Week 1: Intro to Healthy Aging

Question 1

Canadian Seniors Population Outlook

Answer 1

Baby boomers are starting to become ‘older adults’ (~65+), aging population= getting older for a longer period of time

Question 2

3 main reasons provinces have differences in Senior Populations, who has highest and lowest

Answer 2

Highest= Newfoundland
Lowest= Nunavut

Reasons:
1. Trends in fertility- more baby boomers in certain areas, and older adults have less children
2. Migration- job opportunities, quality of living, health care, access to resources
3. Life expectancy- going up and more in certain provinces

Question 3

Life Span Predictions (4)

Answer 3

1. Decreases in infant mortality rate
2. Advances in Public Health
3. Plateau of life expectancy- developing more chronic conditions
4. Adding life to years instead of years to life

Question 4

Aging and Quality of Life

Answer 4

Living longer doesn’t always mean living better
-Decreased Quality of Life
-Decrease in physical, cognitive, mental, social health
-Increase in common morbidities and comorbidities

*Males tended to want to live longer than females
*People more want quality time with the people they love, not just more time

Question 5

Life Expectancy vs. Quality of Life

Answer 5

-Past 60 years seen massive improvements in global life expectancy, but the proportion of life spent in poor to moderate health has not changed

Question 6

Desire to live longer associated with (4)

Answer 6

1. Positive psychological wellbeing
2. Increased happiness, life satisfaction, purpose in life
3. Decreased risk of all-cause mortality (mediated by lifestyle behaviours)
4. Decreased mortality from cancer or suicide (mediated by lifestyle behaviours)

Question 7

Types of Aging (6)

Answer 7

1. Chronological age
2. Biological age
3. Psychological age
4. Functional age
5. Social psychological/subjective age
6. Social age (social roles)

Question 8

Chronological age

Answer 8

The number of years a person has lived

Question 9

Biological age

Answer 9

A description of individuals development based on biomedical markers that are determined by molecular or cellular events (conditions- e.g. Alzheimers, dementia, MS)

Question 10

Psychological age

Answer 10

A description of one’s own experiences using nonphysical features such as experience, logic and emotional.

Question 11

Social psychological/subjective age

Answer 11

the personal subjective age of a person based on how old the individual feels and how they feel towards age.

Question 12

Social age

Answer 12

the social roles that an individual has placed on them by society that determines their age

Question 13

Functional age

Answer 13

a combination of chronological, biological, and psychological age. Considered to be the wholistic picture of a persons described age.

Question 14

Types of Functional Aging

Answer 14

1st age- childhood
2nd age- working and parenting
3rd age- ‘young old’ age b/t 65-84 years
4th age- above 85 years

*not everyone reaches all 4 ages, and some skip ages

Question 15

What is healthy aging and what does it involve (5)

Answer 15

WHO defines healthy aging as “continuous process of optimizing opportunities to maintain and improve physical and mental health, independence, and quality of life throughout the life course.”

This includes a person’s ability to:
-meet their basic needs
-learn, grow and make decisions
-be mobile
-build and maintain relationships
-contribute to society

Question 16

Some Synonyms to Healthy Aging (5)

Answer 16

-functional aging
-aging well
-independent living
-productive wellness
-longevity

Question 17

Biopsychosocial (BPS) Model

Answer 17

Physical and mental health determined by integration of biological, social and psychological factors

Question 18

Fries (1980)

Answer 18

-Compression of Morbidity
-burden of illness is compressed and more prevalent later in life
-increasing quality of life=less sick when older
*delaying onset

Question 19

Rowe and Kahn (1987) 3 Main Ideas for HA

Answer 19

-human aging is usual and successful
-widely cited

1. Avoiding disease and disability
2. Maintaining high cognitive and physical function
3. Engagement with life

Question 20

MacArthur Foundation Study on Successful Aging

Answer 20

-led by John Rowe
-Interdisciplinary study most important for HA

Question 21

Strawbridge et al. (2002)

Answer 21

Need to include the effect of chronic conditions and functional difficulties with successful aging- higher rates of successful aging

Question 22

Reichstadt et al. (2010)

Answer 22

Qualitative interviews on successful aging in older adult perspectives- positive outlook on aging

Question 23

2 Broad Theories of Aging

Answer 23

1. Stochastic Theories of Aging
2. Programmed Theories

Question 24

Stochastic Theories of Aging

Answer 24

-Most prevalent theory is Free Radical theory of aging *aging occurs randomly and persistently over time
-Metabolic reactions occurring continuously in the body produce unstable molecules called free radicals.
-“Antioxidant vitamins”
-Age Spots

*free radicals -> cell damage -> aging

Question 25

Non-stochastic Theories of Aging

Answer 25

-Programmed theories
*aging is predetermined (opposite of stochastic)
-Evolved from work by Hayflick and Moorehead (1981)
-Biological clock- time that you will die

Question 26

Neuroendocrine-Immunological theory

Answer 26

-Tied to BOTH programmed and free radical theory
-Immunity theory of aging

Question 27

Why do fertility rates contribute to some provinces having higher % of older adults?

Answer 27

The rapid increase in the number of older Canadians, particularly those aged 85 and over, is due to two main factors.

1. Baby boomers
   -those born between 1946 and 1965 are the largest generation in Canadian history. Fertility rates were much higher during the baby boom, nearly four children per woman, which led to larger birth cohorts.
2. Life expectancy in Canada has been steadily increasing

Looking at Newfoundland and Labrador for example, the province’s fertility rate in the 1970s was higher than most other provinces. However, by 2022, the fertility rate had dropped to just 1.22 children per woman of childbearing age. This decline in fertility, combined with the large aging baby boomer population, explains why Newfoundland and Labrador now has one of the highest proportions of older adults in Canada.