Lesson 17: Late Adulthood (Physical & Cognitive Devt)

• Old age


  A status symbol in Japan, generally seen as undesirable in the United States
• Efforts to combat ageism (prejudice or discrimination based on age) are making headway, thanks to the growing visibility of active, healthy older adults
• Aging populations

  Result from declines in fertility accompanied by economic growth, better nutrition, healthier lifestyles, improved control of infectious disease, safer water and sanitation facilities, and advances in science, technology, and medicine
• The aging of baby boomers (the surge of people born following World War II) is a large factor of the graying population
• Primary Aging


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


  Aging process that result from disease and bodily abuse and disuse and are often preventable or within the person's control
• Groups of older adults by chronological age

  • Young Old (ages 65 to 74)
  • Old Old (ages 75 to 84)
  • Oldest Old (ages 85 and above)
• Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)


  Essential activities that support survival, such as eating, dressing, bathing, and getting around the house
• 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
• Biological Age


  Estimate of a person's age based on various biomarkers and physiological parameters
• Psychological Age


  How old a person feels, acts, and behaves, which can be different from their 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


  The age to which a person born at a certain time and place is statistically likely to live, given his or her current age and health status
• The longest documented lifespan thus far is that of Jeanne Clement, a French woman who died at 122 years of age
• A baby born in the United States in 2016 can expect to live to 78.6 years, more than 30 years longer than a baby born in 1900 and more than 4 times longer than a baby born at the dawn of human history
• Gender Differences in Life Expectancy

  Women generally live longer and have lower mortality rates worldwide compared to men
• Reasons for women's longer lives

  Better self-care, greater social support, and improved socioeconomic status
• Reasons for men's higher mortality rates

  More prone to smoking, drinking, and exposure to toxins
• Global life expectancy was 72 years in 2016, with significant disparities between developed and developing countries
• Healthy life expectancy (HLE), which measures years lived in good health without disabilities, is 62 years globally for men and 64.8 years for women, and approximately 68.5 years in the U.S.
• Senescence


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


  Aging is the result of the sequential switching on and off of certain genes
• Epigenesis


  Where genes are turned on and off by molecular "tags" or instructions. These changes can be modified by environmental influences, suggesting positive interventions may combat aging effects
• Telomeres


  The repetitive fragments of DNA on the tips of chromosomes; it shortens with each cell division, and cells can only divide a fixed number of times (Hayflick limit). Shortened telomeres are linked to accelerated aging, early death, and increased disease risk
• Hayflick Limit


  Genetically controlled limit on the number of times cells can divide
• 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
• Mitochondrial Theory of Aging


  An extension of Free-Radical Theory; mitochondria generate energy and free radicals; these free radicals damage tissues, including mitochondrial DNA, leading to more free radical release and aging
• Rate-of-Living Theory


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


  The immune system becomes confused and attacks its own body cells
• Genetic-Programming Theories suggest limited control over aging rate, while Variable-Rate Theories suggest lifestyle practices may influence aging
• Survival Curve


  Represents the percentage of people or animals alive at various ages (ends roughly at age 100)
• Morbidity Compression


  People reach very old age in relatively good health but deteriorate quickly once they begin to decline
• Dietary Restriction

  Caloric reduction extends life in nearly all animals studied and may have beneficial effects on human aging
• Physical Changes with Aging

  • 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 chemical composition of the bones changes, creating a greater risk of fractures