Lecture 7 - Late Adulthood

Question 1

What is considered late adulthood?

Answer 1

65+

Question 2

What is aging in a biological sense?

Answer 2

Increase in vulnerability to disease.

Question 3

Does aging = disease?

Answer 3

Not necessarily, but it is a significant risk factor for diseases such as CV disease, Alzheimer’s dixease, type 2 diabetes, htn, arthritis, and cancer.

Question 4

What are some GI changing that occur with age?

Answer 4

Mucosal lining thins.

Reduced liver size and blood flow increase the likelihood of adverse drug reactions.

Question 5

What are some musculoskeletal changes that occur with age?

Answer 5

Decreased bone mass, decreased elasticity of ligaments, decreased muscle mass, and increased adipose tissue.

Question 6

What are some circulatory changes that occur with age?

Answer 6

Decrease in myocytes,

Decreased vascular compliance

Increased collagen

Increased systolic bp

Left ventricular hypertrophy

Decreased response to catecholamines.

Question 7

What are some renal changes that occur with age?

Answer 7

Decline in blood flow - about 10% per decade after 50.

Difficulties in maintaining blood vol, sodium levels, removing excess acid, and adjusting hypovolemia and hypotension.

Question 8

What are pulmonary changes that occur with age?

Answer 8

Reduced chest wall compliance, respiratory response to hypoxia, ciliary function, and cough and swallowing function.

Question 9

How does your vision change in late adulthood?

Answer 9

Decrease lens compliance, reduced tear formation, loss of cones (reduced color vision), and reduced pupil size (night vision).

Question 10

How does hearing change with aging?

Answer 10

Nerve loss results in reduced acuity with high pitches, and reduced noise localization.

Question 11

When do our cognitive abilities peak? When do they plateau and decline?

Do we become less intelligent as we age?

Answer 11

Peak in the 30’s, plataeu in the early 60’s, and decline in the late 70’s.

NO! We do not become less intelligent.

Question 12

What is fluid intelligence and how does it change as we age?

Answer 12

Ability to think and react quickly; mental flexibility and information processing speed; learning new information.

It decreases beginning in the mid 60’s.

Question 13

What is crystallized intelligence and how does it change with age?

Answer 13

It’s knowledge, experience, and verbal skills.

It doesn’t change over time.

Question 14

How does memory change over time?

Answer 14

Remote memory is preserved (memory of things that happened years ago)

Recent memory takes longer.

Question 15

With age, what type of attention becomes more challenging?

Answer 15

Divided.

Question 16

With age, verbal abilities are preserved while _____ _____ becomes more difficult.

Answer 16

Work retrieval.

Question 17

At the level of neurons, how does alzheimers look differently than normal aging? What about at the level of the brain?

Answer 17

There’s neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques.

There’s cortical shrinkage, enlarged ventricles, and shrinkage of the hippocampus.

Question 18

What is the definition of dementia according to the DSM V? What are the types of dementia?

Answer 18

Decline in memory and other cognitive functions resulting in functional loss.

Alzheimers, vascular, lewy body, parkinsons, frontotemporal, alcoholic.

Question 19

What is raptamycin used for? What benefit has it displayed in mice?

Answer 19

It’s a transplant immunosuppressant that increases the lifespan of mice, even when started later in life.

Question 20

What is the benefit of resveratrol (as shown in mice)? What foods contain this?

Answer 20

Found in grapes and nuts.

May mimic caloric restriction benefits.

Overweight mice who received it were healthier and lived longer.

Question 21

What effect does growth hormone have on muscles? What impact does this have on lifespan?

Answer 21

Increases muscle mass but not strength.

People with high levels are more likely to die young.

Question 22

What is one biological marker of longevity? What effects this? Who has less of this?

Answer 22

Telomere length, affected by psychological stress.

Mothers of chronically ill children and caregivers of someone with Alzheimers have been found to have shorter telomeres.

Question 23

In many cultures, older people are viewed with ______ and _____. What was their role?

Answer 23

Reverence and respect.

They are seen as a source of culture, technology, and knowledge and often passed down their tribal knowledge to younger members of the family.

Question 24

How do modern Americans view older adults? What did Erikson say about this?

Answer 24

We generally idealize youth and devalue the aged.

He said that lacking a culturally viable idea of old age, our civilization doesn’t harbor a concept of the whole of life. He said that our fear of aging keeps us from living full lives.

Question 25

_____ cultures hold a more positive perception of aging.

Answer 25

Asian.

Question 26

What is said to be associated with more positive perceptions of aging?

Answer 26

Frequent contact with older adults.

Question 27

People with more negative beliefs about aging had a greater decline in their ______ volume on imaging and more ____ ____ and ____ ____ at autopsy.

Answer 27

Hippocampus volume.

Amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.

Question 28

What are common life changes that occur in late adulthood?

Answer 28

Retirement: more free time for hobbies, decrease in income.

Grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Loss of people in life and health.

Agism.

Question 29

What is considered successful aging?

Answer 29

Freedom from disease and disability, high cognitive and physical functioning, and social and productive engagement.

Question 30

What did the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA) determine about successful aging?

Answer 30

That everyone ages differently, and “normal” aging can be distinguished from disease.

Bodies change and in some ways decline over time.

Diabetes, htn, and dementia are not inevitable.

Question 31

What did the baltimore study of aging say could allow people to live longer and better lives? What does this improve? Do you have to have done it your whole life to benefit from it?

Answer 31

Regular exercise: reduces falls, strength exercises reduce osteoporosis, stretching helps performing ADLs, high intensity can help men reduce coronary risk.

Even beneficial to those who start in their 60s and 70s.

Question 32

According to the BLSA, what types of diets were shown to increase BMI and waist circumference?

Answer 32

“meat and potatoes” - greater increase in BMI

White bread - annual increase in waist circumference.

Question 33

What diet is associated with being “healthy”?

Answer 33

Whole grains, low-fat, fruits/veggies.

Shows to have the smallest gain in BMI and waist circumference.

Question 34

Saturated fat in the diet is proportionally associated with what? What can decrease this risk?

Answer 34

Coronary heart disease (CHD) risk.

Fruit and veggie intake can decrease this risk.

Question 35

What is associated with increased risk of heart disease and increased mortality?

Answer 35

“apple shape” - increased risk of heart disease.

Weight change (gain or loss) and a BMI <19 are associated with higher mortality.

Question 36

What is associated with a lower risk of dementia?

Answer 36

Participation in leisure activities such as reading, board games, instruments, and dancing.

Question 37

The happiest people are _____, ______, and ______.

Answer 37

Social, generous, and goal-oriented.

Question 38

As determined by the Vaillant study of aging, what 6 factors measured at 50 predicted happniess/wellness at 80?

Answer 38

1. Stable marraide
2. Mature adaptive coping styles
3. No smoking
4. Little use of alcohol
5. Regular exercise
6. Maintenance of normal weight

Question 39

According to the Vaillant study of aging, what were the most important things to avoid to age well physically?

Answer 39

Heavy smoking and alcohol abuse.

Question 40

What Erikson stage are people in during late adulthood? What does each mean? What virtue is gained?

Answer 40

Integrity (ego) vs. Despair
Virtue: wisdom

Integrity is a sense of satisfaction that lie has been productve and worthwhile.

Despair is a loss of hope and sense that life has no purpose or meaning.

Question 41

What is wisdom?

Answer 41

Knowledge that is gained by having many experiences in life.

Natural ability to understand things that most other people can’t (insight).

Knowledge about what is proper or reasonable.

good judgement.

Question 42

Wisdom is ____ and ____ knowledge about the world and human affairs.

It mingles ______ and _____ involving complex and uncertain matter of the human condition.

Answer 42

Factual and procedural

Insight and judgement

Question 43

How is calorie restriction being studied? What does this study indicate?

Answer 43

Extends the lifespan of protozoa, yeast, fruit flies, and some mice.

Pilot study on overweight adults who are cutting their calorie consumption by 20-30%.

Results - lowering the fasting insulin levels and core body temp, which is associated with longer life in animal models and reduced risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Question 44

What did the New England Centenarian study showed what?

Answer 44

People who live the longest seem to delay getting diseases.

The longer you live, the less likely you are to get a disease.

Question 45

A longitudinal study of danish centenarians revealed what about 92-100 year olds?

Answer 45

Health problems seem to be delayed, appearing closer to the end of life.

The longer people live, the longer they are likely to.

Question 46

What is a culture-level association between population structure and societal views on aging?

Answer 46

Few elders is seen as good and many elders is seen as bad.