Older Adulthood - Week 8, Lecture 2

Older Adulthood

young-old (65-74)

old-old (75-84)

oldest old (85+)

Biological Changes - Aesthetics

• deeper wrinkles - loss of elasticity

• completely grey hair by 75

• hair thinning/balding/loss - 95% men, 20% women

• teeth loss in 26% over 65

Biological Changes - Bones

loss of bone minerals linked to loss of sex hormones (more in women).

risk reduced with protein, calcium, vitamin D.

70% bone loss genetic.

Biological Changes - Mobility

loss of strength, stiff tendons, arthritis, inflammation lead to risk of falls → difficulty daily living. strength training recommended.

Immune System

weakened - more serious complications over 65 (bronchitis, pneumonia, etc).

vaccines only 56% effective in older adults (increased by physical exercise - Kohut et al., 2004).

Sleep

frequent waking - toilet, physical issues.

decrease in S4 + REM (Kamel & Gammack, 2006).

sleep disturbance over 60 promotes depression + neurological dysfunction (Gamaldo et al., 2016).

Genes

MZ twins more similar lfiespans + illness rates than DZ twins.

centenarians genetic (Murabito et al., 2012).

genes linked to age-related diseases lower in successful agers (Fortney et al., 2015).

Memory

good gen knowledge/recall 60+ with contextual cues (Matzen & Benjamin, 2013). need more time to learn.

hippocampal volume reduction may explain some changes.

link to Erikson (integrity vs. despair); impact of ageism.

cognitive decline due to avoidance - optimism leads to quicker recovery (post-stroke rehab) (Hillen et al., 2003).

Retirement

may be postponed even after 65 - interest, financial, Government.

poor health may lead to early retirement.

inequality = women work longer.

not as impactful to health as lifestyle factors.

changes to living arrangements - renovations/move in with family/access to carers.

Life Satisfaction

perception more important than objective measures.

there is harm placing value in subjective perceptions (Holstein & Minkler, 2003).

discirminatory attitudes about ageing well - inevitability.

Depression

balanced diets associated with 35% reduced depression risk (Jacka et al., 2010).

insomniacs predicted x2 risk of depression (Baglioni et al., 2011).

over 9k people - regular physical activity reduces likelihood of depressive symptoms (Azevedo Da Silva et al., 2012).

Physical Exercise

can help coping w/ physical changes.

enhanced mental health, social interactions as low mobility impedes social engagement (Rosso et al., 2013).

can reduce risk of frailty (Bherer et al., 2013).

The Synapse Project (Park et al., 2014)

221 Ps aged 60-90 years old.

activities 15 hrs weekly - 3 months.

assigned to learn digital photography/quilting/both → enhanced episodic memory at end of study + 1 year later.