Physio- & Psychological Aspects of Aging

_______ (theory): maintaining middle-aged activities and attitudes into older adulthood will result in successful aging

Activity Theory

_______ (theory): successfully aging adults would want to disengage from activity over time

Disengagement Theory

_______ (theory): "personality is the element that predicts successful aging" (i.e., coping styles, ability to adapt, expectations of life, income, health, social interactions, freedoms, and constraints)

Neugarten's Theory

_______ (theory): added social adjustment, engagement to health, and cognitive functioning to successful aging

Rowe and Kahn's 3 Factor Model

_______ (theory): 8 psychosocial stages from birth --> old age

Erikson's Psychosocial Stages (8 stages)

Which stage is considered "Middle ages (30-64 yo)"? What are the two ends of the spectrum?

Stage 7. Generativity (i.e., positive contributions to society through work, creative activity, and/or raising a family) vs. stagnation.

What stage is considered "Old age (65+ yo)"? What are the two end of the spectrum?

Stage 8. Ego integrity (feeling of life being fulfilling and successful w/ a sense of wisdom) vs. despair (feeling of life being a failure or unproductive w/ a sense of depression and/or anger).

_______ (theory): ego differentiation, body transcendence, and ego transcendence

Robert Peck's Task of Ego Integrity

_______: finding sources of self-worth outside of work/family

Ego differentiation

_______: emphasizing compensating rewards of cognitive, social, and emotional skills to overcome physical limitations

Body transcendence

_______: positive anticipation of death and leaving a legacy to allow success for future generations

Ego transcendence

_______ (theory): developmental theory of positive aging that focuses on legacy building and existential concerns; counteracts erroneous projections of mid-life values, activity patterns, and expectations into old age

Tornstam's Gerotranscendence Theory

_______ (theory): older adults prioritize goals and interactions to maximize positive experiences

Socioemotional Selectivity Theory

_______ (theory): as individuals age, death --> terror, which is managed by affirming cultural worldviews to achieve some sort of immortality. This immortality is from the belief of spirit remaining within culture after death.

Terror Management Theory

_______ (theory): contextualizes aging based on birth cohort, major social events, and personal factors. Macro- (societal experiences) vs. micro-level (personal) situations.

**THIS IS TODAY'S MODEL**

Life Course Theory (aka Life Span, Life History, and Life Cycle)

What are examples of macro-level situations?

Great Depression, WWII, Vietnam War, Women's Suffrage Movement, Civil Rights Movement, 9/11, COVID-19

What are examples of micro-level situations?

Family unit, social constructs occurring within each family, parenting styles (ex: previously, parents died early when their children were teenages --> now, parents live longer and are able to have relationships with their grandchildren and even their great grandchildren)

_______ (original definition of successful aging): "adding years to the life" by increasing enjoyment and satisfaction during the latter stages of an individual's lifespan

Robert Havighurst

_______ (newer definition of successful aging): avoiding disease and disability (1), maintaining high cognitive and physical function (2), and engagement w/ life (3)

Rowe and Kahn

What is the issue with Rowe and Kahn's definition of successful aging?

Does NOT consider individuals' values and perceptions of aging (i..e, many are able to adapt to adverse health conditions)

Is there an agreed upon definition of successful aging?

NO!! There are MANY aspects involved!! (ex: perceived QOL and happiness, adaptation to changes (ex: a relocation), capacity to function across many domains (ex: physical, functional, cognition, emotional, spiritual) to one's satisfaction and in spite of one's medical conditions, personality, attitudes, self-determination, resilience, optimism, expectations)

List the 5 factors that interact to produce successful aging.

1. Life satisfaction

2. Social support system

3. Good physical and mental health

4. Financial security

5. Control over one's life

How does culture influence "successful aging"?

Eastern countries (family and social relationships foster open mindedness and tolerance) vs. Western countries (family and social relationships rely on activity, engagement, and vitality), interdependent vs. independent

How does aging and changes in physical health impact personality?

May change (ex: a person may become less extroverted or open to new experiences)

_______: personality trait that moderates the effects of stress and enhances adaptations to changes and challenges. Linked to successful aging. Develops and changes over time in response to experiences.

Resilience

Does older age = wisdom (i.e., social decision making and pragmatic knowledge about life and relativism, as well as tolerance for other value systems)?

NO!! Wisdom relies on experiences, coping, and resilience to adapt and adjust to life and develop value, permated life, and acceptance of human limits.

What is the difference b/w sex and intimacy?

Sex = physical and emotional response to sexual stimuli and allows general affirmation of life and joy. Intimacy = being in a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship w/ another group or person.

What are the 5 types of intimacy?

1. Emotional

2. Intellectual

3. Physical

4. Experiential

5. Spiritual

What is the current definition of spirituality?

A general state of well-being (vs. a religious connection)

Is there a unifying theory that accounts for the changes the body goes through w/ aging?

NO!! However, we suspect that oxidative stress, mitochondrial changes, DNA damage/repair, telomere length, genotoxicity interacting w/ genetics, lifestyle choices, & environment.

MOST age-related change is due to _______

Lifestyle choices!! (only 25% is due to genetics)

Lack of _______ may have the MOST impact on successful aging!!

Physical activity (therefore, increasing sedentary lifestyles are detrimental to our bodies as we age)

_______: physiological processes that maintain a stable internal environment

Homeostasis

_______: bodies adapt to physiological stresses in order to maintain homeostasis

Adaptive homeostasis

_______ (theory): changes in the relative level of physical stress cause a predictive adaptive response in all biological tissue

Physical stress theory (i.e., very low levels of stress --> decreased tolerance/atrophy (loss of adaptation) --> death vs. high levels of stress --> increased tolerance/hypertrophy --> injury (loss of adaptation) --> death)

Non-successful aging has a _______ (smaller/larger) maintenance range of homeostasis and _______ (smaller/larger) ranges where the body is unable to adapt to the stresses --> tissue death, injury, disease, or illness

Smaller; larger

The _______ (narrower/wider) the window of homeostasis, the better survival and maintaining independence w/ physical function

Wider

_______: muscle wasting of old age; includes a decline in muscle strength, power, and functional quality

Sarcopenia (defined as muscle mass >2 SD BELOW young adult values)

_______: inexorable decline in muscle (and body) wasting that cannot be stopped nutritionally; possibly due to increase in inflammatory cytokines; typically precedes death

Cachexia (most people are unable to survive)

_______: osteopenia + obesity + sarcopenia

Osteosarcopenic Obesity Syndrome (also causes low-grade chronic inflammation --> decreased bone and muscle mass w/ increased adipose tissue)

When is skeletal maturity reached?

Approx. 20 years old (i.e., 12-18 y/o timeframe is critical)

_______: T-score -1.0 to -2.5

Osteopenia

_______: T-score

Osteoporosis

Aging adults have a sig. decrease in type _______ muscle fibers

Type II (needed for strength and power)

As lean body mass decreases, resting metabolic rate _______ (increases/decreases)

Decreases (leads to a decrease in total calories used at rest)

Myth or fact: individuals shrink as they age

TRUE!! As we age, we lose water from the extracellular matrix, which causes the IV discs to shrink, and this causes the individual to shrink.

Recent evidence suggests that age-related muscle weakness is not entirely explained by muscle atrophy...what else explains it?

Communication b/w the brain and the muscles is impaired w/ advancing age

List the peripheral sensory systems.

Visual, vestibular, proprioceptive, auditory, olfactory, tactile (provide feedback from the environment so we can interact w/ the external world)

_______: bilateral age-related hearing loss

Presbycusis

Major increases in _______ is associated w/ METSYN, Alzheimer Disease, atherosclerosis, cancer, and diabetes

Pro-inflammatory cytokines

What are ways to reduce systemic inflammation?

Anti-inflammatory drugs, antioxidants, caloric restriction, EXERCISE!!

A decrease in sex hormones impacts _______

Bone health, muscle mass, visceral adipose tissue accumulation, insulin sensitivity, LDL metabolism, libido, and cognition

_______thyroid = decreased metabolism, increased weakness/ fatigue/ weight gain

HyPOthyroid

_______thyroid = increased cardiac arrhythmias, increased weight loss

HyPERthyroid