Week 9: Health in Normal Ageing Flashcards
Explain our ageing population?
250 years ago, on average, a person could expect to live between 30-40 years - it was rare to live over 70.
Life expectancy has increased steadily
1 in 7 people are over 65 years old - this proportion is expected to grow
Are there any gender differences in life expectancy?
Women still tend to live for longer than men do. However, this gap is closing.
What is a potential reason for why this gender-based life expectancy gap is closing?
Could be because men now have better workplace conditions
Which older Australians are disadvantaged?
Indigenous
Those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (barrier to seeking medical help)
Veterans
People from rural or remote areas
People who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless
Those who are part of LGBTQIA(??) community
How do we combat agesim?
Requires a shift away from age based stereotypes
What are some age-based stereotypes?
Wrinkles, disease, weakness, grey hair, aches and pains, death, cognitive decline, isolation and depression
What are the components of healthy ageing?
Financial security Meaning and purpose Connectedness Physical health Resilience
Explain why the rate of ageing is not equal
Every individual experiences old age differently - the process of ageing is complex and multifaceted with wide variations in its effects on older people
- genetics
- environment
Which developmental factors can contribute to passing the disability threshold later in life?
Early life factors: may affect physical health and brain function later in life - issues that arise during pregnancy and birth, early life events and illnesses, education and parenting
Mid-life factors: many that are modifiable through diet and exercise include high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol, obesity, heart and lung disease, alcohol and drug use
What are the biological effects of high intensity interval training?
Increases mitochondria function by 69% - these are the powerhouses of cells that create energy needed by the body to sustain life. These typically decline with age
What are the biological effects of endurance and interval training but not resistance?
Increase telomere (caps at end of DNA strands that protect chromosomes) activity and length. Typically shorten with age
What are the effects of telomere shortening?
Accelerated telomere shortening has been associated with several age-related diseases and/or decreased lifespan in humans
Are there any diets that are associated with telomere length?
The Mediterranean diet is considered to be 1 of the most recognized diets for disease prevention and healthy aging, partially due to its demonstrated anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties
The Mediterranean diet is associated with longer telomere length
Loneliness with age: is this bad? Does it pose any risks?
50% of all people over the age of 75 live alone.
A lonely person is twice as likely to develop alzheimers disease
Loneliness is a comparable risk factor to smoking 15 cigarettes a day
Are there any differences in social interactions with age?
There is higher social reasoning with age
Older people show better competencies for reasoning about social dilemmas and conflicts
Does happiness increase with age?
Many countries show a u shaped curve between wellbeing and age but this is not universal
How does general cognition change with age?
Speed of processing, working memory and long term memory decline with age
Whereas, world knowledge performance is preserved - even increases
Does grey matter decline with age, if so, why?
Yes. Grey matter does show a steady decline with age which is typically due to lower synaptic densities
Is there much grey matter decline in the lateral prefrontal cortex?
Yes there is a steady decline seen here
Is there much grey matter decline in the primary visual cortex?
No there isnt much change here across the lifespan
Is there much grey matter decline in the hippocampus?
Yes there is, however, declines only seen well into old age
What do plaques do to the brain in AD?
They cause an inability for signals to get between cells
What do tangles do to the brain in AD?
They kill brain cells by preventing normal transport of food and energy
Which factors are associated with increased risks of the development of AD?
Physical and mental inactivity, smoking, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and depression
These are all MODIFIABLE - keeping mentally and physically active can help preserve cognitive skills, reduce AD risk and maintain health
What gives us the independence of mobility as we age?
Control of standing
What systems and processes control standing?
- Proprioception in ankle joint (this is the sense of alignment we get from muscles and joints, our upright posture is maintained through reflexive brain stem and spinal processes that trigger responses in postural muscles)
- Vestibular system: the inner ear detects acceleration of the head
- Vision: allows us to orientate ourselves relevant to the environment
What were the findings from studies on standing?
As standing tasks become more difficult (eg. removing vision completely or standing on surfaces that disrupt proprioceptive inputs) - prefrontal activation increases
Is this occurring in parallel or is it trying to compensate?
What studies were done to understand the functional role of the prefrontal cortex during standing tasks?
They gave participants difficult balance coordination tasks as well as cognitive tasks - measures postural sway and prefrontal cortex activity through functional infrared spectroscopy
Findings:
- PFC plays a compensatory role in standing balance - regulated across unilateral or bilateral cortices to compensate for the relative balance difficulty
- Differences between older and younger subjects are consistent with the limit of cortical resources reached sooner in older subjects
What is functional infrared spectroscopy?
There is a light source as well as a light detector
- measures cortical blood flow as some light is taken up into the blood oxygen which increases with and is an indicator of neural activity
- By recording the intensity of refracted light, you get information regarding brain activation
What implications does understanding the functional role of the prefrontal cortex during standing tasks have?
- Scope for improving PFC function through cognitive/dual task balance training in older people
- Higher PFC compensation may improve balance in the elderly
- Potentially falls and related injuries in the elderly could be mitigated with improved PFC activation
