Week Nine - Health in Normal Ageing Flashcards
Why is the gender life expectancy gap closing?
Because men now have better workplace conditions
Which Australians are disadvantaged?
ATSI People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds Veterans Rural and remote residence Homeless LGBTIQ
How do we combat ageism?
Requires a shift in thinking away from age based stereotypes
What are some age-based stereotypes?
Wrinkles, disease, weakness, cognitive decline, grey hair, aches and pains, isolation
What are the components of healthy ageing?
Financial security Meaning and purpose Connectedness Physical health Resilience
Why is the rate of ageing not equal?
The process of ageing is complex and multifaceted with wide variations in its effects on older people: Every individual experiences old age differently
- genetic
- environment
- anti-ageing therapies
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: Modifiable through diet and exercise
- high blood pressure
diabetes, HD, obesity, lung disease
What are the biological effects of endurance and interval training?
Increase telomere activity and length which typically shorten with age - has been associated with several age-related diseases
What are the biological effects of high intensity training?
increases mitochondria function
What are the associations between diet and telomere shortening?
Accelerated telomere shortening has been associated with several age-related diseases and/or decreased life span in humans
- Mediterranean diet is the most significant for disease prevention.
Explain the relationship between loneliness and age.. outcomes?
Lonely people twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease
Loneliness has a comparable risk factor for early death to smoking 15 cigarettes a day
Interaction between age and social reasoning?
Older people show better competencies for reasoning about social dilemmas and conflicts
How does general cognition change with age?
speed of processing, working memory and long term memory decline with age whereas world knowledge is preserved, even increases
Explain the correlation between grey matter and age?
Grey matter declines with age due to slower synaptic densities
What brain region has little grey matter decline?
What has some decline?
Little in the primary visual cortex
Some decline in lateral prefrontal cortex
Decline well into old age in hippocampus
What do plaques do in 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
What factors are associated with increased risks of developing AD?
Physical and mental inactivity Smkoing Obesity Diabetes Hypertension Depression
ALL modifiable.
What systems control standing?
1) Proprioception
2) Vestibular Sense: The inner ear detects acceleration of the head
3) 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
What were the concluding findings on the role of the PFC during standing tasks?
- PFC appears to play a compensatory role in standing balance
What are the implications that understanding the role the PFC has on standing?
- Scope for improving PC function through cognitive/dual task balance in older people
- Higher PFC compensation capacity may improve balance in the elderly
- Potentially falls and related injuries in the elderly could be mitigated with improved PC function
What are the differences between older and younger subjects in the standing task consistent with?
The differences between older and younger subjects are consistent with the limit of cortical resources reached sooner in older subjects
