L7: Healthy Ageing

Question 1

exp. “picture yourself in 60 years”

Answer 1

experimental studies with face morphing into your imaginary older self:
- participants looked into a mirror and saw either their own reflection or their morphed future self.
- were then asked what they’d do if they’d receive 1000 euro’s now
- those looking at their present selves thought of how to spend it now
- those looking at their future selves thought of how to save/invest it for late

Question 2

wat is a cause of loneliness in elderly

Answer 2

• humans are poor at connecting to our older selves
• humans are even worse at connecting to older others

Question 3

prevalence loneliness in Amsterdam

Answer 3

• 40.000 inhabitants (5%) reports to feel seriously lonely
• no more than one meaningful social interaction per week
• mostly seniors of 70+ and Gen Z

Question 4

ageism in nederlands=

Answer 4

seniorisme

Question 5

ageism =

Answer 5

prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination based on age.

• stereotyping: lumping everyone together – iedereen over een kam scheren -> (all) older adults are slow, inflexible, conservative, fragile and vulnerable
• takes people’s individual dignity away because of their age, not their individual qualities

Question 6

prevalenties ageism

Answer 6

• 50% van de ouderen heeft het wel eens meegemaakt
• meer dan 50% van de mensen (senioren hierbij geincludeerd) hebben middelmatige tot serieuze negatieve gedachtes/attitudes richting senioren

Question 7

voorbeelden van ageism

Answer 7

• explain something to an older person in more simple, perhaps even childish language (elderspeak)
• treat an older person as if they’re less competent in handling things (physical or mental)?
• fail to take someone seriously because of stereotypes about their age?
• entertain some prejudice about older adults (e.g., assume that older adults are slow in understanding and not completely intelligible? or that older adults are slow in thinking, moving, or acting?)
• feel that an older person contributes little to society?
• consumes a large proportion of health care, retirement funds etc.?

Question 8

ageism within institutions: stereotypes en werkelijkheid

Answer 8

stereotypes:
- less efficient, energetic, flexible, stress-resilient
- no point in investing in trainingen or education
- more often ill
- more costly in terms of sick leave/duration of sick leave/insurance/salary

werkelijkheid:
- more experience, less panic in case of stress
- mentoring
- more loyal, less job hopping

Question 9

stereotypes and prejudices about elderly in the media

Answer 9

• older adults are largely under-represented
• many ads treat seniors as either: dependent and in need of help, or people who stay young forever
• ageing is typically advertized as something negative: products to look/feel younger

Question 10

ageism in health-care

Answer 10

• doctors and nurses dont communicate with seniors (bv vooral tegen familie praten) or belittle them
• focus on deterioration, therefore there is an undertreatment because of age (“dit is normaal op deze leeftijd” -> terwijl bv het andere been nog wel goed is). complaints are attributed to age instead of medical causes
• lack of vision on activation: we need tailor-made care -> try to stimulate seniors to self manage

Question 11

hoe werkt ageism towards oneself

Answer 11

stereotype (older adults are physically vulnerable) -> internalization (i am becoming physically vulnerable) -> expectation (i’d better be careful with physical activities, as i’m getting vulnerable) -> behaviour (i’d better start avoiding physically challenging activities) -> stereotype….

-> self-fulfilling prophecy! (= acting in accord with the (mis)conceptions about ageing in society)

zs

Question 12

ageism vs. andere vormen van discriminatie

Answer 12

• ageism is more socially accepted than racism or sexism (seen as innocent, no harm intended, everyone knows that ageing comes with decline
• humorist (a senior moment, a grey tsunami when talking about population changes)
• but it is still based on prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination!

Question 13

impact of ageism

Answer 13

ageism can;
- influence the way we look at ourselves (self-fullfilling prophecies)
- turn generations agains one another
- impact health, quality of life, mental wellbeing

Question 14

9 consequenties van ageism in een persoon

Answer 14

• reduced longevity (minder lang leven)
• hampers recovery
• induces an unhealthy lifestyle (what does it matter)
• reduces physical health
• impacts mental health
• promotes/speeds cognitive decline
• promotes loneliness and social isolation
• reduces quality of life
• reduces lust for life

Question 15

COVID pandemic and ageism

Answer 15

• did ageism grow worse as the pandemic lingered?
• did that impact quality of life and mental well-being?
• did effects depend on people’s own believes about ageing?

Interview: seniors reported experiencing more ageism during the pandemic, including hostile and benevolent ageism from older adults’ families
Questionnaire: Perceived Ageism worsened as the pandemic-driven restrictions lasted. The stronger the increase in perceived ageism during COVID, the greater the decline in QoL & MWB
These findings are utterly disconcerting: ageism has become a pandemic with massive impact, findings emphasize the urgency of combatting ageism and promoting ageism-awareness in our society

Question 16

what can you do as an individual

Answer 16

• be aware of ageism: speak out if you encounter ageism, try to be led as little as possible by prejudice and stereotypes about ageing yourself
• prevent ageism by treating seniors just as you treat non-seniors
• find, show, and cherish counter-examples
• promote inter-generational contact as much as possible: visits, shared volunteer activities

Question 17

why do we age?

Answer 17

• natural selection (evolutionary pressure) selects for: factors that promote successful adaptation, factors that increase our chances of passing on our genes to the next generatioon
• there is no evolutionary pressure to select for genes that promote successful ageing, since that does not contribute to passing on our genes. therefore there is nothing to prevent the build-up of cellular damage and waste, or neurodegenerative disease. wear and tear makes the body age, and then we die.

Question 18

hallmarks of normal ageing model

Answer 18

(een aantal)

molecular/cellular: DNA damage and impaired repair, accumulated oxidative damage, impaired molecular waste disposal

neural network: impaired neurogenesis, dysfunctional activity, reduced neuroplasticity, aberrant neuronal network activity

Question 19

the brain does shrink when you get older

Answer 19

oke

Question 20

ontogenesis=

Answer 20

development of the individual

Question 21

fylogenesis =

Answer 21

development of the species

Question 22

overeenkomsten fylogenesis and ontogenesis

Answer 22

the prefrontal cortex is the last to mature, in both the individual and the species

Question 23

welk fenomeen hoort bij de PFC qua ontwikkeling

Answer 23

last-in, first-out: the PFC is the last to mature, and the first to decline

Question 24

cognitive aspects that decline with age

Answer 24

1. regulative functions
2. memory
3. orienting

Question 25

cognitive decline: regulative functions

Answer 25

regulative functions are supported by the PFC.
all these 3 processes show remarkable decline with aging:
1. stability vs. flexibility (switching between tasks or mental sets, shielding of goals)
2. working memory (updating of all potentially relevant information, remembering what to do when)
3. planning, impulse control, etc

Question 26

cognitive decline: memory

Answer 26

• failure to remember the right words (tip of the tongue)
• failure to remember the contextual details of an event (source memory (where did you get this information)
• relies heavily on the hippocampus (which is also among the first ones to decline)

Question 27

how can we repair source memory

Answer 27

story-telling (“I met Christine when she arrived at school, riding on a green elephant who stole my apple”)

Question 28

cognitive decline: orienting

Answer 28

• 3D space: notion of place (where you are, in reference to your surroundings and to others)
• temporal space: notion of time and continuity (where were you 15 min. ago? what where you doing there and why?)
• contextual space: notion of context and surroundings (continuity, appropriateness within that context)
• autobiographic space: notion of agency (who you are, why are you where you are now, what were you doing. coherent image of self, consistent across time)
• leans heavily on prefrontal cortex (and those cognitive functions supported by it)

Question 29

waar gaat intervention & prevention voornamelijk over

Answer 29

how can we;
- promote resilience against stressors
- prevent neurocognitive decline

Question 30

factors tapping into individual differences in cognitive status with ageing

Answer 30

• lifestyle
• social connectedness and purpose in life
• brain-training and skill training

Question 31

intervention: nutrition and consumption patterns

Answer 31

• what matters is: calorie restriction
• what works best is: intermittent fasting
• what doesn’t work: supplements (anti-aging industry)

Question 32

intervention: physical exercise and fitness

Answer 32

• what matters is: burning calories
• what works best is: areobic activities
• what doesn’t work: excessive sports

Question 33

calory restriction and physical exercise impact almost all hallmarks of normal neural aging

Answer 33

oke

Question 34

intervention: social connectedness and purpose in life

Answer 34

• volunteer work
• religious communities
• interactive sports or dance

what matters is:
- (inter-generational) contact
- meaning
- activity
- competence

Question 35

intervention: training complex skills

Answer 35

• juggling
• tango
• map learning

what matters is:
- willingness to invest (continual) effort
- coordination skills
- fun

Question 36

intervention: brain gymnastics

Answer 36

• life-long learning (what matters is: use it or lose it)
• brain training (but studies are inconsistent, effects are hard to replicate, effects do not generalise (sudoku spelen heeft alleen effect op sudoku spelen), many studies not properly conducted, lack of proper control groups (stimulation/motivation/expectation)

Question 37

dus conclusie over brain-training

Answer 37

• cognitive training doesn’t work, replicate, or generalize (although training can’t harm)
• braintraining cannot be shown (conclusively)
  to impact any hallmark of normal neural aging

Question 38

conclusie

Answer 38

• we age b/c there is no evolutionary pressure to select for genes that promote successful aging
• aging impacts a complex system of interacting hallmarks of normal neural aging, from molecular and cellular to network levels
• last-in first-out at the macro level: prefrontal cortex, hippocampus
• cognitive functions that show decline prominently include: regulative functions, memory, orienting
• our best shot at preserving mental functions is: calory restriction / physical exercise, volunteer activities, (complex skill training)

Question 39

conclusie over need for intervention

Answer 39

• World Health Organization: promoting active & healthy aging: urgent priority. 2021-2030 is the UN decade of active & healthy aging
• we are urgently in need of a new appreciation of the dignity of old age
• we need to combat ageism, which has dramatic impact on the lives and health of our elders, our grand-parents, and (before you know it) ourselves
• the key is with the new generation – it starts with you