Chapter 8 Middle adulthood

• Midlife

  40-45 to 60-65
• Physical Development

  • Primary aging: biological factors, such as molecular and cellular changes, and oxidative damage
  • Secondary aging: aging that occurs due to controllable factors, such as an unhealthy lifestyle including lack of physical exercise and poor diet
• Hair

  • Melanin is responsible for hair color and is produced by hair follicles
  • Graying begins in the 30s
  • Male-pattern baldness is related to testosterone and is identified by a receding hairline followed by hair loss at the top of the head
• Skin

  • Dry out and is prone to more wrinkling
• Sarcopenia


  The loss of muscle mass and strength that occurs with aging
• Lungs

  • Two functions: supply oxygen and remove carbon dioxide
  • Chronic bronchitis: experienced frequent pneumonia, asthma or other lung-related disorders
• Presbyopia


  Loss of elasticity in the lens of the eye that makes it harder for the eye to focus on objects that are closer to the person
• People over the age of 35 are at risk of presbyopia
• Floaters


  Little spots or "cobwebs" that float around the field of vision
• Vitreous


  A gel-like substance in the interior of the eye
• Scotopic sensitivity


  Ability to see in dimmer light
• Dry eye syndrome


  Occurs when the eye does not produce tears properly, or when the tears evaporate too quickly because they are not the correct consistency
• Hearing loss


  Loss the ability to hear higher frequencies
• Factors that can exacerbate hearing loss

  • Intense noise levels
  • Cigarette smoking
  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes
  • Stroke
• Heart disease is the number one cause of death worldwide
• Atherosclerosis


  Buildup of fatty plaque in the arteries
• Risk factors for heart disease

  • Advanced age
  • Sex (males at higher risk)
  • Family history (male relative: before 55 y/o, female: before 65 y/o)
  • Smoking
  • Poor diet (high in fat, salt, sugar, and cholesterol)
  • Excessive alcohol consumption
  • Stress
  • Poor hygiene (poor dental health)
• Hypertension


  Occurs when the blood flows with a greater force than normal
• Normal blood pressure

  Under 120/80
• Hypertension is sometimes referred to as the silent killer
• Systolic pressure


  Pressure in the blood vessels when the heart beats
• Diastolic pressure


  Pressure in the blood vessels when the heart is at rest
• Sudden cardiac arrest


  Unexpected loss of heart functioning, breathing, and consciousness, often caused by an arrhythmia or abnormal heartbeat
• Cancer


  A collection of related diseases in which the body's cells begin to divide without stopping and spread into surrounding tissues
• Tumors


  Masses of tissue
• Malignant


  Invades nearby tissues
• Cancer cells can prompt nearby normal cells to form blood vessels that supply the tumors with oxygen and nutrients, which allows them to grow
• Cancer cells are able to ignore the signals that normally tell cells to stop dividing or to begin a process (programmed cell death)
• Metastasize


  Can break from where they first formed (primary cancer)
• Cholesterol


  Waxy fatty substance carried by lipoprotein molecules in the blood
• Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL)


  Majority of the body's cholesterol, also known as the bad cholesterol
• High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL)


  Often referred to as "good" cholesterol
• Triglycerides


  A type of fat in the blood used for energy
• Diabetes (Diabetes Mellitus)


  A disease in which the body does not control the amount of glucose in the blood
• Diabetes


  • Occurs when the body does not make enough insulin or does not use it the way it should
• Insulin


  A type of hormone that helps glucose in the blood enter cells to give them energy
• Insulin resistance


  A disorder in which the cells in the muscles, liver, and fat tissue do not use insulin properly
• Educational attainment, linked to one's economic level


  Correlated with diabetes
• Diabetic retinopathy


  Damage to the small blood vessels in the retina that may lead to loss of vision
• Metabolic syndrome


  A cluster of several cardiometabolic risk factors, including large waist circumference, high blood pressure, and elevated triglycerides, LDL, and blood glucose levels