Chapter Twenty Three

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Chapter Twenty Three

• Late Adulthood
• Biosocial Development

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Ageism

• Prejudice about older people
• Why so strong?
• Cultures emphasis on growth, strength and
  progress
• Veneration of youth
• Increasing age segregation

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• Gerontology
• study of old age
• Focused on the declines
• Demography
• so many elderly, harder to sterotype
• Now more focus on strengths and stability

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Dependents and Independence

• Dependency ratio
• Those between 15 and 64 vs. those younger or
  older
• First higher than 2nd , not considered a
  burden
• What are some of the problems that may be faced
  during the baby boomers aging?
• Social policies

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Variability in Aging

• Based on age and health and social well-being
• Young-old healthy and vigorous, financially
  secure, active in family and community life
• Old-old have major physical, mental or social
  losses, but still have some strengths
• Oldest-old dependent on others for almost
  everything

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• Some gerontologists like the following terms
  better
• optimal aging, usual aging, impaired aging

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Primary Aging

• Primary aging all irreversible and universal
  change with time
• Secondary aging changes that occur with
  illnesses or other conditions

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Changes in Appearance

• Appearance changes as time passes
• Wrinkles, hair changes
• Alteration of overall body height, shape and
  weight
• Serious social and psychological implications
• Looking old
• treated old

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Dulling of the Senses

• Sense organs
• Vision
• Cataractsthinning of lens, causing vision to be
  cloudy and distorted
• By 70 30 have some visual loss due to cataracts
• Glaucomadamage of optic nerve
• 15 loss in 70s and 10 in 90s
• Senile macular generation deterioration of the
  retina
• 4 under 75 and 18 over 75

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• Hearing
• Presbycusis age-related hearing loss
• 40 experience over age 65
• Tinnitisbuzzing or ringing
• 10 experience
• To avoid ageism, many who need it do not consider
  hearing aid
• Common errors have to do with inability to filter
  out sounds as when younger
• Elderspeak way of speaking to older people,
  similar to baby talk

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Adjusting to Senescence

• Senescence ? weakening and decline of body
• Adjustment involves finding balance between
  maintaining normal activities and modifying
  routines to fit diminished capacities

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• Body Systems
• Exercise/physical activity is beneficial
• helps maintain strength of heart muscle and lungs
• lack of it can lead to heart attack
• improves overall quality of life
• Sleep- an example of adjustment
• Patterns change and need adaptation
• Insomnia can occur
• Frequent waking and daily napping adjustments

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Secondary Aging

• Aging and Illness
• Genetic factors
• Past and current lifesyle
• Psychological factors
• social support
• sense of control over daily life
• Incidence of chronic disease increases with age

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• Biological changes reduce efficiency of body
  systems ? more susceptible to disease
• take longer to recover from illness
• more likely to die from it
• spend more time hospitalized than younger people

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• Rates of cancer increase dramatically with age
• prostrate cancer
• Normal aging reduces functioning of heart
• reduces elasticity of cardiovascular system

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• Dying Slowly vs. Dying Quickly
• Compression of morbidity ? increasing time for
  better quality of life without diseases or
  disability, death is much later, but quicker
• Healthier lifestyles help accomplish this

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Causes of Senescence

• Wear and Tear Theory
• Compares body to machine
• Accumulated exposure to inadequate nutrition,
  disease, pollution and other stresses
• Wear out our bodies by living our lives
• Of limited usefulness

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• Cellular Accidents
• Results of accumulation of accidents that occur
  during cell reproduction
• Exposure to environmental agents causes mutations
  in the DNA structure
• Instructions for new cell creation become
  imperfect, so not exact copies of old cell
  structure

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• Free Radicals
• Some of bodies metabolic processes can cause
  electrons to separate from their atoms and can
  result in atoms with unpaired electrons free
  radicals
• Are highly unstable and capable of reacting
  violently with other molecues in the cell ?
  splitting them or tearing them apart

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• Most critical damage occurs in DNA molecules ?
  produces errors in cell maintenance and repair
• Contributes to cancer, diabetes, and
  arteriosclerosis
• Damage cells, affect organs and accelerate
  diseases

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• Error Catastrophe
• When immune system in good shape, good cells take
  over work that imperfect cells cannot do
• As immune system slows down, constellation of
  errors increases and critically important cells
  can no longer take over and isolate the errors
• Healthy aging process gives way, disease and
  death occurs

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• The Immune System
• Diminished ? immune system is weakened
• Two types of attack cells reduced in numbers
• B cells in bone marrow ? create antibodies that
  attack invading bacteria and viruses
• T cells produce substances that attack infection

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• Gradual breakdown of immune system
• accounts for aging process
• allows for genetic vulnerabilities
• allows for diseases processes to take over and
  not be in check

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The Genetics of Aging

• Genetic programming to reach biological
  maturation at fixed times and genetically
  programmed to die after a fixed number of years
• Maximums and Averages
• Maximum life span (humans 115)
• Average life expectancy - when born
• affected by culture, historical and socioeconomic
  factors

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• Why Death May Be Genetic
• Epigenetic systems theory

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• The Genetic Clock
• Hormonal changes triggered in brain that switch
  off the genes that promote growth
• Is this why people are trying to find the
  fountain of youth?
• The Hayflick Limit
• Cells stop replicating at a certin limit
• New support for the idea DNA and RNA responsible
  for cell death

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Can Aging Be Stopped?

• Human Evidence and Questions
• Gerontologists feel breakthroughs are possible in
• genetic engineering
• synthetic boosts to immune systems
• dramatic alterations of diet
• eradication of major diseases
• Could lead to an increase in lifespan and
  healthspan

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The Centarians

• A person 100 years of age or older
• Other Places, Other Stories
• Georgia, Russia
• Pakistan
• Peru

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• Share 4 characteristics
• diet is moderate, mostly veggies and herbs
• work continues through life
• family and community are important
• exercise and relaxation part of daily life

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• The Truth About Life After 100
• Habits and culture allow for better aging
• Increasing numbers are reaching that age
• many in good health
• happy and satisfied with their lives