Week 11 - Late Adulthood Flashcards
3 Stages of late adulthood
young-old 65–74;
old-old 75–84;
oldest-old 85+
activities of daily living (ADLs)
daily requirements of life for adults, such as bathing, dressing, food preparation and eating, housekeeping and paying bills
gerontologist
researcher on ageing
functional age
age that indicates the actual competence and performance of older adults; may be higher or lower than chronological age
old-age dependency ratio (OADR)
in a population, the ratio of people aged 65 and over to people aged 20–64
Primary ageing is the
inevitable biological ageing that takes place in all members of the human species, as it takes place in all living organisms
Secondary ageing is the
decline in physical functioning that takes place due to lifestyle behaviours such as unhealthy diet, insufficient exercise and substance abuse, as well as environmental influences such as pollution.
cataracts,
a progressive thickening of the lens causing vision to become cloudy and distorted
affecting 25% of people in their 70s and 50% in their 80s
macular degeneration,
the loss of clarity in the centre of the visual field.
This disease affects about 4% of people aged 65–74 and 15% of those 75 and over
glaucoma
loss of peripheral vision due to build-up of fluid that damages the optic nerve
by the late 70s, about ___% of people report some degree of hearing impairment
75%
About _________of adults over age 65 report some degree of impairment in taste and smell, but the prevalence of impairment rises to over ______% in adults over age 80
one-quarter
60
affecting over half of people over age 65, is sleep_____________
sleep apnoea, which is a sleep-related respiratory disorder
The most common treatment for sleep apnoea is continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), in which a ventilation device blows a gentle stream of air into the nose during sleep to keep the airway open
arthritis, About half of adults over age 65 in developed countries report symptoms of arthritis, with women more often affected than men for unknown reasons
a disease of the joints that especially affects the hips, knees, neck, hands and lower back.
Most arthritis is due simply to decades of using the joints, which eventually wears out the cartilage that cushions joint movement. The fluid in the joints that acts as a shock absorber also diminishes as part of primary ageing.
hypertension, also known as high blood pressure
67.8% of adults over age 70 have hypertension in NZ
active life span
, the number of years their physical functioning is favourable enough for them to enjoy their lives and perform most of their daily activities without impairment.
Alzheimer’s disease,
which is a distinctive pattern of structural decline in the brain that accounts for over half of cases of dementia in late adulthood
Alzheimer’s disease,
which is a distinctive pattern of structural decline in the brain that accounts for over half of cases of dementia in late adulthood
wisdom
can be defined as ‘expertise in the conduct and meaning of life’
selective optimisation with compensation (SOC)
response to ageing that entails selecting valued activities and dropping others, optimising performance in the remaining activities and compensating for physical and cognitive declines by developing new strategies or by using technology
There are three components to the successful ageing model:
(1) maintaining physical health, including low risk of disease and disability;
(2) maintaining cognitive functioning; and
(3) continued engagement with life, including relationships with others as well as productive activity (through paid work or volunteering)
Socioemotional selectivity theory
Carstensen’s theory that older adults maximise their emotional wellbeing by becoming increasingly selective in their social contacts
