PSYC228_Chap15 Flashcards
all people recognize signs of aging by
age 60
senescence
physical signs of aging
most rapid at end of lifespan
most commom statistic to compare health of older adults in various countries
average life expectancy at birth
life expctancy for aboriginal canadians is
5 yrs lower than other canadians
lifespan
highest boundary or limit of a particular sp
guinness world records - 122
gerontology
area of social science that studies the physical, cognitive, + socio-emotional issues in later adulthood
likely to cont to expand
in 1931, less than 60% of males and 62% of females survived to age
65
in 2001, 84% of males + more. than 90% of females lived to
65
during next 40 yrs, people over 65 expected to
more than double in US
clarke thinks that steady inc in life expectancy due to
improved nutrition
better hygiene,
access to safe drinking water
effective birth control
immunization
other medical interventions
on average, how many yrs can canadians expect to spend in good health
70-80 yrs
centenarian
someone hwo is at least 100 yrs old
growing group
global life expectancy has inc from 64 to
70 in 2011
a lot due to dec in child mortality + health improvements in china + india
but life expectancy has dec in coutnries with limited resources
three groups of elderly
young-old
old-old
oldest-old
young-old
traditionally healthy, actice, independent, betw 60-75
adults in thier later yrs betw 60-75, who are still healthy active + independent
old-old
adults in their layer yrs, traditionally betw ages 75-85, who are beginning to deal iwth dec health
beginning to deal with loss of spouses + health
oldest-old
adults in their later yrs, traditionally, over 85, who are at risk for illness + injury + often dependent on others for assistance with daily living activities
often living in some type of assisted facility
senescence is may be multidirectional
some systems dec while others improve funciton
contracting muscles dec faster than
lengthening muscles
program theory of aging
theory that aging occurs bec of some predetermined internal or external chemical process built into cells that cause deterioration over time
error theory of aging
theory that aging occurs bec of environmental forces such as disease that affect the function of cells, causing deterioration
hayflick’s limit
number of times a cell can divide during the lifespan based on a predetermined number of cell divisions
internal clock with finite limit of times of divisions
biological clocks
fountain of youth enzyme?
telomerase
in cancer cells
replaces loss of telomere which usually signals division stop
hoping to get it to target normal cells
theory of programmed cell is death is a
evolutionary theory
based on assumption that nat selection influences biological processes, resulting in destruction of organisms that don’t reproduce
apoptosis
programmed cell death + self destruct
occurs with greater freq as we age
error theories of aging
based on assupmtion that aging is affected by outside forces
no internal clock
suggest that aging is caused by factors that affect normal cell processes - free radicals, disease, genetic mutation
leading cause of death from birth to middle adulthood
unintentional injury + accidents
once reach middle adulthood, leading cause of death is
disease
wear and tear theory
the longer we live, the mor elikely our tissues will wear down + eventually die
humna body ages as result of use, overuse, + environmental stressors
physical trauma, environmental toxins, overuse
compare to car
weismann
generally considered outdated
brain vol changes across lifespan
early adolescence + young adulthood = waves of growth
after age 35 = dec in vol
greater dec in brain vol in later yrs, is correlated with
reduce cognitive abilites + slower reaction times
what findings suggest that vol loss of brain may have little to no bearing on function
that older adults lose vol in preforntal cortex, but use it more than adolescents
result in functional brain plasiticity
leading cause of death for older adults in canada + industrialized natiosn
cardiovascular disease
develops from dec in flexibility of veins + arteries + dec efficiency of heart muscle to pump
consequences of aging + less activity
arteriosclerosis (hardening of arterie) + coronary artery disease (plaque builtup in arteries)
most common issue in skeletal system as people age has to do with
loss of bone mass due to diminishing minerals + calcium
rheumatism
pain in the bones, ligaments, tendons, or muscles not caused by accidents
leading cause of lack of mobility in elderly
2 main types of rheumatism
rheumatoid arthritis
osteoarthritis
rheumatoid arthritis
type of arthritis classified as an autoimmune disease in which body’s own immune system causes an inflammation of tissue arnd joints
immune system causes deterioration in cartilage + linings of joints betw bones
swelling, pain, significant restriction of mobility
osteoarthritis
most common type of arthritis
cartilage of joints to gradually diminish over time
results from use + abuse of skeletal system
hands, lower back, neck, knees, hips
type of arthritis where skeletal joints + tissue wear down over tiem
most common treatment for both types of arthritis
medication for pain releif
acetaminophen + ibuprofen - without prescription
prescription - narcotic painkillers _ cortisone
most drastic is surgury by realigning bones, fusing bones, or replacing bones
osteoporosis
degenerative disesae fo the skeletal system in which bone loss or resorption results in weakened + brittle bones
disruption of bone remodelling causing bones to become brittle + weak
adls activities of daily living
necessary behavioural function of individs in order to meet basic survival needs, like eating, dressing, elimination + others
planned sequential movements require
coordination among muscular system, endorcine, + brain
hormone issues can affect ability to make these movements
abilities that require information processing
maintina conversation
read newspaper
watch tv
read intructions on medication
selective attention
ablity to attend to particular item in environment while inhibiting other distracting stimuli
ability to destinguish betw relevant + irrelevanet info
may be affected as visual systems dec
tope-down processing
forming perceptions beginning with a more general idea + then working toward more detailed info
involves higher-level thought processes like executive function
you know your friend has red heair, so you look for that colour when she gets off airplain
bottom-up processing
forming perceptions from smaller, finer details + then building upward into a solid general idea
occurs at sensory level, cahnges in visual acuity + auditory processing mainly affect bottom-up processing
friend coming off airplane yells your name
attention requires both
top-down processing + bottom-up processing
both top-down + bottom-up processing appear to dec in older adults, which one dec faster?
top-down
cognitive dec is accompanied by cahnges in
brain function + dec in visual + perceptual sensitivity
changes i working memory are correlated with a dec in brain activity associated iwth the
hippocampus
remembers long apst memories, working/short term memory worse, can’t rememebr where her glasses are
tip-of-the-tongue phenomenon
feelign you know a piece of info, but cannot recall it
older adults experience it more frequently than adolescents or younger adults
wisdom
acccumulation of knowledge + experience, along with personal insight + common sense
debated
more than just knowledge + expertise
combination of common sense, experience, personal insight along with tolerance, reason, + solid decision-making
soemwhere betw self-actualization + ability to communicate thoguhts + perceptions intelligently
visual dec began in middle adulthood, + continues +
becomes more significant in later yrs
presbyopia
farsightedness - can’t read small print/stuff close
continues as eyes cahnge in shape + become smaller
in old age the retina
becomes less sensitive to light + causes difficulty to see at night
cataracts
shaed areas of the lense of the eye that can be treated surgically
shading + discoloration of lens of eye
glaucoma
inc pressure within the eye that , if left untreated, can lead to serious vision problems
inc pressure due to restriction of movement of liquid betw cornea + lens
needs early treatment
age-related macular degeneration
leading cause of vision loss for older adults, caused by deterioration of central region of retina
deterioratio of central region of retina, causes significant visual difficultly
leading cause of vision loss in canadians
if late stages, treatment can only slow vision loss
main approach to treating = visual rehabilitation - teaching people to use remaning vision more effectively
most individs over 75 report
partial or significant hearing loss
between olfactory (smell) and gustatory (taste) which dec faster/earlier in older adults
olfactory/smell dec faster/earlier
both affect quality of life
sensations like cold + heat, have higher thresholds as we age bec
age is associated iwth dimisnihing abilty to feel sensations
fastest growing age group in canada
over 85
biggest nutritional issue among older adults
overeating
dementia
loss of cognitive function, which may include language impairment, memory loss, + inability to recognize familiar people or objects
most common in latin america
dificiencies of cognitive + intellecuatl ability, inability to plan + organize, memory loss, language impairment, diminishing mobility + difficultly recognizing familiar people
intereres with behavioural + psychological function
vascular dementia
common dementia caused by restricted supply of blood to brain
typically after minor strokes
second most common form of dementia 20% of dementias
memory impairment, loss of communication skills, gradual deterioration in person’s ability to carry out daily tasks + acitivities of living
lewy body dementia
round lewy bodies structures develop in parts of the brain involving thinkcing + movement = visual hallucinations, delusions, _ inc rates of falling
no cure
alzheimer’s disease
most common form of dementia in world
1/20 over 65 has it
1/4 over 85 has it
5-10% of cases due to familial autosomal dominant alzheimer’s
rest are sporadic
usually individs over 60
irreversable + progressive, gradually destroying brain + abillity to remember, think clearly + perform activities of dialy living
progressive form of dementia in whihc plaques + tanlgues form in brain, resulting in incing memory loss + eventually death
