Issues In Late Adulthood Flashcards
• health -> chronic diseases present increase, especially after the age of 80
◦ Arthritis
◦ Hypertension
◦ Heart conditions
◦ Diabetes
◦ Asthma
mobility begins to decrease
Increased chance of broken bones
Decreased depth perception
Accidents are
More common
The consequences of them are more severe
Individual variations being the common rule
Genetics
Poverty
Chronic stressors like racism
Sensory changes
◦ Vision -> more problems at all levels
‣ Galucoma - damage to the optic nerve because of pressure
‣ Macular degeneration - loss of center field of vision
◦ Hearing -> like to declines in:
‣ Daily living
‣ Cognitive function
‣ Loneliness and isolation
◦ smell
‣ Tends to decrease
◦ Taste
‣ Sweet and salty often go first
◦ Touch -> does not decline as noticeably
‣ Sense of pain may decrease
‣ Overall level of pain increases
• Can end up with worse injuries because of decreased reaction time and decreased pain stimulus
◦ Proprioception - perception of the body in space
◦ The combination
Age brings changes in some functioning
Viagra and related drugs were a big game changer
Interesting trends
◦ Due to women living longer than men, older men tends are sought after
◦ Many older men still prefer women who are younger
◦ STIs are very common in many elder communities
Staying healthy - avoiding substance abuse
Alcohol
Smoking
Prescription drugs
Non-prescription drugs
Staying healthy - exercise
Slows down muscle loss
Helps maintain strength
Improves balance and flexibility
Range of motion
Staying healthy - healthy diets
‣ Eating healthy and avoiding most dieting
‣ Consider intermittent fasting
‣ Vitamins & supplements may help specific conditions (e.g., malabsorption)
• Some may need more vitamin D to better be able to absorb Calcium. Some may need iron supplements because they do not get enough protein in heir diet or don’t have time
◦ Social Support Networks
Cognitive functioning - areas showing decline
‣ Increased processing times
‣ Decreased attention skills
‣ More trouble focusing on the important elements of a task
‣ More trouble sustaining attention
Cognitive functioning - decreased memory skills
• Had trouble remembering more present things, and better at remembering the past. However, in reality these people often don’t remember the past as well as they think, we just believe them because we were not around.
‣ Not good at remembering episodes from their past with much accuracy
‣ trouble remembering more recent events.
‣ More trouble with explicit memory (e.g., a list of items to get at the store)
‣ less decline in implicit memory (how to drive a car – unless they are asked to explain it while doing it).
Cognitive functioning - declines in executive functioning
Flawed measurement - motor and sensory skills, especially hearing
Dementia
‣ Global term for neurological disorders whose primary symptom is cognitive decline
‣ Personality changes are often associated due to decrease in inhibitory system
• – These are not indicative of who the person was!
• Often alters their brain chemistry
Alzheimer’s
‣ More common in women
‣ Causes include –
• decrease in acetylcholine (messenger chemical for memory)
• increase in amyloid plaques (accumulation of proteins in blood vessels)
• neurofibrillary tangles (twisted fibers in neurons largely caused by the protein tau)
• Genetics and stress also play a role (nature interacting with nurture)
Mental health - depression
‣ Loss of relationships due to death and loss of mobility
‣ Loss of joy due to less sensory stimulation
‣ Increase in health problems and pain
‣ Loss of purpose due to job loss and social distancing
‣ Realization of all that one is losing
Mental health - why we do not get accurate rates
◦ At the same time, it is hard to get accurate rates of depression – scales are confounded with the effects of aging.
‣ Trouble staying asleep or sleeping too much
‣ Poor appetite or overeating
‣ Moving or speaking so slowly that other people have notices
Loss of freedom
◦ Loss of Driver’s License is a major blow for many
‣ Loss of adulthood status
‣ Dependence on others for daily needs
◦ Family members taking over financial and other matters
◦ Motility Issues Cause Lack of Freedom even within One’s Home
◦ Nursing Homes
◦ Ellen Langer’s Work – even simple choices make a difference
What is a major factor for mental health in older people that is also over diagnosed
Depression
Ellen Langer’s Work
- did a study where the subjects were retirees and residents of nursing homes, that would take note of the choices made in their daily lives
- everyone was given a plant, in one group the person got a choice on if anything was done to the plant that day, the other side, the staff took care of the plant every day
- found that the more they were able to make decisions and control their day were:
- less depressed
- more independent and confident
- more alert and differentiated in their choices
- found that the more they were able to make decisions and control their day were:
Being able to do what is found to be helpful for older individuals living
- being able to give them choices in activities and decisions
- having that ability to have a say in care
- being able to consent to things, and choose when to do it
- are you letting them feel like autonomous people, or like a child
