Issues in Ageing Flashcards
The 4 principles of ageing
- Changes are continuous over the life span
- Changes that people experience in later adulthood build on the experiences they had in their earlier year - Only the survivors grow old
- “Normal” aging is different from disease
- Individuality matters
personal vs social ageing
Personal Aging
Changes that occur within an individual and reflect the passage of time on the body’s structures and functions (this is how we normally think of the aging process)
Social Aging
Effects of a person’s exposure to a changing environment.
Cultural norms: e.g. age of retirement
World or nationwide events that affect everyone
Random events e.g. win the lottery means you can afford help
The lifespan perspective: 4 key features (Baltes 1987,2006)
- Mulitdirectionality
- Development involves growth and decline (different rates), e.g. reaction time gets slower, vocab ability improves - Plasticity
- One’s capacity is not predetermined – many skills can be trained or improved with practice (within limits) - Historical Context
- We develop within a particular set of circumstances determined by culture and historical time - Multiple Causation
- How we develop results from biological, psychological, sociocultural and life-cycle forces
Random Error Theories
(4 bullet points)
- Aging reflects unplanned changes in an organism over time.
- Cellular process gone awry - “wear and tear” theory
- Free radical theory = cause of aging is increased activity of unstable oxygen molecules (free radicals) that bond to other molecules and compromise cell function.
- Antioxidants and Caloric restriction reduces the formation of free radicals… do they also slow ageing? More evidence for latter than former
Sociocultural Models: emphasis on environment as an influence on development
- ecological perspective
- the life course perspective
The ecological perspective:
- Development is affected by processes at multiple levels of the environment
- The individual can also effect the environment – bring about micro and macro change
- micro- (e.g. family, peers), meso- (e.g. community), exo- (e.g. mass media) and macro-system (e.g. society, economics)
The life course perspective
- According to the life course perspective, norms, roles, and attitudes about age help to shape the person’s life
- The social clock sets age norms and expectations – people evaluate themselves against these norms. “Have I achieved enough?”
Contrasting life course theories
- Disengagement theory
The normal course of life is for older adults to loosen their social ties – mutual withdrawal process of the individual and society - Activity theory
Older adults are better adjusted when they remain involved in their social roles
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- Continuity theory
The individual’s personality determines whether activity or disengagement is optimal
why are age and cohort considered confounding variables?
one can’t know whether the behaviours observed in a cross-sectional study are because participants are 60 vs 70 or because of specific life experiences as a result of being born in 1960 vs 1950
what is the solution to confounding variables?
- sequential design
e.g. takes elements from both cross-sectional and longitudinal. for example, 2 cross-sections at different times
Why does our skin wrinkle?
- thinning due to cell loss
- loss of flexibility and elasticity
- decrease in underlying fat
Other skin changes due to ageing:
Age spots (brown pigmentation due to sun exposure), moles
Varicose veins
Capillaries and arteries become more dilated and more visible due to loss of subcutaneous fat
What causes hair loss and graying?
Hair loss caused by destruction of germ centers that produce hair follicles
Graying caused by cessation of pigment production
Visual changes: Structural
(4 key points)
Pupil shrinks
reduction in amount of light entering the eye
Reduced darkness adaptation – 6 mins for teenager, 40 mins for 80 year old.
Decline in lens elasticity
Difficulty seeing close objects clearly (presbyopia)
Need more time refocussing from near to far (bifocals)
Cataracts
decreased transparency of the lens – impaired central vision
Start to form aged over 30!
Fully developed in 1/3 people over 80
Light scatter = increased sensitivity to glare
Glaucoma
Fluid in the eye doesn’t drain properly causing high pressure internal damage leading to vision loss
Visual changes: Retinal
Macular Degeneration
Reduction in number of receptors on the macular (focal point of vision where fovea is located)
Gradual loss of central vision – irreversible
Around 15% adults over 85
Cataracts facts:
A cataract can be defined as a loss of optical clarity in the crystalline lens of the eye
Often occur bilaterally but effects on each eye can be different
In the UK, one-quarter of the population will develop cataracts by the age of 75 years
Most commonly performed surgical procedure in the NHS
What is Presbycusis, and what are its key characteristics?
Presbycusis: Age-related hearing impairment
Key Features:
Loss of high-pitched tones (e.g., children’s voices).
Trouble distinguishing voices in background noise (lower pitch than voices).
Associated changes:
Atrophy of receptor cells.
Loss of auditory neurons.
Stiffening of middle ear bones.
hat changes in balance occur with age?
Impaired joint position sense
Loss of 40% of vestibular hair and nerve cells by age 70 → causes postural adjustments that are too small
Increased dizziness (unsteady and lightheaded) and vertigo (world feels like it’s spinning)
Increased likelihood of falling
How does ageing affect the sense of smell?
Ability to detect odours remains intact until ~60 years old
Alzheimer’s Disease is associated with a greater decline in odour identification
What changes in taste occur with age?
Ability to differentiate tastes declines gradually → foods taste bland
Not due to loss of taste buds (number remains stable)
Can lead to malnutrition risk
How does muscle strength decline with age?
Muscle strength: The amount of force a muscle produces declines with age.
Slow decline: ~20% loss by age 70, faster decline afterward (up to 40% by age 80).
Legs more affected than upper limbs.
More severe in nursing home residents with a history of falls.
What happens to bones as we age?
Bone loss starts in the late 30s.
Accelerates in the 50s, especially in women, due to estrogen depletion after menopause (women also start with less bone mass).
Bones become more hollow, brittle, and porous.
Increased likelihood of fractures.
What happens to muscle endurance with age?
Capacity to contract continuously at sub-maximal levels declines.
Sarcopenia: Reduction in muscle mass.
Steady decline from ages 25-50, steeper decline after 60.
Loss of Type I and II muscle fibers contributes to decreased endurance.
What are the key recommendations for preventing and treating osteoporosis (Compston et al., 2017)?
Calcium and Vitamin D supplements
Eat healthily (protein is beneficial)
Avoid being underweight
Exercise (focus on weight-bearing activities)
Don’t smoke
Avoid heavy drinking
(Bonus: Have good genes!)
What does Sherrington et al. (2019) suggest about exercise and fall prevention?
Exercise reduces falls by around 23% over time.
Effective programs include:
Balance and functional training (more effective than inactivity).
Multiple types of exercise (e.g., balance, functional, and resistance training).
Tai Chi may also reduce falls.
Insufficient evidence for the effects of:
Programs focused mainly on resistance, dance, or walking.
Programs classified as mainly flexibility or endurance exercises
How does ageing affect the autonomic nervous system, body temperature, and sleep?
Autonomic Nervous System: Regulates body temperature.
Elderly are more susceptible to hypothermia and hyperthermia.
Sleep:
Sleep complaints are common.
Nearly every aspect of sleep undergoes age-related changes.
Circadian rhythm changes:
Shift from a two-phase pattern (day awake, night asleep) to a multiphase pattern (fragmented sleep).
Effect on cognition? Potential impact due to disrupted sleep cycles.
What neuronal changes occur with ageing?
Neuronal death, but slower than previously thought.
Decrease in size and number of dendrites.
Neurofibrillary tangles: Axon fibers tangle together.
Neuritic/amyloid plaques: Lumps of dying neurons.
Both tangles and plaques increase in normal ageing and are abundant in dementia.
Decrease in synapses.
Decline in neurotransmitters:
Dopamine: Linked to motor and cognitive decline; extreme cases → Parkinson’s Disease.
Acetylcholine: Associated with attention and memory problems.
What structural brain changes occur with ageing?
Brain volume and weight shrink (5% per decade after age 40).
Frontal lobe:
Significant shrinkage and decreased blood flow.
Associated with working memory deficits and personality changes.
Hippocampus shrinks, leading to memory problems.
What is the Hemispheric Asymmetry Reduction in Older Adults (HAROLD) model, and what does it suggest about cognitive performance in ageing?
HAROLD: Reduction in hemispheric asymmetry in older adults, especially in the prefrontal cortex (PFC).
Key Changes:
Tasks that activate one hemisphere in younger adults often activate both hemispheres in older adults.
Hypotheses:
Inability to recruit specific areas (neural inefficiency due to ageing).
Compensation: Bilateral activity helps maintain cognitive performance.
Supported by evidence showing better cognitive performance in older adults with more bilateral activation.
Conclusion: HAROLD reflects the brain’s adaptability and resilience to counteract age-related decline.
What is the Scaffolding Theory of Cognitive Aging - Revised (STAC-R)?
STAC-R: Cognitive function in ageing reflects lifelong compensation for decline by recruiting additional brain areas (scaffolding).
Key Points:
Scaffolding is a lifelong process, not just a response to ageing.
Brain compensates for neuronal loss and reduced efficiency by using alternate networks.
Cognitive performance depends on the balance between:
Enhancing factors: Cognitive engagement, exercise, social activity.
Depleting factors: Stress, poor health, inactivity.
Implication: Lifelong efforts (e.g., mental and physical stimulation) build scaffolding capacity, supporting cognitive resilience in old age.
Protective factors – halting neural decline/enhancing neuroplasticity
Diet
Caloric restriction
Fish and seafood
Antioxidant supplements
Low to moderate alcohol intake
Sleep
Exercise (reductions in declines of grey and white matter tissue density with increased fitness)
Cognitive reserve (education etc)
A cognitively stimulating environment
Social engagement
