Chapter 17-18

• Ageism


  Prejudice or discrimination against a person (most commonly an older person) based on age
• Ageism


  Prejudice or discrimination against a person (most commonly an older person) based on age
• Primary aging


  Gradual, inevitable process of bodily deterioration throughout the life span
• Secondary aging


  Aging processes that result from disease and bodily abuse and disuse and are often preventable
• Three groups of older adults

  • Young Old (ages 65 to 74)
  • Old Old (ages 75 to 84)
  • Oldest Old (age 85 and above, are more likely to be frail and infirm)
• Functional age


  Measure of a person's ability to function effectively in his or her physical and social environment in comparison with others of the same chronological age
• Gerontology


  Study of the aged and the process of aging
• Geriatrics


  Branch of medicine concerned with processes of aging and medical conditions associated with old age
• Life expectancy


  Age to which a person in a particular cohort is statistically likely to live (given his or her current age and health status), on the basis of average longevity of a population
• Longevity


  Length of an individual's life
• Life span


  The longest period that members of a species can live
• Nearly all over the world, women live longer and have lower mortality rates at all ages than men
• Women's longer lives also have been attributed to their greater tendency to take care of themselves and to seek medical care, the higher level of social support they enjoy, and the rise in women's socio-economic status in recent decades
• Men are more likely to smoke, drink, and be exposed to dangerous toxins
• The gap in life expectancies between developed and developing countries is vast
• Higher socioeconomic status is associated with an increase in life expectancy
• A new way to look at life expectancy is in terms of the number of years a person can expect to live in good health, free of disabilities
• Senescence


  Period of the life span marked by declines in physical functioning usually associated with aging; begins at different ages for different people
• Theories of biological aging

  • Genetic programming theories
  • Variable-rate theories
• Programmed Senescence Theory


  Aging is the result of the sequential switching on and off of certain ages. Senescence is the time when the resulting age-associated deficits become evident
• Hayflick Limit


  Genetically controlled limit, proposed by Hayflick, on the number of times cells can divide in members of a species
• Endocrine Theory


  Biological clocks act through hormones to control the pace of aging
• Immunological Theory


  A programmed decline in immune system functions leads to increased vulnerability to infectious disease and thus to aging and death
• Evolutionary Theory


  Aging is an evolved trait thus genes that promote reproduction are selected at higher rates than genes that extend life
• Wear-and-tear Theory


  Cells and tissues have vital parts that wear out
• Free-radical Theory


  Accumulated damage from oxygen radicals causes cells and eventually organs to stop functioning
• Free Radicals


  Unstable, highly reactive atoms or molecules, formed during metabolism, that can cause internal bodily damage
• Rate-of-living Theory


  The greater an organism's rate of metabolism, the shorter its life span
• Autoimmune Theory


  Immune system becomes confused and attacks its own body cells
• Survival Curve


  A curve on a graph showing the percentage of people or animals alive at various ages
• Older skin tends to become paler and less elastic, and, as fat and muscle shrink, the skin may wrinkle
• Varicose veins may appear on the legs
• The hair on the head thins and turns gray and then white, and body hair becomes sparser
• Older adults become shorter as the disks between their spinal vertebrae atrophy
• The lungs become less effective because of reductions in lung volume, atrophy in the muscles involved with breathing, and reductions in the ability of cilia (hairlike structures that clear mucus and dirt out of the lungs) to function effectively
• Heart health suffers as well. Elderly adults are more likely to suffer from arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), the muscle walls of the heart may thicken, and the valves that control the flow of blood in and out of the heart may no longer open completely
• Reserve Capacity


  Ability of body organs and systems to put forth 4 to 10 times as much effort as usual under acute stress; also called organ reserve
• Older adults utilize their vast store of knowledge to strategically bolster their diminishing processing capacities, allowing them to compensate with slower, although often better, decision-making
• The brain gradually diminishes in volume and weight, particularly in the frontal and temporal regions
• The hippocampus—the seat of memory—also shrinks