Physical Development and Aging

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Physical Development and Aging

• Chapter 9
• By Claudia Santos Marleni Flores

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What Is This Thing Called Aging?

• Primary aging normal and intrinsic processes of
  biological aging that are genetically programmed
  and that occur with the passage of time.
• Secondary aging age-related declines that are
  pathological and result from factors such as
  diseases and environmental influences.

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Discussion Question

• What are some extrinsic factors that affect the
  secondary aging process?

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Primary vs. Secondary Aging

• Primary aging
• Inevitable
• Universal
• Irreversible

• Secondary aging
• Does not affect everyone
• Related to extrinsic factors
• May be prevented/reversed

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Development vs. Aging Is It All Downhill from
Here?

• Analogy of stairs and platform.
• Baltes (1987) and others argue that each stage of
  development includes both gains and losses.
• Development refers to age-related changes in
  either direction throughout the life span.

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Discussion Question

• What is the key to successful aging?

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Successful Aging

• Refers to individuals who show minimal
  physiological losses across a number of functions
  compared to younger individuals.
• Recent studies indicate that 70 of the physical
  aspects of aging are affected by lifestyle and
  environment.
• Aging is no longer viewed as fixed or immutable,
  but rather as plastic, or modifiable through
  interventions such as medical, behavioral and
  environmental.
• Older adults views of successful aging appear to
  be multidimensional and more complex than the
  apparent viewpoint of many of the early published
  studies.

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Physical Development in Adulthood

• Changes in the Skin and Connective Tissue
• Epidermis outer layer of our skin (constant
  production of new cells).
• Pigment melanin gives the skin color.
• Dermis supportive layer of connective tissue
  (collagen and elastin).
• Collagen a protein composed of large, fibrous,
  elastic molecules.
• Hypodermis a looser layer of connective tissue
  and varying amounts of fat cells, which acts as a
  shock absorber, storage depot, and insulation
  against heat loss.

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Changes in the Skeletal System

• Loss of bone major age related change.
• Diet and exercise are positively correlated to
  healthy bones.
• The body needs a constant supply of
• calcium.
• Building bone mass at any age
• Exercise such as walking, jogging, cycling, or
  low impact aerobics.
• Foods rich in calcium such as milk, yogurt,
• cheese, shrimp, sardines, salmon, kale
• spinach and broccoli.

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Osteoporosis

• A symptomless disease causing bone loss and
  deterioration of the skeleton leading to bone
  fragility and increased risk of fractures.
• Treatable but not curable.
• Most recognizable sign is a curved hunchback.
• Can lead to vertebral fractures, resulting in
  pain, disfigurement, and loss of height.

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Arteriosclerosis

• Plaque begins to accumulate on the interior walls
  of the arteries, reducing blood flow
• Risk increases with age
• Product of intrinsic and extrinsic factors (high
  blood cholesterol)
• May produce a heart attack, angina, or stroke

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Changes in the Respiratory System

• The elderly are less able to respond effectively
  to stresses that increase respiration.
• Greater risk from environmental pollutants,
  smoking and respiratory diseases such as asthma
  and emphysema

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Emphysema oxygen hunger

• chronic irritation of the bronchial tubes
• Production of excessive mucus within the airways,
  eventually restricts airflow to the lungs
• Caused by smoke, repeated infections, or other
  irritants

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Changes in the Immune System

• Function
• Protects us from infection through various
  responses that attack and destroy microorganisms
  and other foreign materials that have invaded the
  body.
• Consequences of decline in immune system
  function
• Increased susceptibility to infectious diseases.
• Increased cancer risk due to decreased
  surveillance.
• Changes in blood vessel walls leading to
  arteriosclerosis.
• Increase in autoimmune disorders.

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Endocrine system

• Made up of the cell and tissues that produce
  chemical messengers called hormones.
• Released into the blood and act on target cells.
• Affects every cell.
• Produce the changes associated with age.
• Menopause in women and enlargement of the
  prostate gland in men are triggered by changes in
  the endocrine system.

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Sleep Disturbances

• Benefits of Sleep
• Improved health
• Increased attention span and memory
• REM sleep occurs during the 6th and 8th hours of
  sleep
• Brain replenishes key neurotransmitters during
  REM hrs

• Risks of Sleep Deprivation
• Lack of sleep increases vulnerability to
  infection by suppression of immune function.
• Chronic sleep loss may increase the risk of a
  heart attack and hasten the onset and severity of
  diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity.
• Disturbed sleep such as trouble falling asleep or
  waking up becomes more prevalent with age.
• Insomnia affects 30 to 40 percent among those age
  60
• Insomnia is linked to physical illness, pain,
  changes in central nervous system functioning,
  stress, and hormonal changes.

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Changes in the Reproductive System for Males

• Sperm is produced continuously throughout life
  after puberty.
• Levels of testosterone decline with age.
• Does not impair male fertility, but there is a
  reduction in sexual interest
• Failure of potency
• Common and often cause by vascular disease

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Changes in the Reproductive System for Females

• In sexually mature females one of the two ovaries
  will release a mature egg cell each month.
• Ovaries produce the female sex hormone estrogen
• Estrogen regulates the menstrual cycle and
  influences as many as 300 other body functions
• Menopause
• Natural step in the process of aging

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Menopause

• It is the permanent cessation of menstruation and
  results in the loss of fertility.
• Normally occurs between the ages of 45 and 55.
• Menopause has both physiological and
  psychological significance.
• End of youth and femininity vs. Freedom from the
  fear of pregnancy and newfound vitality
• Each womans experience of menopause is different
• Factors that initiate menopause are unclear
• The most significant aspect of the process is
  marked by a drop in estrogen levels

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Menopause continued.

• Symptoms
• Hot flashes, sleep disturbances, drying and
  thinning of the skin, redistribution of body
  weight, irregular periods, short-term memory and
  sleep disturbances.
• Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)
• Combination of estrogen and progesterone
• It was known to be for the relief of the
  discomfort of symptoms such as hot flashes and
  sleep disturbances, and protection from
  osteoporosis and heart disease
• Risks
• Increased risk of heart disease, breast cancer,
  stroke, and blood clots
• Benefits
• Low risk of colon cancer and skeletal fractures
  

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Changes in Sensory Capacity with Age

• Diminished function of the sense organs reduces
  our capacity to stay in touch with what is going
  on around us
• Sensory changes occur gradually. Sometimes go
  unnoticed until they reach a point where behavior
  is dramatically impaired

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Discussion Question

• Which sensory change do you think would most
  affect your daily activities?
• Smell, touch, taste, vision, hearing

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Changes in Sensory Capacity with Age

• Vision
• Older adults require more illumination to see
  well
• Cataracts
• Senile miosis
• Glaucoma
• Macular Degeneration
• Older adults have problems with visual acuity
• Lowering of contrast sensitivity
• Color vision is affected

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Eye Diseases

• Normal Vision
• Cataracts

• Glaucoma
• Macular Degeneration

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Changes in Sensory Capacity with Age

• Hearing
• Hearing loss is one of the most common chronic
  conditions among older adults.
• Presbyopia decreased sensitivity to high
  frequency sounds
• Accumulated exposure to noise pollution.

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Changes in Sensory Capacity with Age

• Taste
• Taste perception does not seem to be impaired in
  any significant way as we age, partly because
  taste buds are replaced throughout life.
• Saliva decreases in later life

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Changes in Sensory Capacity with Age

• Smell
• Smell is strongly affected remaining unchanged
  until about the mid 50s.
• Men lose the ability to identify odors earlier
  and more rapidly than women.
• Loss of ability to smell affects safety

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Changes in Sensory Capacity with Age

• Touch
• Gradual loss in the sense of touch with age
• Touch sensitivity and ability to detect pain
  decreases with age
• Delayed pain reaction

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Programmed Theories

• Metabolic Theories Focus on the relationship
  between metabolic rate and aging.
• Neuroendocrine Theories Focus on changes in the
  hypothalamus and pituitary gland that lead to
  decreased function of the endocrine system and
  widespread aging effects.
• Immunological Theory- Programmed deterioration in
  the immune system as a cause of reduced
  resistance and increased incidence of autoimmune
  disorders.

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Stochastic Theories

• Cross-Linkage Theory Chemical bonding of
  normally separate protein fibers, which impairs
  tissue function and causes aging changes.
• Somatic Mutation, DNA-Damage/Error Theories
  Maintain that damage to our mutations in the DNA
  of somatic cells impairs protein manufacture and
  therefore alters the structure and function of
  cells, tissues, and organs.
• Free Radical Theory Argues that most
  age-related change is a result of damage wrought
  by free radicals highly reactive by-products of
  metabolism.

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References

• Anderson, L. A., LaCroix, A. Z., Larson, E. B.,
  Phela, E. A. (2004). Older adults views of
  successful aging How do they compare with
  researchers definitions? Journal of the American
  Geriatrics Society, 52 (2), 211-216.
• Lemme, B. H. (2006). Development in adulthood.
  (4th edition). New York Pearson Education, Inc.
• McMillan, B., Starr, C., (2003). Human biology
  (5th edition). Pacific Grove, CA Thomson
  Learning, Inc.
• Schmall, V.L. (n.d). Sensory changes in later
  life. Retrieved May 11, 2006. http//www.eesc.ors
  t.edu/agcomwebfile/edmat/pnw196.