Healthy Aging

Question 1

General Trends

Answer 1

Globally, people are living longer today than ever before…
-by 2030, 1/6 people will be 60 or older
-by 2050, people aged 60 or older will reach 2.1 billion, up from 1.4 billion in 2020.
In Canada, older adults (65 or older) are the fastest growing age group, accounting for 18.8% of the population…
-as of 2022, there were 13,484 centernarians (people aged 100 or older) in Canada
-indigenous people aged 65 or older rose (and continues tor ise) from 7.3% in 2016 to 9.5% in 2021.
-in 2023, overall life expectancy for Canadians was 82.96 years.
-84.6 years for females
-80.6 years for males
-Canadians aged 55-64 now outnumber those aged 15-24

Question 2

What are some reasons for the aging Canadian population?

Answer 2

The three main reasons include:
1)low fertility rates (ie. economic uncertainty, societal norms).
2)increase in life expectancy (ie. increased education, modern science).
3)effects of the baby boom generation (ie. retiring).

Question 3

What are some of the implications of the aging population?

Answer 3

Many older adults are continuing to occupy jobs in Canada due to lack of savings, high inflation costs, possible impending health costs, and the impact of COVID.
If many/most retire at once within the next decade or so, there may be a major worker shortage.
Retirement costs - with more and more Canadians living to 65 and older, the cost of federal income support for older adults continues to rise (taxes on younger workers may increase to support this).
Health costs - people 65 and older use more health services and require more medical care.
Grey-Power Politics - older Canadians vote in larger numbers than younger Canadians, which may lead (through influence) to increased programs/supports and a larger share of federal and provincial budgets.

Question 4

Ways to define age?

Answer 4

Chronological age
Physiological age
Psychological age
Social age
Emotional age
Functional age

Question 5

Chronological Age

Answer 5

How old we are in calendar years, measured by time (years, months)

Question 6

Physiological Age

Answer 6

the normal functioning of our bodies as controlled by the interactions between physical and chemical bodily states.

Question 7

Psychological age

Answer 7

An individual perception of how old a person feels, sometimes based on an individuals behaviour

Question 8

Social age

Answer 8

determined by how well people cope with their social roles

Question 9

Emotional age

Answer 9

The growing ability to appraise and remember life events more positively with age

Question 10

Functional age

Answer 10

A combination of chronological, physiological, and emotional ages

Question 11

Optimizing the aging process with PA

Answer 11

Engaging in a full range if physical activities is important and includes aerobic conditioning, muscle fitness, and flexibility and balance training.
Despite some inevitable physiological changes that occur with age, as much as 50% of these declines are due to sedentary behaviours and can be reversed.
Regular participation in MVPA associated with maintenance and improvement of both physical and mental health related quality of life measures.
Above all else, proactive health-promoting behaviours like exercise contribute to increased quality of life and decreased mortality.
Regular PA is related to reduced risk of chronic diseases.
In Canada only 40.4% of older adults (65+) self-reported 150 minutes/week of PA in 2021 (44.1% of males; 37.1% of females).

Question 12

Optimizing the aging process with diet

Answer 12

Healthy eating habits can slow frailty (ie. the process of aging as our bodies slowly loses their built-in reserves, which cause changes leaving us weak, tired, unable to participate fully in PA, and unintentional weight loss).
Many older adults do not get adequate amounts of one or more essential nutrients, so supplements are often recommended by dieticians (ie. vitamins D, C, B6, B12; minerals calcium and iron as well).

Question 13

What are some reasons that older adults may not get enough essential nutrients?

Answer 13

limited income
difficulty going shopping
chronic diseases
medications that interfere with metabolism of nutrients.
problems chewing or digesting
poor appetite
inactivity
illness
depression
lack of sunshine in parts of Canada

Question 14

Older Adults and Living Conditions

Answer 14

Many older adults live alone in Canada, oftentimes due to a partner/spouse entering into a care home or passing away.
This can result in a disruption of normal patterns of eating, meal skipping, lack of dietary variety, reduced home food preparation.

Question 15

What can be done to help older adults diets?

Answer 15

Nutritionists recommend….
-planning for meals and snacks
-online grocery shopping or delivery service (particularly for immobile older adults).
-preparing smaller meals that require little or no cooking.
-preparing extra meals that can be used as leftovers or frozen

Question 16

Age-Related Changes

Answer 16

When we age, we typically have changes to our body composition (ie. reduced lean muscle mass; increased body fat percentage) and the rate at which our brains repair themselves when neurons die off.
However, regular physical activity, including the key recommendations for older adults, can drastically reduce or even halt these changes.

Question 17

The Aging Brain

Answer 17

Unfortunately, we are susceptible to some inevitable challenges as we age, regardless of our lifestyles (though it can reduce impact/risk).
Recalling information takes longer.
-by our late-to-mid 60’s, recalling information takes slightly longer, but we are typically able to adapt and perform as well as younger people.
Distractions become more disruptive
-as early as 50, our ability to multitask diminishes
-it becomes harder to divide attention or to remember details of a story if our attention is switched to something else
Accessing names gets harder
-between 25 and 65, our ability to remember names diminishes by as much as 50%
-it can help to use strategies like repeating a person’s name, writing it down, or making associations with it
Learning new information is harder
-the speed at which we receive, absorb, and react to information slows when learning new skills, but adding to existing knowledge remains in-tact.
As we get older, we are significantly more likely to develop dementia
-dementia can be caused by more than 50 different disorders, but the most common is Alzheimer’s (50-70%), followed by vascular disease (20-30%).
-the number of Canadians living with dementia is rising to the point where it is now considered an epidemic.

Question 18

What can we do to reduce the aging of our brain?

Answer 18

The healthiest older adults are actively engaged in life.
-they are resilient, optimistic, productive, and socially involved
Successful agers bounce back after a setback, and have a can-do attitude about challenges they face.
They tend to be lifelong learners who take up new hobbies late in life, which leads to more connections between neurons and may slow aging with the brain.

Question 19

Dementia

Answer 19

A clinical condition that includes symptoms such as difficulties with language, judgement, and reasoning, loss of memory, and changes in mood and behaviours.
1 in 4 Canadians aged 85 and over have been diagnosed with dementia.
The rate at which Canadians are diagnosed with dementia doubles every 5 years among those who are 65 years of age and older.
In Canada, an average of 350 people are diagnosed with dementia every day.

Question 20

Alzheimer’s Disease

Answer 20

Involves a gradual cost onset and progressive deterioration of brain cells and mental capacity.
Causes changes to our brain structure many years before we notice memory problems.
Symptoms resemble ordinary memory lapses and eventually, people lose their ability to learn and remember anything new, along with the names of their friends/family and their way around.

Question 21

Alzheimer’s Dementia

Answer 21

Late stage Alzheimer’s disease
Many people avoid social contact, become upset a trivial events, and end up having trouble dressing or feeding themselves because they are unable to remember how to function.
The brain loses capacity to regulate body functions, and people with Alzheimer’s dementia die of malnutrition, dehydration, infection or heart failure.
Average life span between early symptoms and death is 7-10 years, but can range from 2-20.

Question 22

What can we do to reduce the risk of dementia?

Answer 22

Treating hypertension
Becoming a lifelong learner
Getting regular PA
Connecting with others to improve our thinking, concentration, and memory skills.
Eliminating smoking
Managing health conditions like diabetes, obesity, and depression.

Question 23

Upside of the Aging

Answer 23

Despite some inevitable declines with memory, older adults possess a particularly valuable virtue known as wisdom.
In memory tests involving knowledge of the world, vocabulary, or judgement, older people outperform their younger counterparts.

Question 24

Sex-Specific Aging: Males

Answer 24

Reduced testosterone levels.
Gradual decline by 30-40% between 48 and 70.
Can lead to decreased muscle mass, greater body fat, loss of bone density, reduced energy, lowered fertility, and loss of libido.
Lifestyle can mitigate these effects.

Question 25

Sex-Specific Aging: Females

Answer 25

Menopause
The complete cessation of menstrual periods for 12 consecutive months.
10-15% of women have little symptoms while another 10-15% have debilitating symptoms (the majority fall in-between).
Estrogen levels dwindle which can lead to…
-mouth dryness, unusual tastes, burning, and gum problems.
-dry, itchy, and/or overly sensitive skin.
-hot flashes
-with less estrogen, greater impact of androgens which can lead to acne, hair loss, and decreased sexual desires.
Exercise can lower the risk of future health problems and relieve symptoms.

Question 26

Psychosocial Challenges of Aging: Depression

Answer 26

About 15% of older adults report symptoms of depression.
Key factors that often contribute to depression in older adults include…
-loneliness and social isolation (ie. lack of connectedness with others, caused and reinforced by infrequent social contact).
-loss of important others
Depression can be difficult to recognize, especially among older adults, as it is often confused with aging itself.
It is believed that older adults are among the most undertreated populations for mental health.
-estimated that depression in more than 1/3 of people aged 65 or over goes undetected.
Older adults often hold negative attitudes about depression, which prevents them from seeking help (the old school mentality)

Question 27

Medications and Depression in Older Adults

Answer 27

Medications can be helpful in treating depression in older adults (and others) but there are some issues…
-they need to seek help which they often do not.
-prescriptions are not always taken correctly, leading to adverse reactions and hospitalization.
-addictive and cause side effects such as fatigue, decreased ability to learn new things, etc.

Question 28

What can we do to reduce depressive symptoms in older adults?

Answer 28

Maintaining positive relationships with family and friends.
Seeking opportunities to express feelings.
Pursuing activities that are enjoyable.
Participating in regular PA.
-research indicates that older adults who participate in 150 minutes of MVPA/week reduced their cognitive decline and experienced antidepressant benefits.

Question 29

Neglect of Older Adults

Answer 29

An intentional failure by a family member or caregiver to provide required support to an older adults.
Neglect of an older adult can come in different forms, with the primary caregiver failing to provide enough food, proper shelter, medical attention, and assistance with the necessities of life.

Question 30

Elder Abuse

Answer 30

A form of neglect, defined as an action against an older adult that causes harm and suffering and can be financial, physical and sexual, or psychological and emotional.

Question 31

Financial Abuse

Answer 31

One of the most common types of abuse of older adults.
Family members or hire caregivers use money that does not belong to them.
Exploitation can occur, in which the family member(s) or hired caregiver pressures the older adult into giving away money/possessions, transfers/withdraws money from their accounts under false pre-tenses, borrows money with no intention of paying it back, or forces a person to change their will or sign legal documents that benefit the abuser.
To help prevent financial abuse of older adults, you can assist them in keeping their financial and personal information and legal documents in a safe place, and possible working with an accredited financial advisor.

Question 32

Physical/Sexual Abuse

Answer 32

Physical abuse of older adults includes any physical force that causes bodily harm (ie. hitting, pushing, shaking).
Sexual abuse of older adults includes sexual touching or activity forced without consent.
In 2022, 64% of older adults experiences victimization by an outside family member.
-28% with an acquaintance
-24% a stranger.
Older adult women were more than twice as likely (16%) to be a victim of violence by an intimate partner than older adult men (7%).
Recognizing that older adults are vulnerable is the first step toward preventing this type of abuse.

Question 33

Psychological/Emotional Abuse

Answer 33

Any verbal or nonverbal attack that intimidates and compromises their psychological well-being.
Can be committed by family members, caregivers, or members of the general public.
Some examples include shouting, bullying, threatening, harassing, or creating an isolating environment.
It is important to be on the lookout for increased level of agitation, withdrawal from social outings or visits, and anxiety in the presence of specific individuals.

Question 34

Aging in Place

Answer 34

Inevitably, death comes for us all.
When we have lived a long and fulfilling life, it doesn’t have to be an awful experience.
One way that we can make the experience easier for older adults is to facilitate their ability to age in place.
-ie. to remain in one’s home of choice regardless of age, as long as it is comfortable and safe.
-this can slow down the need to move into an assisted living facility.
Ways to accomplish this include…
-paying for support as it becomes needed (when feasible)
-family members moving in with parents or relatives to assist them
-building and supporting social networks
-assistive aids that help support independent living
-fall prevention and PA interventions available to anyone.