities also experience poverty, high stress less healthcare healthy food…

Question 6

Systemic/Structural Disparities

Answer 6

• Canada has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, but it’s not the same across different groups
  *Cisgender women tend to live longer than cisgender men
  *Location
  *Race/ethnicity: higher concentrations of people= less life expectancy
  *Education= higher ed= typically longer life
  *Income more money live longer

Question 7

What is health

Answer 7

WHO (world health organization)
holystic deff (physical mental and social wellbing

Question 8

What is illness

Answer 8

Presence of physical or mental disease or impairment

Question 9

Quality of life?

Answer 9

Health related: are they sick
Non health related: enjoyment of life

Question 10

The Immune System

Answer 10

1. Cells defend against other harmful cells
2. Antibodies are released into the blood
3. Nonspecific immunity (all the stuff our bodies do to protect ourselves against infection, ex. sneezing, stomach acid)

Differences in the immune system with age: as we get older, immune system gets worse

Question 11

Stress and Health

Answer 11

*Chronic stress: decreases immune system effectiveness
*Stress shortens telomeres gene expression aging (oh no)
*Stress and Coping Paradigm: relation between person and perseption of stress

Question 12

Chronic vs. Acute Conditions

Answer 12

A C U T E (short)
- Develop over a short time & cause rapid change
- Flu, colds, etc.
- Treated with medications or allowed to run its course

C H R O N I C (long)
- Longer time (at least 3 months)
- Residual functional impairment
- May require longer-term care
- Often no cure, focus is on management

Question 13

Stress and Coping Paradigm

Answer 13

This model views stress not as an environmental stimulus but rather the interaction of a thinking person and an event
ex.
1. Stressor Present
2. Primary appraisal: How stressful is this? Is it
irrelevant, good, or stressful?

3. Secondary Appraisal: Can I cope with this? Do I have any options to deal with this?
   4 (a)
   Positive or neutral appraisal (this event
   is a good thing, or this event doesn’t
   matter)
   4 (b)
   Negative appraisal (this is stressful!!):
   - negative response
   - physical or behavioural response
   - increased risk of physical and psychiatric disease

Question 14

Impacting factors

Answer 14

1. Physical:
   - changes in body due to aging (arthritis (normative))
   - Genetic or biological differences
2. Psychological
   - coping
   - personality
3. Sociocultural
   - social life
   - Societal views of you
   - ability to contribute
4. Life-cycle
   - When does this happen to people?
   - Some conditions pop up later in life
   - our reaction will vary at different points in our lives (expectations)

Question 15

Diabetes

Answer 15

*Pancreas doesn’t produce enough insulin, which causes issues with metabolizing carbs excess glucose in blood

*Type 1 (onset in childhood) vs. Type 2

*Type 2 in adulthood

*Risk factors: genetics lack of access to quality food healthcare etc

*Effects nerve damage eye issues kidney issues strokes cognitive issues skin problems poor circulation

• Obesity stigma

Question 16

Cancer

Answer 16

*On average, two in five Canadians are diagnosed with cancer intheir lifetime, with 1 in 4 passing due to it
*Most commonly diagnosed cancers in Canada
*Risks: genetics (largest risk factor) healthcare, environmental factors

*Treatments: surgical, radiotherapy,
*Prevention: can do surgical removal, check often avoid risk factors

Question 17

Incontinence

Answer 17

*Urinary and/or bowel
*Stress incontinence: inability to resits urinary flow
*Urge incontinence: has the urge to use the bathroom cant get there fast enough
*Overflow incontinence: contraction of kidney leads to swelling of the bladder
*Functional incontinence: unaware o need to urinate
*Can lead to embarrassment: very common
*Very treatable: pelvic floor exercise, can relearn how to identify need to go to bathroom

Question 18

Pain management

Answer 18

Pharmacological vs. non-pharmacological treatment
Narcotic (opioids, morphine) vs. nonnarcotic (aspirin, Tylenol)
Opioid risks: highly addictive, harsh on body (liver / kidneys)
- not long term solution
Non-opioid treatments: cortezon injections, nerve stimulators, surgery
Less invasive methods: physiotherapy ointment, heating pads cve products

Question 19

Medication Use

Answer 19

Older adults on average use the largest number of medications
Generalizability & safety issues in medication testing: lots of tests on one specific group (not tested across the board
Interaction effect: multiple medications might intereact

Question 20

Age-Related Changes in How
Medications Work

Answer 20

1. Absorption: takes longer for medications to absorb into blood stream
2. Distribution: less medication binds to plasma proteins (makes medication infective) higher rate of toxicity
3. Metabolism: less effective at getting ride of medication (stays longer)
4. Excretion kidneys become less effective at excreting toxins
   What changes to a medication schedule should be taken into account by doctors due to these changes?
   - timing lower dose, make sure non are interacting etc.

Question 21

What are some possible challenges with taking multiple meds?

Answer 21

*Bad interactions
*Needing to treat side effects
*More complex schedule= more room for error
Help to take meds: apps limit # of medications being taken

Question 22

Disability Model: Compression of
Morbidity

Answer 22

• The time between disability onset and death is becoming a shorter amount of time
• Why?
  Adults becoming disabled later in life and are disabled for a shorter window of time There’s not actually much evidence for this!

In actuality:
1. Chronic diseases are getting diagnosed earlier in life (technology is helping us catch the diseases earlier)
2. Chronic disease are becoming less disabling due to technology and health system support

Question 23

Disability
Model:
Verbrugge &
Jette

Answer 23

More comprehensive model, include risk factors and intervention strategies
Extraindividual: outside the individual (environmental)
Interaindividual:Inside the individual (behaviour/ personality)

The model:
- Pathology: diagnoses of condition
Risk factors: demographic lifestyle social emotional…

Impairment: undergo dysfunctions or structural impairment
Creates Restrictions: to a person’s cognitive or physical abilities

Extraindividual factors to help: medical or rehabilitation: or activity accommodations, physical or emotional therapy medical care, medications external support (assistance), structural modifications (public transport building access

Interaindividual factors: lifestyle or behavioural changes, psychological or coping activities, personality

Question 24

Functional Health Status (how well
someone is functioning in daily life)

Answer 24

*Hierarchy of loss strength, balance, coordination, manualdexterity
*Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health
*Activities of Daily Living: taking care of yourself (brushing teeth)
*Instrumental Activities of Daily Living: culture dependent (life admine tasks)
*Physical Limitations

Question 25

What is the average and the maximum longevity for humans?

Answer 25

Average longevity is the amount of time it takes for half of all the people born in a certain year to die.
Maximum longevity is the maximum length of time an organism can live (roughly 120 for humans)

Question 26

What genetic and environmental factors influence longevity?

Answer 26

Genetic:
- Family of long-lived individuals
- highly efficient immune system
- Sex

Environmental
- lifestyle
- pollutants
- diet
- neighbourhood
- income
- resilience
- Access to health care

Question 27

What is active life expectancy? What is dependent life expectancy?

Answer 27

The age that an individual can live too independently.
The age an individual can live to with assistance.

Question 28

What is the definition of health? What about illness?

Answer 28

The absence of acute and chronic physical or mental disease and impairment. Illness= opposite

Question 29

The thymus and age (bum bum bummmm!!)

Answer 29

Young thymus produces T cell lymphocytes
old= decrease in thymosin production and t cell function
- decreased defence against viruses and decreased b- cell functioning

Question 30

Effects of trauma or depression on stress

Answer 30

Things like trauma and mental health struggles like depression can make us:
1. Perceive events as more stressful and feel more physiologically stressed out
(Affects Primary Appraisal)
2. Perceive that we have less ability to cope, less support to help us, less
options, etc. (Affects Secondary Appraisal)