...------------------------------------------------- Top of Form Bottom of Form Other Free Encyclopedias » Medicine Encyclopedia » Aging Healthy - Part 3 Physiological Changes age aging differences aging age disease deterioration Ads by Google It is evident even from casual observation of physical activities, such as walking, that elderly people exhibit a deterioration of physiological processes. Moreover, the inability of athletes to continue peak performance when they reach their thirties or forties indicates that deterioration begins at a relatively young age and progresses in severity from that point on. Indeed, many studies have confirmed that most physiological processes deteriorate progressively after about thirty years of age, some functions more severely affected than others. Most of the research on age-associated physiological deterioration has utilized cross-sectional studies; that is, subjects of different ages are studied at a given point in time (e.g., the calendar year 1990). These are called cross-sectional studies because the data are collected from a cross section of the population. Since this study design provides information quickly and relatively inexpensively, it is widely used. However, because of generational factors and selective mortality, the cross-sectional design can yield erroneous information about aging. An example of how a generational factor may confound an aging study is illustrated by a hypothetical 1970 cross-sectional study of cognitive function in which Americans...
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...Other Free Encyclopedias » Medicine Encyclopedia » Aging Healthy - Part 3 Physiological Changes age aging differences aging age disease deterioration Ads by Google It is evident even from casual observation of physical activities, such as walking, that elderly people exhibit a deterioration of physiological processes. Moreover, the inability of athletes to continue peak performance when they reach their thirties or forties indicates that deterioration begins at a relatively young age and progresses in severity from that point on. Indeed, many studies have confirmed that most physiological processes deteriorate progressively after about thirty years of age, some functions more severely affected than others. Most of the research on age-associated physiological deterioration has utilized cross-sectional studies; that is, subjects of different ages are studied at a given point in time (e.g., the calendar year 1990). These are called cross-sectional studies because the data are collected from a cross section of the population. Since this study design provides information quickly and relatively inexpensively, it is widely used. However, because of generational factors and selective mortality, the cross-sectional design can yield erroneous information about aging. An example of how a generational factor may confound an aging study is illustrated by a hypothetical 1970 cross-sectional study of cognitive function in which Americans in the third decade of life were compared...
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...hypothesis of this study was that chronic caffeine intake reverses aging-induced insulin resistance in rats. The study included other aspects in order to rule these other aspects out of the cause of the insulin sensitivity. This meant that nothing else could be the cause of the insulin sensitivity. Wistar rats were used to test whether caffeine intake affected aging-induced insulin resistance. The experimental groups were three groups of rats treated with caffeine. These three groups were of different ages: 3 months, 12 months, and 24 months. The control groups were three groups of the same ages used in the experimental groups, but these were not treated with caffeine. The manipulations occurred in separating the rats into age groups and separating them into groups that get caffeine and those that do not get caffeine. Everything else in this study was constant including the amount of caffeine given and the amount of time it was administered. This was an accurate test of the hypothesis. The hypothesis wanted to test caffeine intake and aging induced insulin resistance. This required groups of different ages to be tested. These groups also needed to each have their own control group to be able to determine any difference in what was being tested. The dependent variable was glucose disappearance and the independent variable was age and caffeine intake. The results indicated that caffeine completely reversed the aging-induced insulin resistance in both 12 months and 24 months experimental...
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...Reading Assignment The following information was taken from the publication Physical Activity & Aging: Implications for Health & Quality of Life in Older Persons published by the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Introduction "America is aging rapidly. At the beginning of the twentieth century persons over sixty-five years of age constituted approximately four percent of the American population, whereas they now represent more than 12 percent of all Americans. By the year 2020 this group is expected to increase to nearly twenty percent of the population (U.S. Census Bureau, 1990). When expressed in absolute numbers, the statistics are equally impressive. In the United States today there are currently approximately 36 million people over the age of 65. "This number is expected to almost double to 70 million by the year 2030 (Geographic Profile, 1993). Even more remarkable is the increase in the number of the very oldest members of our society The 'old-old,' that is, individuals over the age of 85 years, constitute the most rapidly growing segment of society (Shephard, 1997). By the year 2030, it is anticipated that over eight million Americans will be 85 years of age or older (Fowles, 1991). There can be little doubt that such a dramatic increase in the number of older adults will have far reaching implications for society. Advancing age is associated with predictable sensory, motor, and cognitive changes, many of which have the potential...
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...with depressing stress in one’s life, stress often leads to health complications that isn’t good for anyone. I believe the physiological theory is most impactful in describing the aging process because Psychological aging is characterized primarily by behavioral changes. Each older person is an individual, and each life experience and each change in a person's environment has an effect on that person. As the aging process begins here the transformation of the human body after a certain age of physical maturity the probability of survival decreases and it is accompanied by regular transformations in appearance, behavior, experience & social roles. As a result of the disuse of previously acquired skills, random wear & tear, a change in the ability to adapt due environmental variables, loss of internal & external resources, genetic influences over the life span. Some of the roles performed by human services professionals in the field of gerontology include focusing on the physical, mental and social aspects of the aging process. They learn about and focus on how the body ages and the effects of physical changes on the individual, the specific mental health needs of the elderly, such as depression or dementia, and social needs, such as how to prevent or reduce social isolation or assist with the development of social policies that may help the aging. Job opportunities are available to gerontological social workers, including working...
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...4 > VIEWING HTML W/LINKS Peer-Reviewed Research Article Effects of stress on health and aging: Two paradoxes Authors Carolyn Aldwin, Oregon State University Loriena A. Yancura, University of Hawai'i Publication Information California Agriculture 64(4):183-188. DOI: 10.3733/ca.v064n04p183. October-December 2010. Author Affiliations C.M. Aldwin is Professor, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, Oregon State University, Manoa. L.A. Yancura is Associate Professor, Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Hawai'i, Manoa. Abstract Although older adults are thought to experience more stress and to be more vulnerable to its adverse effects, they often report less stress than younger adults and sometimes show more resilience. Paradoxically, while stress sometimes has long-term positive effects on well-being, studies differ as to whether this increases or decreases with age. We conclude that older individuals have learned to appraise and cope differently with stress. This protects them in spite of their increased physiological vulnerability and may also increase the possibility of stress-related growth and optimal aging. Full Text [View Enlargement] As people age their health trajectories tend to diverge, with some developing multiple chronic conditions and others maintaining good health; stress may play a role in this aspect of aging. Over the past century, remarkable changes have occurred in the life expectancy and quality...
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...In this assignment I will be explaining the main aspects of the main theories of ageing. These include; sociological, psychological and biological theories of ageing. I will then go on to compare 2 theories of ageing. Sociological Theories Sociological theories focus on the changing roles and relationships that accompany ageing. These theories discuss how these changing roles, relationships, and status impact the older individual's ability to adapt. In this blog, we will discuss the following sociological theories: disengagement, activity, and continuity. Disengagement Theory The Disengagement Theory, one of the earliest and most controversial theories of aging, views aging as a process of gradual withdrawal between society and the older adult. This mutual withdrawal or disengagement is a natural, acceptable, and universal process that accompanies growing old. It is applicable to elders in all cultures, although there might be variations. According to this theory, disengagement benefits both the older population and the social system. Gradual withdrawal from society and relationships preserves social equilibrium and promotes self-reflection for elders who are freed from societal roles. It furnishes an orderly means for the transfer of knowledge, capital, and power from the older generation to the young. It makes it possible for society to continue functioning after valuable older members die. Weakness: There is no base of evidence or research to support this theory...
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...Biff Eddington Anthropology 4467 24 April 2011 What is life history theory? What is a primate life history pattern? What is the relationship between brain size and life history? Life history theory is a branch of biology that analyzes the selective forces that have managed the evolution of the schedule and duration of key events in an organism’s lifetime related to investments in growth, reproduction, and survivorship (Bogin, O’Rourke and Stinson 547). The reason that there are differences between major events in species related to growth, maintenance, and reproduction is because each species employs different evolutionary strategies to increase reproductive fitness. Each species has a unique life history; this is a pattern of how it distributes its finite energy between five different phases: Growth, development, raising its young, staying alive, and reproduction. The assumptions that underlie life history theory are not complicated, but are simple and impactful: There is limited time and there is limited energy, so this energy must be distributed among growth, reproduction, and survivorship recognizing the trade-offs that cannot be avoided. Primates have a unique life history pattern that is different from other orders of mammals. Relative to other mammals primates have: a longer gestation period, fewer offspring overall, more care given to each individual offspring, infants that are born developmentally advanced, a longer period of parental dependency, a strong...
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...Gary Brewer Dr. Manar Kolta Biology 1010 16 November 2015 Naked Mole Rat Naked mole rats are very interesting indeed. They are a result of living underground for long periods of time and they don’t really show the aging process like most other mammals. The live-span of a naked mole rat is crazy long to other mammals up to 30 years [1]. Naked mole rats have a unique way that makes it impossible for cancer to be present in their bodies. The naked mole rat has extremely high super sugar called high-molecular-mass Hyaluronan and mutations in the gene that comes up with it. I chose the naked mole rat because I want the cure to cancer to be found soon. I watched my grandpa suffer from cancer and I don’t think anybody should have to go through it. No one has ever found cancer in naked mole rats; they appear to be resistant to the disease. Single amino acid changes in naked mole rat may reveal new anti-cancer mechanisms in mammals. The naked mole rat lives underground and can live up to 30 years old. They haven’t found any cancer cells in the rodents. This biochemical and physiological characteristics lead to a popular model for cancer research. In this research article there was research done on the rodents in the naked mole rats 66 NMR were detected in them that weren’t detected in 11 other animals. A total of 89 genes were present in the 11 animals that weren’t in the Rodent. [2] Out of these 89 genes 3 are known to be related to cancer. The 11 animals had proteins that were...
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...Judith Andre HCS-548 Foundations of Gerontology Professor: Jeanette Adams 01/08/2015 Gerontology is the study of aging and has made tremendous progress over the years. In the past, researchers have looked for a single theory that explained aging. There are two main groups of aging theories. The first group states that aging is natural and programmed into the body, while the second group of aging theories say that aging is a result of damage which is accumulated over time. In the end, aging is a complex interaction of genetics, chemistry, physiology and behavior. By understanding and describing how we age, researchers have developed several different theories of aging. The two major theories that will be explain in this paper will be the activity and disengagement theory in which they both will show how important their roles play in the process of aging in older adults. Disengagement and Activity Theory Disengagement theory is the most influential theories in gerontology, because it views aging as a process of mutual withdrawal in which older adults voluntarily slow down by retiring, as expected by society. Proponents of disengagement theory hold that mutual social withdrawal benefits both individuals and society. Activity theory sees a positive correlation between keeping active and aging well. (According to the Henry,2011) proponents of activity theory hold that mutual social withdrawal runs counter to traditional American ideals of activity, energy, and industry...
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...Stress is defined as a state of physical and psychological fatigue of the individual, caused by an excess of work, emotional disorders or anxiety. Even though in some occasions, stress could be considered as the motor in people’s lives, it is, before anything else, one of the human being’s fiercest enemies. In the face of stress, the human organism reacts in the biological aspect as well as in the psychological aspect. This disorder is better known nowadays as the “Sickness of the twenty-first century” given that it seems to be the price to pay tin order to achieve goals these days. Stress is most common in students and workers nowadays, which is why the following essay will expose some of the consequences of underestimating the seriousness of stress in an individual, in a work place and in a society of the twenty-first century and some ways to manage and prevent it. Stress is manifested nowadays more frequently that one would imagine. People should start to think how frequently do they and people around them use the phrases “I am so stressed out” or “I’ve been feeling so stressed lately”. The answer would most likely be “too frequent”. Actually, stress seems to be infiltrating in each and every person’s life. The time that people spend stressing over an assignment, especially students, is inhumane. There is nothing wrong with taking two minutes and eat something or relax. Otherwise, that’s where stress begins to kick in. Stress has begun to take away peoples lives. Even...
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...Running head: Theories of Aging Theories of Aging Nate Aungkuldee Milwaukee School of Engineering –School of Nursing Abstract Gerontological nursing may be viewed as the nursing management for older population. Knowledge of nursing care and competency of caring for elderly become more important as the result of increasing population of old age people in the past decade and expecting in ongoing increasing in the next twenty years. There are many theories of aging that describe and explain aging process and how the individuals respond to changes that occur with aging. By understanding a normal process of aging, the quality of nursing care for this population may be enhanced. The purpose of this paper is to present and explore some of the theories of aging and apply the theory into nursing practice that cooperated with evidence base research studies to implement the plan of care for an older adult. Two main theories of aging: Biological theories and Psychological theories are the focused theories that being discussed in this paper. According to many current resources the aging population in the U.S. is now rapidly growing. There were 4% of people age 65 and older or about 3 million people in 1900 (McGuire & Mefford, 2007). This old age population increased to 36.8 million people in 2005 with the increase of 3.2 million or 9.4% from 1995 (Mauk, 2010). As of today a newborn child is expected to live at least...
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...Chelsea McKoy Psychosocial Aspects of Aging PM 738 Long Island University Table of Contents Introduction 3 Background 4 Cultural Background 5 Health Status 6 Community Programs and Resources 7 Psychosocial Well Being 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Introduction Since the beginning of the 20th century, life expectancy has increased in the developed world more than in all of recorded history prior to 1900. The elderly population in the United States is growing. Today, over 35 million persons are 65 years of age or older, accounting for about 13 percent of the population. According to the Administration on Aging (AOA) (2014) in the year 2030, their numbers will more than double resulting in one in every five Americans being over 65. As scientists and doctors find new ways to cure illnesses, more people are living longer lives. In fact, the fastest-growing age group in the U.S. is the 85 years and older group. This group now represents about 40 percent of the elderly population (AOA, 2014). The process of aging for elders 65 years and older often involves a number of progressive physiological changes. Within the context of these changes, and often related to them, prominent issues of psychological and social adjustment emerge. Such issues include coping with declines in physical and functional abilities, changing social relationships and roles, and dealing...
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...manifestation of internal emotional states. Thus, in the model of emotional development, at birth, an infant shows two extreme emotions - crying and pleasure. By three months, the infant displays joy, surprise, disgust, interest and sadness. By four to six months of age, anger emerges while fear is displayed months later. By three years of age, the emotional life of a child has become differentiated as the child is already showing self-conscious emotions which results in the development of mental activity (Handbook of Emotions, 3rd Edition, Chapter 18). There are three development theories concerning emotions and aging - differential emotional theory (DET), optimization and selectivity theories and cognitive-affective development theory. DET states that are are ten core emotions, each with a distinctive different motivation, expression and phenomenological aspect. The ten core emotions are joy, interest, surprise,...
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...Loss of independence in older adults Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Loss of independence in older adults Literature review This review is a critical and analytical analysis of a topic area within the Nursing field. The paper is based on an analysis of the loss of independence in older adults. This is a major concern in society as it increases the rate of dependency. The study is based on nursing literature compiled by renowned scholars in this field. Studies show major differences in the life expectancy of different people living in different parts of the world (Young, 2010, p.15). This is mainly caused by the disparities in lifestyles of different people in different parts of the world. In addition to this, less developed countries have inadequate social security nets. This discourages people from securing their futures at an early age that would reduce independence in older adults. In addition to this, it has been proven that the increasing rate of dependence in the elderly has been rapidly increasing in less developed countries as compared to the developed ones (Roberts & Bishop, 2005, p.27). Nevertheless, studies have shown that about 10-15% of the world population is composed of the elderly people (Reus, 2000, p.57). This number is said to increase with the increasing population in most parts of the world. However, this percentage is not entirely dependent on other people (Birmaher, 1996, p.101). There are some elderly people who are not entirely dependent...
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