Week 2 - Predictors of Successful Aging Flashcards
What are the 3 R’s that helped Esther get to 100 years of age?
- Resolution (Ability to solve problems and conflicts to go through life events)
- Resourcefulness (Place to live, food, etc.)
- Resilience (How we face adversity)
How much do our genetics determine the aging process?
20-30%
What are examples of predictors of aging?
- Genetics
- Health and social services (access to treatments and hospitals)
- Lifestyle choices and behaviours
- Psychological attributes (Optimists vs pessimists)
- Life events (Death in the family)
- Socioeconomic status
- Physical and social environment (walking vs car)
- Culture and gender
What are the 2 main categories of biological theories of aging?
- Programmed Theory
- Damage Theory
What is programmed theory?
It is one of the 2 main categories of biological theories of aging wherein aging follows a biological timetable that depends on changes in gene expression affecting the systems responsible for maintenance, repair and defence responses.
What is damage theory?
It is one of the 2 main categories of biological theories of aging wherein environmental stress to living organisms would induce cumulative damage at various levels as the cause of aging.
What are the 4 subtypes of theories under the programmed theory branch?
1) Programmed longevity
2) Endocrine Theory
3) Immunological Theory
4) Hayflick Immunological Theory
What does programmed longevity indicate?
Aging is the result of sequential switching on and off of certain genes, with senescence (process of deterioration with age) being defined as the time when age-associated deficits are manifested.
Basically, cells and the body systems are programmed to slowly die.
What does the endocrine theory indicate?
Biological clocks act through hormones to control the pace of aging. Supported by recent studies showing that insulin plays a key role in the hormonal regulation of aging.
Another piece of evidence is that there are a lot of changes in women after menopause.
What does the immunological theory indicate?
The immune system is programmed to decline over time which leads to an increased vulnerability to infectious disease and thus aging and death.
What does the Hayflick immunological theory indicate?
Normal human cells can only replicate and divide 40-60 times before they cannot divide anymore, and will break down by programmed cell death or apoptosis.
What are the 5 subtypes of theories that fall under the damage or error theory of aging?
1) Wear and tear theory
2) Rate of living theory
3) Cross-linking theory
4) Free radicals theory
5) Somatic DNA damage theory
What does the wear and tear theory indicate?
Cells and tissues have vital parts that wear out (from repeated use) resulting in aging
What does the rate of living theory indicate?
The greater an organism’s rate of oxygen basal metabolism=, the shorter its life span
What does the cross-linking theory indicate?
An accumulation of cross-linked proteins (aggregates) would damage cells and tissues, slowing down bodily processes resulting in aging
What does the free radical theory indicate?
Superoxide and other free radicals would cause damage to the macromolecular components of the cells, causing cells, and eventually organs, to stop functioning.
What does the somatic DNA damage theory indicate?
Aging would result from damage to the genetic integrity of the body’s cells. In particular, genetic mutations and damage to mitochondria DNA would affect body’s cells.
Which one of these factors contributes the most to life expectancy in animals?
a) Animal size (bigger animals live longer vs. smaller)
b) Difference in heart rate (slower heart rate = longer life vs. fast heart rate)
b)
What are free radicals?
Atoms or groups of atoms with an odd (unpaired) number of electrons and can be formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules.
Once formed, these highly reactive radicals can start a chain reaction an cause damage when they react with important cellular components such as DNA, or the cell membrane.
Give me an example of a psychological theory of aging.
The Theory of selective optimization with compensation
What is meant by the theory of selective optimization with compensation?
You should optimize what you can do and compensate where you cant do anything.
Remind us what successful aging is.
Ability of an older adult to adapt to physical, mental, and social losses in later life.
What are the behavioural life-management strategies in maintaining functional independence in later life?
- Focusing on high-priority areas in life (feelings of satisfaction and personal control) –> e.g., grandchildren, helping others, etc.
- Optimizing remaining personal skills that enrich and enhance life. –> e.g., writing, playing sports, making new friends, etc.
- Compensating for losses of physical and mental function by using personal strategies. –> e.g., strategies for mobility loss or loos of driver’s license = using a disability scooter, using a hearing aid for hearing loss
What are the key factors of successful aging? The ones that help cope with changes/losses in later life.
- Intelligence: ability to learn and adapt to new environments
- Cognitive capacity: memory, mental processing speed, problem solving
- Self-efficacy: A belief in one’s capabilities to handle situations and tasks in life.
- Self-esteem: feelings about oneself
- Coping style: how one adopts to transitions and handles daily hassles and crises
- Resilience: ability to overcome adversity –> recall the 3 R’s
Complete the following quote by Albert Bandura: “People’s level of motivation, affective states, and actions are based more on what they ______ than on what is objectively the case.”
believe
Name me 2 sociological theory of aging?
- Activity Theory
- Continuity Theory
