Middle Age Flashcards
Middle Age Range
40-64 yrs, 11 months
Erikson’s conflict of middle age
Generativity vs. stagnation
Midlife Crisis
-Period of transition in life where someone struggles with their identity and self confidence
-40-60
-Affects men and women
Social Considerations
-What is this person’s role? (ex: parent and caregiver)
-What are their functional needs?
Vision Changes
-Presbyopia: loss of accommodative ability of lens (glasses may be needed)
-Reduced vision in dim light
-Increased sensitivity to glare
-Diminished color discrimination
-Risk of glaucoma increases
Hearing Changes
-Presbycusis: age-related hearing loss
-Begins with decline in detection of high frequencies and spreads to other tones
-Ability to distinguish sounds in close succession declines and human speech becomes harder to understand
Skin Changes
-Skin wrinkles, loosens, dries
-Age spots develop
-Precancerous lesions or spots
Muscle strength declines at
30
Each decade, how much muscle mass is lost?
5%
Increased occurrence of
Muscle strains
LE muscle strength is reduced by how much between 30-80?
40%
Incidence of osteoporosis
-10% of adults 50+
-10 million people
-Mostly women
Osteoporosis increases from middle to late adulthood
-Five fold in women (7-35%)
-Triples in men (3-11%)
Common fracture sites
Spine, hips, wrist
Osteoporosis treatment
-Diet with Ca and Vit D
-Weight bearing exercise
-Resistance training
-Bone strengthening medications
Coordination declines in
30’s
Age related changes in vestibular system begin in
40’s
Vestibular changes
-Decreased number of sensory cells and nerve fibers in PNS
-Neural changes possible in vestibular nerve
Common vestibular issues over 50
Dizziness and vertigo
Vestibular cell reductions
-40% in hair cells
-36% in peripheral nerve fibers in adults over 70
Impaired balance caused by
Deterioration in central vestibular integrative functions
Threshold of excitation of vestibular nuclei
increases
Vestibular system becomes unreliable when
visual and proprioceptive input conflicts
Menopause
Ovaries begin to atrophy, causes a decline in estrogen and progesterone (stimulate menstrual cycle)
