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Late Adulthood

Chapters 18 & 19

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Longevity

Life Expectancy & Life Span

Life Span is the upper boundary of life,the maximum number of years anindividual can live.

The max is approx 120 years old

Life expectancy is the number of yearsthat will probably be lived by theaverage person born in a particular

year. In U.S. 77 years (80 for women, 74 for

men)

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Sex Differences in Longevity

Females live about 6 years longer

on average than males do.

Females outnumber males as the

age of 25, and the gap widens fromthere. The sex difference is likely due to

biological (infection resistence) andsocial (health attitudes, habits,

lifestyles, and occupation) factors. Self-esteem and work satisfaction

outweigh stress of work when thelongevity of women is at issue.

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Physical Development

Physical Appearance

The most obvious signs of aging arewrinkled skin and age spots on theskin.

Men lose about 11/4 inches by the ageof 70. Women lose about 2 inches bythe age of 75.

Weight often decreases after age 60because of the loss of muscle.

Exercise and appropriate weight liftingcan help to reduce the decrease inmuscle mass and improve the olderpersons body appearance

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Physical Development

Movement

Older adults move slower than youngadults.

General slowing of movement in olderadults had been found in everydaytasks such as reaching and grasping,moving from one place to another, andcontinuous movement.

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Physical Development Sensory Development

Vision The visual system declines but the vast majority of older adults can have

their vision corrected so they can continue to work and function in theworld.

Some of the changes that occur include: Night vision decreases, darkadaptation is slower, cataracts (cloudy opaque areas in the lens thatprevent light from passing through), glaucoma (disease involveshardening of the eyeball because of fluid buildup), and maculardegeneration (disease involving deterioration of the retina).

Hearing Hearing declines often begin in middle age but usually do not become

much of an impediment until late adulthood.

It is estimated that 15 percent of the population over age 65 is legallydeaf, usually due to degeneration of the cochlea. Hearing aids can diminish hearing problems for many older adults.

Smell and Taste Smell and taste losses often begin around 60 years of age. Smell and taste may decline although the decline is minimal in healthy

older adults.

Touch Changes in touch sensitivity are associated with aging although this does

not present a problem for most older adults. Touch sensitivity decreases more in the lower extremities than in the

upper extremities.

Pain Older adults are less sensitive to pain and suffer from it less than

younger adults.

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Physical Development

The Circulatory System When heart disease is absent, the amount of blood

pumped is the same regardless of an adults age. High blood pressure is no longer just accepted but rather

is treated with medication, exercise, and/or a healthydiet.

Blood pressure may rise with age because of illness,obesity, anxiety, stiffening of blood vessels, or lack ofexercise.

The Respiratory System Lung capacity drops 40 percent between the ages of 20

and 80, even without disease. Older adults can improve lung functioning with

diaphragm-strengthening exercises.

Sexuality Aging in late adulthood does include some changes insexual performance, more so for males than females(orgasm is less frequent for males, more directstimulation is needed).

There are no known age limits to sexual activity.

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Health Problems

Causes of Death in Older Adults

Nearly three-fourths of older adults die ofheart disease, cancer, or cerebrovasculardisease.

Arthritis is an inflammation of the jointsaccompanied by pain, stiffness, and

movement problems. Arthritis isespecially common in older adults.

Osteoporosis is an aging disorderinvolving an extensive loss of bone

tissue. Osteoporosis is the main reasonmany older adults walk with a markedstoop. Women are especially vulnerableto osteoporosis, the leading cause ofbroken bones in women.

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Cognitive Development

Crystallized intelligence is the accumulated info &verbal skills; increases with age.

Fluid intelligenceis ones ability to reason abstractly;steady decline from middle adulthood.

Cognitive mechanics are the hardware of the mindand reflect the neurophysiology architecture of the

brain. Generally has more to do with the processing.

Cognitive pragmatics are the culture-based softwareprograms of the mind. Such as acquired skills, languagecomprehension, things that help one cope with life.

Episodic memory is the retention of information aboutthe where and when of lifes happenings.

Semantic memory is a persons knowledge about theworld; everyday knowledge. It may take longer but older

adults are still able to retrieve.

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Cognitive Development

Use It or Lose It

Researchers are finding that olderadults, who engage in cognitiveactivities, especially challenging ones,have higher cognitive functioning thanthose who dont use their cognitiveskills.

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Mental Health

Depression

Major depression is a mood disorder in which theindividual is deeply unhappy, demoralized, self-derogatory, and bored. The individual with majordepression does not feel well, loses stamina easily, has apoor appetite, and is listless and unmotivated.

Depression has been called the common cold of mentaldisorders.

The most common predictors of depression in older adultsare earlier depressive symptoms, poor health, loss eventssuch as death of a spouse, and low social support.

As many as 80 percent of older adults with depressivesymptoms receive no treatment at all.

Combinations of medications and psychotherapy producesignificant improvements in almost 4 out of 5 elderlyadults with depression.

Nearly 25 percent of individuals who commit suicide inthe U.S. are 65 years of age or older.

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Mental Health

Dementia

Dementia is a global term for any neurologicaldisorder in which the primary symptomsinvolve a deterioration of mental functioning.

It is estimated that 20 percent of individualsover the age of 80 have dementia.

The most common form of dementia is

Alzheimers disease, a progressive, irreversibledisorder that is characterized by gradualdeterioration of memory, reasoning, language,and eventually physical functioning.

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Mental Health

Alzheimers Disease

Approximately 4 million adults in the U.S. have Alzheimers

disease.

It is predicted to triple in the next 50 years, as increasing numbersof people live to old age.

Alzheimers disease can be either early-onset (initially occurring inindividuals younger than 65 years) or late-onset (initial onset after65 years of age).

Early onset is rare (about 10 percent of all cases).

Causes and Treatments Special efforts are being made to discover the causes of Alzheimers

disease and effective treatments of it. Alzheimers disease involves a deficiency in the important brain

messenger chemical acetylcholine, which plays an important role inmemory.

Efforts to identify the cause of Alzheimers have not been successful. Among the main characteristics of Alzheimers disease are the increasing

number of tangles (tied bundles of protein that impact the functioning ofthe neurons) and plaques (deposits that accumulate in the brains bloodvessels).

An abnormal gene may be responsible for as many as one-third of allcases of Alzheimers disease.