By : Nikita Yadav

- Psychologist
• Geronotologist : Specialists who study aging.
• Ageism : Prejudice and discrimination directed at older
people.

• Census 2011 stated that “One out of every eight people in

US is 65+ age, whereas in India only 5.3% of total
population are 65+ age.

• Although the physical capabilities of elderly people are not

the same as they were in earlier stages of life, many older
people remain remarkably agile and physical fit in later life
(Riebe, Burbank, & Garber, 2002; Sargent-Cox, Anstey &,
Luszcz, 2012).
 TYPES OF AGING :

1. Primary aging (senescence) : Aging that involves universal

and irreversible changes that, due to genetic programming,
occur as people get older.
2. Secondary aging : Aging that encompasses changes that
are due to illness, health habits, and other individual
difference, but that are not inevitable.
 OUTWARD SIGNS OF AGING :

1. Change in person’s hair : becomes grey and eventually

white and may thin out.
2. Face and other body parts : becomes wrinkled as the skin
loses elasticity and collagen (protein that forms basic fibres
of body tissue).
3. People may become noticeably shorter : with some
shrinking as much as 4 inches, although that is due to
change in posture, for which the primary cause is thinning
of cartilage in the discs of backbone. Women's are more
susceptible than men to osteoporosis.
• In western culture, there’s a double standard for appearance,
by which women who show signs of aging are judged more
harshly than men.
• As a consequence, women’s are more likely to hide the signs
of aging by dye on their hair and have cosmetic surgery to
hide signs of aging.
• Though men’s are also becoming interested in maintaining
youthful appearance, hence it can be interrupted that ageism
is becoming more of a concern for both sexes.
 INTERNAL AGING :

1. Capacity of many internal functions of organ system declines

with age.
2. Brain becomes smaller and lighter with age, it shrinks and pulls
away from the skull, and the space between brain and skull
doubles from age 20-70.
3. Blood flow is reduced within the brain, which also uses less
oxygen and glucose, due to the reduced capacity of heart to
pump blood throughout the circulatory system, because of
hardening and shrinking of blood vessels throughout the body.
4. Number of neurons, or brain cells, decline in some parts of the
brain.
5. Bodily systems works at lower capacity.
6. Respiratory systems becomes less efficient with age.
7. Digestive system produces less digestive juice and is less
efficient in pushing food through the system which
produces a higher incidence of constipation.
8. Some hormones are produced at lower levels with
increasing age.
9. Muscle fibres decrease both in size and amount, and
becomes less efficient at using oxygen from the blood
stream and storing nutrients.
• Although the changes are part of normal process of aging,
they often occur earlier in people with less healthy lifestyle.
• Lifestyle factors affect the changes associated with aging.
• For instance, people loses muscle fibre at slower rate if their
exercise program includes weightlifting.
• Physical fitness is related to better performance on mental
tests, may prevent a loss of brain tissue, and may aid
development of new neurons.
• Inactive older people show cognitive benefits if they begin
aerobic fitness training.
 SLOWING REACTION TIME :

• When people gets older, they take longer to reach ringing

phone, put on tie etc.
• And the reason could be lengthening of reaction time, which
begins to increase in middle age and by late adulthood the
rise can be significant.
• There are two explanation for this:
1. Peripheral slowing hypothesis
2. Generalised slowing hypothesis
1. Peripheral slowing hypothesis : Suggests that overall
processing speed declines in the peripheral nervous system
which encompasses the nerves that branch out from the
spinal cord and brain and reaches to extremities of the
body becomes less efficient , and takes longer for
commands to be transmitted to body’s muscle from brain
(Salthouse,2006).
2. Generalised slowing hypothesis : States that processing in
all parts of the nervous system including the brain, is less
efficient. As a consequence, slowing occurs throughout
transmission of commands to the muscles of the body.
THE SENSES
 SIGHT/VISION :

• At older age, the lens becomes less transparent, optic nerve become
less efficient in transmitting nerve impulses and vision declines.
• Change in vision produces difficulty in driving and reading which
require eyeglasses and contact lenses to deal with the problem.
• Common eye disease during late adulthood are :
1. Cataract : lens of the eye becomes cloudy and opaque, which
interferes with passing light. They’ve blurred vision and
experience glare in bright light. If left untreated, lens becomes
milky white which leads to blindness. It can be treated by surgical
removal or use of eye glasses, contact lenses, or intraocular lens
implants.
2. Glaucoma : occurs when pressure in the fluid of the eye
increases, either because fluid cannot drain properly or
because too much fluid is produced. It can be treated with
drugs or surgery if detected early.
3. Age related macular degeneration (AMD) : this affects the
macula (yellowish area of eye located near retina). When
portion of macula thins and degenerate, eyesight
deteriorates. It can be treated with medicines or laser when
detected earlier.
• Some evidence suggests that diet rich in antioxidants
vitamins (A,C and E) can reduce the risk of developing
disease.
 SOUND/HEARING:

• Aging affects person’s ability to hear high frequency, loss of

frequency makes it harder to hear conversation and
distinguish among the background voice and people
speaking simultaneously.
• Hearing aids can compensate losses and helps 75% hearing
cases, whereas only 20% elderly wears them, because they
amplify background voices and conversation, making it
harder to differentiate amongst them. Whereas, many feels
that using hearing aids make them appear even older than
they really are and encourages other to treat them as their
minds are disabled.
• Hearing loss are damaging to social lives of elderly, since
they aren’t able to hear fully conversations, due to which
they either withdraw from others, or avoid situation where
many people are present.
• Often unsure of what was said to them, because they could
only catch fragments of conversation which leads to feelings
of paranoia, wherein person fills in gaps according to mental
fear than reality.
 TASTE & SMELL :

• Elderly experience real decline in quality of life because of

discriminating change in sensitivity to taste and smell, causing
food to taste and smell less appetizing.
• The reason for this sensitivity can be traced to physical changes.
The taste buds becomes less and olfactory bulbs in the brain begin
to shrivel, which reduces ability to smell. And since smell is part
of taste, the shrinkage in olfactory bulbs makes food taste even
blander.
• Could be the reason why people eat less at this age, and often
open door to malnutrition. Due to which they often put over salt in
their dishes to compensate, which increases chances of
hypertension/high bp.
HEALTH PROBLEMS IN OLDER PEOPLE :
 COMMON PHYSICAL DISORDER :
• Leading cause of death in elderly people are heart disease, cancer,
and stroke.
• Since aging is associated with weakening of body’s immune system,
older adults are more susceptible to infectious disease.
• Most people have at least one chronic, long term condition.
• Arthritis : causes inflammation in various parts of body, disabling
them to carry out everyday activities. Asprin and other drugs can
relieve some swelling and reduce pain, but the condition cannot be
cured.
• Hypertension / high BP : Many people are unaware since it doesn’t
have symptoms, but overtime hypertension within circulatory system
can result in deterioration of blood vessels and heart, and raise risk
for cerebrovascular disease/stroke, if not treated.
 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MENTAL
DISORDER :

1. Major Depression : characterized by feelings of intense

sadness, pessimism, and hopelessness. Reason can be ,
cumulative loss with the death of spouse and friends, own
declining health and physical capabilities, makes them feel
less independent ad in control.
It can be of two types:
i. Depression that continues from earlier stages of life
ii. Depression that occurs as result of aging
2. Drug induced psychological disorder : Brought by the
combination of drugs taken for various medical conditions.
People should ensure to inform physicians and pharmacists
of every drug they take and should avoid medicating
themselves, because combination of nonprescription and
prescription drugs may be dangerous or deadly.
3. Dementia : Most common mental disorder, accompanied
by memory loss and declined mental functions. Rates of
dementia increases with age. Most common form of
dementia is Alzheimer's disease, which is progressive brain
disorder that produces loss of memory and confusion.
WELLNESS IN LATE ADULTHOOD :
• People can do specific things to enhance their physical
wellbeing, as well as longevity, during old age.
• Should eat proper diet, exercise, avoid obvious threats to
health, such as smoking.
• Medical and social services provider should emphasize the
importance of the lifestyle choices for older adults.
• Should obtain sufficient physical exercise to increase muscle
strength and flexibility, reduced BP and risk of heart attack,
and several other benefit.
APPROACHES TO AGING :
GENETIC PROGRAMMING THEORIES
OF AGING :

• Theories that suggest that our body’s DNA genetic code

contains a built-in time limit for the reproduction of human
cells. After a certain amount of time has gone by-determined
genetically- the cells are no longer able to divide , and the
individual begins to deteriorate (Rattan, Kristensen, & Clark,
2006).
WEAR AND TEAR THEORIES OF AGING :

• Theories that the mechanical functions of the body simply

wear out with age- the way cars and washing machines do.
In addition, some wear-and-tear theorists suggests that the
body’s constant manufacture of energy to fuel its activities
creates by-products. These by-products, combined with the
toxins and threats of everyday life, eventually reach such
high levels that they impair the body’s normal functioning.
The ultimate result is deterioration and death.
 RECONCILING THE THEORIES OF
AGING :

• Genetic programming theories and wear-and-tear theories

make suggestions about inevitability of death. Genetic
programming theories suggests that there is a built-in time
limit to life- it’s programmed in the genes, after all.
• On the other hand, wear-and-tear theories, particularly those
that focus on the toxins that are built up during the course of
life, paint a somewhat optimistic view. They suggest that if a
means can be found to eliminate the toxins produced by the
body and by exposure to the environment, aging might well
be slowed.
 LIFE EXPECTANCY :
HOW LONG HAVE I GOT ?

• Although the reasons for deterioration and death are not fully
apparent, conclusions about average life expectancy can be
stated quite clearly. Most of us can expect to live into old
age. The life expectancy- the average age of death for
members of a population-of a person born in 2010, for
instance is 78 years of age. Average life expectancy has been
steadily increased.
• There are several reasons for the steady increase in life
expectancy over the past 200 years. Health and sanitation
conditions are generally better, with many diseases, such as
smallpox, wiped out entirely.
• Other diseases that used to kill people at early ages, such as
measles and mumps are now better controlled through
vaccines and preventive measures. People’s working
conditions are generally better, and many products are safer
than they once were.
• As environmental factors continue to improve, we can
predict that life expectancy will continue to increase. Also
we’ve seen, many people are becoming aware of the
importance of lifestyle choices for extending not just the
length of their lives, but their active life spans, the years they
spend in health and enjoyment in life.
 POSTPONING AGING
Combination of some of the following most promising avenues
for increasing the length of life will prove effective :
1. Telomere therapy
2. Drug therapy
3. Unlocking longevity genes
4. Reducing free radicals through antioxidant drugs
5. Restricting calories
6. The bionic solution: replacing worn out organs
 REFERENCE :

• Pearson’s Development Across The Life Span(8th edition) by

Robert S. Feldman & Nandita Babu.