The Physical Challenges of Old Age

Flashcards about the physical challenges of old age.

Successful Aging

Drawing on what gives one’s life meaning to live fully no matter how the body behaves, having an internal sense of self-efficacy, having support to function, living with the potential for chronic disease that may come with old age. Combines nature (personal capabilities) and nurture (environmental fit).

Normal Age Changes

Universal and progressive signs of physical deterioration that occur with age. These changes are genetically programmed and differ according to the time of onset.

Chronic Disease

Often normal aging “at the extreme.” Ex: Bone density loss, when extreme, is called osteoporosis. Many age-related diseases are not fatal but interfere with ADLs (activities of daily living).

ADL Impairments

Difficulty performing everyday tasks that are required for living independently. Become far more frequent among the old-old as the number of chronic diseases accumulates.

Instrumental ADLs

Difficulties performing everyday household tasks (cooking, cleaning). Common in advanced old age.

Basic ADLs

Difficulties performing essential self-care activities (eating, getting to the toilet). Relatively rare until the old-old years, require full-time help or nursing home care.

Socioeconomic/Health Gap

Affluent people living longer and enjoying better health. Accelerated aging process begins at the beginning of life (fetal programming hypothesis). Low birth weight, which is often linked to social class, can cause obesity and poor health later in life. Diet, illness, and life stresses can lead accelerated aging.

Presbyopia

Age-related difficulties with seeing close objects. Universal change that happens in mid-life, often leading to the need to purchase reading glasses.

Cataracts

A thickening of the lens, causing vision to become cloudy, opaque, and distorted. Can be removed in outpatient surgery and replaced with an artificial lens.

Glaucoma

A buildup of fluid within the eye that damages the optic nerve. Early stages have no symptoms, but later stages cause blindness that can be prevented if the condition is diagnosed and treated early enough.

Macular Degeneration

A deterioration of the retina. Early warning is vision that becomes spotty (e.g., some letters missing when reading). Early treatment (medication) can restore some vision, but this condition is progressive and causes blindness about five years after it starts.

Presbycusis

Characteristic age-related, permanent hearing loss. Caused by atrophy of inner ear hearing receptors. Selective problems hearing higher-pitched tones and overpowering background noise.

Osteoarthritis

Wearing away of joint cartilage.

Osteoporosis

Bones become porous, brittle, and fragile; tend to break easily.

Dementia

General label for any illness that produces serious, progressive, usually irreversible cognitive decline. Involves erosion of personhood. Typically, is an illness in advanced old age, not young-old. Considered a chronic disease.

Vascular Neurocognitive Disorder (Vascular Dementia)

Caused by multiple small strokes. Involves impairments in the vascular system (blood flow in body) where blood flow feeds the brain.

Neurocognitive Disorder Due to Alzheimer’s Disease

Age-related dementia characterized by neural atrophy and abnormal by-products, such as senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Neurons decay and wither away, and are replaced by neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques. Genetically linked (Genetic marker (APOE-4)).

Continuing-Care Retirement Community

Residential complex that provides different levels of services from independent apartments to nursing home care. Designed to provide person-environment fit, allowing the person to not burden family members.

Assisted-Living Facility

For those who are experiencing ADL limitations but do not need 24-hour care. Offers care in a less medicalized setting. Residents have private rooms and personal furniture.