PSYC 381 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: B Cell, T Cell, Thymus
14 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Define average longevity and maximum longevity. What are the environmental
and genetic factors that influence longevity? (pp. 94-96)
Average longevity is commonly called average life expectancy and refers
to the age at which half of the individuals who are born in a particular
year will have died. The current average longevity is about 79 for people
in the United States. This means that after a group of people are born,
half of them will be alive at age 79.
Maximum longevity is the oldest age to which any individual of a species
lives. Genetic theories place the human limit around 120 years.
-Being from a ethnic minority group that is poor. This person would have
a higher risk to a harmful environment and less access to health care.
-Other research has shown a connection between genetics and the
immune system.
-Diseases, lifestyle issues, toxins, water pollution are all examples of
environmental factors.
-Longevity differs between high and low socioeconomic groups.
1.
Describe the ethnic and gender differences in longevity and the reasons for
these differences. How does longevity differ across the world? (pp. 96-98)
Different ethnic groups all have different average longevity. African
Americans tend to outlive European Americans by age 85 because lower
access to good quality health care in general.
-Women's average longevity is about 5 years more than men's at birth,
narrowing to 1 year by age 85.
-This is typical of most industrialized countries but not of developing
ones.
-Things such as improved health care, greater susceptibility in men of
contracting certain diseases, dying prematurely and genetics.
Longevity varies dramatically across the world. The current range extends
from 38 years in Africa to over 82 years in Japan.
2.
How are health and illness defined? How is health typically measured? How is
quality of life defined and measured? (pp. 99-100)
Health is defined as a state of complete and physical, mental and social
well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Illness is defined as the presence of a physical or mental disease or
impairment.
Many people include biological, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual and
environmental components as part of defining health. Health is typically
measured by self ratings reports, which tend to be fairly stable over time.
The quality of life is broken into two sections:
1. Health related quality of life which includes all of the aspects of life that
are affected by the changes in ones health status.
2. Non-health related quality of life refers to things in the environment,
such as entertainment or economic resources that affect our experience
of life.
The quality of life can be referred to as peoples perceptions of their
position in life in context of their culture and in relation to their goals,
expectations, values and concerns. This can be measured by assessing a
persons value on life. Ex how much they enjoy their life.
3.
Describe immune system function and how it changes with age. Define acute
and chronic diseases and how they relate to age. (pp. 100-103)
Our immune system is a high advanced defense system against foreign
invaders. Once the immune system has learned to recognize an invader, it
creates a defense against that invader. The defense system worked based
off of three major types of cells.
• Cell-mediated immunity (cells originating in the thymus gland, or T-
lymphocytes)
• Immunity based on the release of antibodies in the blood (B-
lymphocytes)
• Non specific immunity
The primary job of the T- and B- lymphocytes is to defend against
malignant cells, viral infections, fungal infections and some bacteria. NK
cells are our primary defense against cancer.
The immune system is sensitive to a wide variety of lifestyle and
environmental factors such as diet, stress, exercise and disease, which
makes It difficult to isolate changes caused by ageing. Older adults
immune systems take longer to build up against specific diseases, even
after a immunization injection. T- and B- lymphocytes both decrease in
functioning as we age.
Acute diseases are conditions that develop over a short period of time
and cause a rapid change in health. Most acute diseases are cured with
antibiotics or they run their course.
Chronic diseases are conditions that last a longer period of time (at least 3
months) and may be accompanied by residual functional impairment that
necessitates long term management.
As we age, the rate of acute diseases go down and the rate of chronic
diseases goes up.
4.
Describe the stress and coping paradigm model of stress. Define primary
appraisal, secondary appraisal, and reappraisal. Define coping and the two
subtypes. (pp. 103-105)
The stress and coping paradigm: views stress not as an environmental
stimulus or as a response but as the interaction of a thinking person and
an event. How we interrupt the event we are in is what matters.
Primary appraisal: categorizes events into three groups based on the
significance they have for our well being: irrelevant, benign or positive
and stressful. Primary appraisals filter the events we experience.
Secondary appraisal: evaluates our perceived ability to cope with harm,
threat or challenge. When a person believes an event is stressful, a
second set of decisions comes in. This is the equivalent of asking three
questions; what can I do?
Reappraisal: involves making a new primary or secondary appraisal
resulting from changes in the situation. You may originally have one
thought, but after finding out more information, you change your
thought.
Coping: attempts to deal with stressful events. Coping is learned, not
automatic. Coping depends on many factors such as healthy, energetic,
positive, good problem solving, financial resources or social skills. There
are two types of coping:
1. Problem focused coping: involves attempts to tackle the problem head
on. You do something directly about the problem. Ex. Taking medication
or studying more for an exam.
2. Emotional focused coping: involves dealing with ones feelings about the
stressful event. The purpose is to help oneself deal with situations that or
difficult to tackle head on. Ex. Getting angry after failing an exam.
5.
Describe the age differences in coping strategies and sources of stressors. What
are the effects of stress on the health of older adults? (pp. 105-107 )
Younger adults and those with lower level of education or income
reported higher stress than other adults. The difference in coping
strategies that older adults use is they're more likely to use past
experience, emotion focus and religious coping strategies.
Chronic stress has many serious effects including pervasive negative
effects on the immune system that cause increased susceptibility to viral
infections, increased risk of atherosclerosis and hypertension and
impaired memory and cognition.
6.
What are the general issues associated with chronic diseases? Briefly describe
the 3 major chronic age-related conditions (diabetes, cancer, incontinence) and
the issues associated with each. How do older adults manage the pain of
chronic conditions? (pp. 107-114)
One issue associated with chronic disease is the coping skills people bring
to bear on their conditions. Life cycle factors help us understand how
chronic conditions vary with the age of onset.
The three major chronic age related conditions are:
1. Diabetes mellitus: occurs when the pancreas produces insufficient
insulin.
○ There are two general types of diabetes:
1. Type I diabetes: develops earlier in life and requires the use of insulin.
2. Type II diabetes: develops in adulthood and is effectively managed
through diet.
○ In adults diabetes is often associated with obesity.
○ The most common long term effects include nerve damage, diabetic
retinopathy, kidney disorders, cerebrovascular accidents, cognitive
dysfunction, damage to the coronary arteries, skin problems and poor
circulation in the arms and legs.
○ Diabetes has no cure.
2. Cancer: second leading cause of death in America.
○ Some forms of cancer are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle
○ Prostate cancer is most common in men, and breast cancer most
common in women.
○ Exposure to pollutants and cancer causing chemicals are partly to
blame.
○ Research in molecular biology is pointing to genetic links in combination
with environmental factors for the susceptibility of cancer.
○ Age related tissue changes have been associated with the development
of tumours.
3. Incontinence: loss of the ability to control the elimination of urine and
feces on an occasional or consistent basis.
○ This increases with age and varies across ethnic groups as a function of
gender.
○ This occurs for four different reasons:
§ Stress incontinence: pressure in the abdomen exceeds the ability to
resist urinary flow.
§ Urge incontinence: caused by a central nervous system problem after a
stroke or urinary infection.
§ Overflow incontinence: results from improper contraction of the
kidneys, causing the bladder to become over distended.
§ Functional incontinence: urinary tract is intact but because of physical
disability or cognitive impairment the person is unaware of the need to
urinate.
There are two general pain management techniques:
1. Pharmacological approach: includes nonnarcotic and narcotic
medications. They must be used with caution because they can cause
toxic side effects with older adults.
2. Nonpharmacological approach: pain control includes multiple
approaches until the best one is found. Some ideas include acupuncture,
meditation, hypnosis, massage or electrical stimulation.
7.
Describe the pattern of medication use in older adults. How does age affect
medication efficacy? What is polypharmacy, and why is it important? (pp.
114-116)
The effective dosage of medications my change as people get older which
increases the risk of overdose. The ability for older adults to afford the
best medication treatment is questionable.
-Absorption may take longer than expected in older adults resulting in too
little or too much absorption, depending on the drug.
-How well medication is distributed depends on the adequacy of the
cardiovascular system.
-There is evidence that drugs stay in the body longer as people grow
older, which creates the possibility for toxicity.
-Changes in kidney function which causes the effect of drugs are not
excreted as quickly by older adults.
Polypharmacy: the use of multiple medications.
This could be dangerous because many drugs do not interact well.
Accurate medical histories are very important to know what medications
are being mixed.
8.
Define disability and compression of morbidity. Describe the model of
disablement. (pp. 117-119)
Disability is the effects of a chronic condition and peoples ability to
engage in activities that are necessary, expected and personally desired in
their society.
Compression of morbidity refers to the situation in which the average age
when one becomes disabled for the first time is postponed, causing the
time between the onset of disability and death to be compressed into a
shorter period of time.
The model of disablement consists of four parts:
1. Main pathway emphasizes the relationship between pathology
2. Impairments of organ systems
3. Functional limitations in the ability to preform tasks
4. Disability
The model also includes risk factors and two types of intervention
strategies: environmental and health care and behavioural and
personality. The most important aspect of the model is the emphasis on
the fit between the person and the environment.
9.
How do you determine functional health status? Be sure your answer includes a
definition of ADL and IADL. What causes functional limitations and disability in
old age? (pp. 119-122)
Functional health status is how well a person is functioning in daily life. To
determine functional health status it involves very careful assessment.
This assessment is done to identify older adults who need help with
everyday tasks.
Activities of daily living (ADLs) include basic self care tasks such as eating,
bathing, toileting, walking or dressing. A person is considered frail if he or
she needs help with one or more of these tasks.
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are actions that entail some
intellectual competence and planning. Which activities constitute IADLs
vary across cultures.
In addition to basic assistance with ADLs and IADLs, frail older adults are
prone to depression and anxiety disorders.
A study found that smoking, heavy drinking, physical inactivity,
depression, social isolation and fair or poor perceived health predicted
who would become disabled in some way. Physical activity is a huge
predictor in later disability and increases risks of cancer, cardiovascular
disease, diabetes and obesity, all which result in disability in old age.
10.
L4 -Health & Longevity
May 23, 2018
2:38 PM
Define average longevity and maximum longevity. What are the environmental
and genetic factors that influence longevity? (pp. 94-96)
Average longevity is commonly called average life expectancy and refers
to the age at which half of the individuals who are born in a particular
year will have died. The current average longevity is about 79 for people
in the United States. This means that after a group of people are born,
half of them will be alive at age 79.
Maximum longevity is the oldest age to which any individual of a species
lives. Genetic theories place the human limit around 120 years.
-Being from a ethnic minority group that is poor. This person would have
a higher risk to a harmful environment and less access to health care.
-Other research has shown a connection between genetics and the
immune system.
-Diseases, lifestyle issues, toxins, water pollution are all examples of
environmental factors.
-Longevity differs between high and low socioeconomic groups.
1.
Describe the ethnic and gender differences in longevity and the reasons for
these differences. How does longevity differ across the world? (pp. 96-98)
Different ethnic groups all have different average longevity. African
Americans tend to outlive European Americans by age 85 because lower
access to good quality health care in general.
-Women's average longevity is about 5 years more than men's at birth,
narrowing to 1 year by age 85.
-This is typical of most industrialized countries but not of developing
ones.
-Things such as improved health care, greater susceptibility in men of
contracting certain diseases, dying prematurely and genetics.
Longevity varies dramatically across the world. The current range extends
from 38 years in Africa to over 82 years in Japan.
2.
How are health and illness defined? How is health typically measured? How is
quality of life defined and measured? (pp. 99-100)
Health is defined as a state of complete and physical, mental and social
well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Illness is defined as the presence of a physical or mental disease or
impairment.
Many people include biological, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual and
environmental components as part of defining health. Health is typically
measured by self ratings reports, which tend to be fairly stable over time.
The quality of life is broken into two sections:
1. Health related quality of life which includes all of the aspects of life that
are affected by the changes in ones health status.
2. Non-health related quality of life refers to things in the environment,
such as entertainment or economic resources that affect our experience
of life.
The quality of life can be referred to as peoples perceptions of their
position in life in context of their culture and in relation to their goals,
expectations, values and concerns. This can be measured by assessing a
persons value on life. Ex how much they enjoy their life.
3.
Describe immune system function and how it changes with age. Define acute
and chronic diseases and how they relate to age. (pp. 100-103)
Our immune system is a high advanced defense system against foreign
invaders. Once the immune system has learned to recognize an invader, it
creates a defense against that invader. The defense system worked based
off of three major types of cells.
• Cell-mediated immunity (cells originating in the thymus gland, or T-
lymphocytes)
• Immunity based on the release of antibodies in the blood (B-
lymphocytes)
• Non specific immunity
The primary job of the T- and B- lymphocytes is to defend against
malignant cells, viral infections, fungal infections and some bacteria. NK
cells are our primary defense against cancer.
The immune system is sensitive to a wide variety of lifestyle and
environmental factors such as diet, stress, exercise and disease, which
makes It difficult to isolate changes caused by ageing. Older adults
immune systems take longer to build up against specific diseases, even
after a immunization injection. T- and B- lymphocytes both decrease in
functioning as we age.
Acute diseases are conditions that develop over a short period of time
and cause a rapid change in health. Most acute diseases are cured with
antibiotics or they run their course.
Chronic diseases are conditions that last a longer period of time (at least 3
months) and may be accompanied by residual functional impairment that
necessitates long term management.
As we age, the rate of acute diseases go down and the rate of chronic
diseases goes up.
4.
Describe the stress and coping paradigm model of stress. Define primary
appraisal, secondary appraisal, and reappraisal. Define coping and the two
subtypes. (pp. 103-105)
The stress and coping paradigm: views stress not as an environmental
stimulus or as a response but as the interaction of a thinking person and
an event. How we interrupt the event we are in is what matters.
Primary appraisal: categorizes events into three groups based on the
significance they have for our well being: irrelevant, benign or positive
and stressful. Primary appraisals filter the events we experience.
Secondary appraisal: evaluates our perceived ability to cope with harm,
threat or challenge. When a person believes an event is stressful, a
second set of decisions comes in. This is the equivalent of asking three
questions; what can I do?
Reappraisal: involves making a new primary or secondary appraisal
resulting from changes in the situation. You may originally have one
thought, but after finding out more information, you change your
thought.
Coping: attempts to deal with stressful events. Coping is learned, not
automatic. Coping depends on many factors such as healthy, energetic,
positive, good problem solving, financial resources or social skills. There
are two types of coping:
1. Problem focused coping: involves attempts to tackle the problem head
on. You do something directly about the problem. Ex. Taking medication
or studying more for an exam.
2. Emotional focused coping: involves dealing with ones feelings about the
stressful event. The purpose is to help oneself deal with situations that or
difficult to tackle head on. Ex. Getting angry after failing an exam.
5.
Describe the age differences in coping strategies and sources of stressors. What
are the effects of stress on the health of older adults? (pp. 105-107 )
Younger adults and those with lower level of education or income
reported higher stress than other adults. The difference in coping
strategies that older adults use is they're more likely to use past
experience, emotion focus and religious coping strategies.
Chronic stress has many serious effects including pervasive negative
effects on the immune system that cause increased susceptibility to viral
infections, increased risk of atherosclerosis and hypertension and
impaired memory and cognition.
6.
What are the general issues associated with chronic diseases? Briefly describe
the 3 major chronic age-related conditions (diabetes, cancer, incontinence) and
the issues associated with each. How do older adults manage the pain of
chronic conditions? (pp. 107-114)
One issue associated with chronic disease is the coping skills people bring
to bear on their conditions. Life cycle factors help us understand how
chronic conditions vary with the age of onset.
The three major chronic age related conditions are:
1. Diabetes mellitus: occurs when the pancreas produces insufficient
insulin.
○ There are two general types of diabetes:
1. Type I diabetes: develops earlier in life and requires the use of insulin.
2. Type II diabetes: develops in adulthood and is effectively managed
through diet.
○ In adults diabetes is often associated with obesity.
○ The most common long term effects include nerve damage, diabetic
retinopathy, kidney disorders, cerebrovascular accidents, cognitive
dysfunction, damage to the coronary arteries, skin problems and poor
circulation in the arms and legs.
○ Diabetes has no cure.
2. Cancer: second leading cause of death in America.
○ Some forms of cancer are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle
○ Prostate cancer is most common in men, and breast cancer most
common in women.
○ Exposure to pollutants and cancer causing chemicals are partly to
blame.
○ Research in molecular biology is pointing to genetic links in combination
with environmental factors for the susceptibility of cancer.
○ Age related tissue changes have been associated with the development
of tumours.
3. Incontinence: loss of the ability to control the elimination of urine and
feces on an occasional or consistent basis.
○ This increases with age and varies across ethnic groups as a function of
gender.
○ This occurs for four different reasons:
§ Stress incontinence: pressure in the abdomen exceeds the ability to
resist urinary flow.
§ Urge incontinence: caused by a central nervous system problem after a
stroke or urinary infection.
§ Overflow incontinence: results from improper contraction of the
kidneys, causing the bladder to become over distended.
§ Functional incontinence: urinary tract is intact but because of physical
disability or cognitive impairment the person is unaware of the need to
urinate.
There are two general pain management techniques:
1. Pharmacological approach: includes nonnarcotic and narcotic
medications. They must be used with caution because they can cause
toxic side effects with older adults.
2. Nonpharmacological approach: pain control includes multiple
approaches until the best one is found. Some ideas include acupuncture,
meditation, hypnosis, massage or electrical stimulation.
7.
Describe the pattern of medication use in older adults. How does age affect
medication efficacy? What is polypharmacy, and why is it important? (pp.
114-116)
The effective dosage of medications my change as people get older which
increases the risk of overdose. The ability for older adults to afford the
best medication treatment is questionable.
-Absorption may take longer than expected in older adults resulting in too
little or too much absorption, depending on the drug.
-How well medication is distributed depends on the adequacy of the
cardiovascular system.
-There is evidence that drugs stay in the body longer as people grow
older, which creates the possibility for toxicity.
-Changes in kidney function which causes the effect of drugs are not
excreted as quickly by older adults.
Polypharmacy: the use of multiple medications.
This could be dangerous because many drugs do not interact well.
Accurate medical histories are very important to know what medications
are being mixed.
8.
Define disability and compression of morbidity. Describe the model of
disablement. (pp. 117-119)
Disability is the effects of a chronic condition and peoples ability to
engage in activities that are necessary, expected and personally desired in
their society.
Compression of morbidity refers to the situation in which the average age
when one becomes disabled for the first time is postponed, causing the
time between the onset of disability and death to be compressed into a
shorter period of time.
The model of disablement consists of four parts:
1. Main pathway emphasizes the relationship between pathology
2. Impairments of organ systems
3. Functional limitations in the ability to preform tasks
4. Disability
The model also includes risk factors and two types of intervention
strategies: environmental and health care and behavioural and
personality. The most important aspect of the model is the emphasis on
the fit between the person and the environment.
9.
How do you determine functional health status? Be sure your answer includes a
definition of ADL and IADL. What causes functional limitations and disability in
old age? (pp. 119-122)
Functional health status is how well a person is functioning in daily life. To
determine functional health status it involves very careful assessment.
This assessment is done to identify older adults who need help with
everyday tasks.
Activities of daily living (ADLs) include basic self care tasks such as eating,
bathing, toileting, walking or dressing. A person is considered frail if he or
she needs help with one or more of these tasks.
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are actions that entail some
intellectual competence and planning. Which activities constitute IADLs
vary across cultures.
In addition to basic assistance with ADLs and IADLs, frail older adults are
prone to depression and anxiety disorders.
A study found that smoking, heavy drinking, physical inactivity,
depression, social isolation and fair or poor perceived health predicted
who would become disabled in some way. Physical activity is a huge
predictor in later disability and increases risks of cancer, cardiovascular
disease, diabetes and obesity, all which result in disability in old age.
10.
L4 -Health & Longevity
May 23, 2018 2:38 PM
Define average longevity and maximum longevity. What are the environmental
and genetic factors that influence longevity? (pp. 94-96)
Average longevity is commonly called average life expectancy and refers
to the age at which half of the individuals who are born in a particular
year will have died. The current average longevity is about 79 for people
in the United States. This means that after a group of people are born,
half of them will be alive at age 79.
Maximum longevity is the oldest age to which any individual of a species
lives. Genetic theories place the human limit around 120 years.
-Being from a ethnic minority group that is poor. This person would have
a higher risk to a harmful environment and less access to health care.
-Other research has shown a connection between genetics and the
immune system.
-Diseases, lifestyle issues, toxins, water pollution are all examples of
environmental factors.
-Longevity differs between high and low socioeconomic groups.
1.
Describe the ethnic and gender differences in longevity and the reasons for
these differences. How does longevity differ across the world? (pp. 96-98)
Different ethnic groups all have different average longevity. African
Americans tend to outlive European Americans by age 85 because lower
access to good quality health care in general.
-Women's average longevity is about 5 years more than men's at birth,
narrowing to 1 year by age 85.
-This is typical of most industrialized countries but not of developing
ones.
-Things such as improved health care, greater susceptibility in men of
contracting certain diseases, dying prematurely and genetics.
Longevity varies dramatically across the world. The current range extends
from 38 years in Africa to over 82 years in Japan.
2.
How are health and illness defined? How is health typically measured? How is
quality of life defined and measured? (pp. 99-100)
Health is defined as a state of complete and physical, mental and social
well being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Illness is defined as the presence of a physical or mental disease or
impairment.
Many people include biological, psychological, sociocultural, spiritual and
environmental components as part of defining health. Health is typically
measured by self ratings reports, which tend to be fairly stable over time.
The quality of life is broken into two sections:
1. Health related quality of life which includes all of the aspects of life that
are affected by the changes in ones health status.
2. Non-health related quality of life refers to things in the environment,
such as entertainment or economic resources that affect our experience
of life.
The quality of life can be referred to as peoples perceptions of their
position in life in context of their culture and in relation to their goals,
expectations, values and concerns. This can be measured by assessing a
persons value on life. Ex how much they enjoy their life.
3.
Describe immune system function and how it changes with age. Define acute
and chronic diseases and how they relate to age. (pp. 100-103)
Our immune system is a high advanced defense system against foreign
invaders. Once the immune system has learned to recognize an invader, it
creates a defense against that invader. The defense system worked based
off of three major types of cells.
• Cell-mediated immunity (cells originating in the thymus gland, or T-
lymphocytes)
• Immunity based on the release of antibodies in the blood (B-
lymphocytes)
• Non specific immunity
The primary job of the T- and B- lymphocytes is to defend against
malignant cells, viral infections, fungal infections and some bacteria. NK
cells are our primary defense against cancer.
The immune system is sensitive to a wide variety of lifestyle and
environmental factors such as diet, stress, exercise and disease, which
makes It difficult to isolate changes caused by ageing. Older adults
immune systems take longer to build up against specific diseases, even
after a immunization injection. T- and B- lymphocytes both decrease in
functioning as we age.
Acute diseases are conditions that develop over a short period of time
and cause a rapid change in health. Most acute diseases are cured with
antibiotics or they run their course.
Chronic diseases are conditions that last a longer period of time (at least 3
months) and may be accompanied by residual functional impairment that
necessitates long term management.
As we age, the rate of acute diseases go down and the rate of chronic
diseases goes up.
4.
Describe the stress and coping paradigm model of stress. Define primary
appraisal, secondary appraisal, and reappraisal. Define coping and the two
subtypes. (pp. 103-105)
The stress and coping paradigm: views stress not as an environmental
stimulus or as a response but as the interaction of a thinking person and
an event. How we interrupt the event we are in is what matters.
Primary appraisal: categorizes events into three groups based on the
significance they have for our well being: irrelevant, benign or positive
and stressful. Primary appraisals filter the events we experience.
Secondary appraisal: evaluates our perceived ability to cope with harm,
threat or challenge. When a person believes an event is stressful, a
second set of decisions comes in. This is the equivalent of asking three
questions; what can I do?
Reappraisal: involves making a new primary or secondary appraisal
resulting from changes in the situation. You may originally have one
thought, but after finding out more information, you change your
thought.
Coping: attempts to deal with stressful events. Coping is learned, not
automatic. Coping depends on many factors such as healthy, energetic,
positive, good problem solving, financial resources or social skills. There
are two types of coping:
1. Problem focused coping: involves attempts to tackle the problem head
on. You do something directly about the problem. Ex. Taking medication
or studying more for an exam.
2. Emotional focused coping: involves dealing with ones feelings about the
stressful event. The purpose is to help oneself deal with situations that or
difficult to tackle head on. Ex. Getting angry after failing an exam.
5.
Describe the age differences in coping strategies and sources of stressors. What
are the effects of stress on the health of older adults? (pp. 105-107 )
Younger adults and those with lower level of education or income
reported higher stress than other adults. The difference in coping
strategies that older adults use is they're more likely to use past
experience, emotion focus and religious coping strategies.
Chronic stress has many serious effects including pervasive negative
effects on the immune system that cause increased susceptibility to viral
infections, increased risk of atherosclerosis and hypertension and
impaired memory and cognition.
6.
What are the general issues associated with chronic diseases? Briefly describe
the 3 major chronic age-related conditions (diabetes, cancer, incontinence) and
the issues associated with each. How do older adults manage the pain of
chronic conditions? (pp. 107-114)
One issue associated with chronic disease is the coping skills people bring
to bear on their conditions. Life cycle factors help us understand how
chronic conditions vary with the age of onset.
The three major chronic age related conditions are:
1. Diabetes mellitus: occurs when the pancreas produces insufficient
insulin.
○ There are two general types of diabetes:
1. Type I diabetes: develops earlier in life and requires the use of insulin.
2. Type II diabetes: develops in adulthood and is effectively managed
through diet.
○ In adults diabetes is often associated with obesity.
○ The most common long term effects include nerve damage, diabetic
retinopathy, kidney disorders, cerebrovascular accidents, cognitive
dysfunction, damage to the coronary arteries, skin problems and poor
circulation in the arms and legs.
○ Diabetes has no cure.
2. Cancer: second leading cause of death in America.
○ Some forms of cancer are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle
○ Prostate cancer is most common in men, and breast cancer most
common in women.
○ Exposure to pollutants and cancer causing chemicals are partly to
blame.
○ Research in molecular biology is pointing to genetic links in combination
with environmental factors for the susceptibility of cancer.
○ Age related tissue changes have been associated with the development
of tumours.
3. Incontinence: loss of the ability to control the elimination of urine and
feces on an occasional or consistent basis.
○ This increases with age and varies across ethnic groups as a function of
gender.
○ This occurs for four different reasons:
§ Stress incontinence: pressure in the abdomen exceeds the ability to
resist urinary flow.
§ Urge incontinence: caused by a central nervous system problem after a
stroke or urinary infection.
§ Overflow incontinence: results from improper contraction of the
kidneys, causing the bladder to become over distended.
§ Functional incontinence: urinary tract is intact but because of physical
disability or cognitive impairment the person is unaware of the need to
urinate.
There are two general pain management techniques:
1. Pharmacological approach: includes nonnarcotic and narcotic
medications. They must be used with caution because they can cause
toxic side effects with older adults.
2. Nonpharmacological approach: pain control includes multiple
approaches until the best one is found. Some ideas include acupuncture,
meditation, hypnosis, massage or electrical stimulation.
7.
Describe the pattern of medication use in older adults. How does age affect
medication efficacy? What is polypharmacy, and why is it important? (pp.
114-116)
The effective dosage of medications my change as people get older which
increases the risk of overdose. The ability for older adults to afford the
best medication treatment is questionable.
-Absorption may take longer than expected in older adults resulting in too
little or too much absorption, depending on the drug.
-How well medication is distributed depends on the adequacy of the
cardiovascular system.
-There is evidence that drugs stay in the body longer as people grow
older, which creates the possibility for toxicity.
-Changes in kidney function which causes the effect of drugs are not
excreted as quickly by older adults.
Polypharmacy: the use of multiple medications.
This could be dangerous because many drugs do not interact well.
Accurate medical histories are very important to know what medications
are being mixed.
8.
Define disability and compression of morbidity. Describe the model of
disablement. (pp. 117-119)
Disability is the effects of a chronic condition and peoples ability to
engage in activities that are necessary, expected and personally desired in
their society.
Compression of morbidity refers to the situation in which the average age
when one becomes disabled for the first time is postponed, causing the
time between the onset of disability and death to be compressed into a
shorter period of time.
The model of disablement consists of four parts:
1. Main pathway emphasizes the relationship between pathology
2. Impairments of organ systems
3. Functional limitations in the ability to preform tasks
4. Disability
The model also includes risk factors and two types of intervention
strategies: environmental and health care and behavioural and
personality. The most important aspect of the model is the emphasis on
the fit between the person and the environment.
9.
How do you determine functional health status? Be sure your answer includes a
definition of ADL and IADL. What causes functional limitations and disability in
old age? (pp. 119-122)
Functional health status is how well a person is functioning in daily life. To
determine functional health status it involves very careful assessment.
This assessment is done to identify older adults who need help with
everyday tasks.
Activities of daily living (ADLs) include basic self care tasks such as eating,
bathing, toileting, walking or dressing. A person is considered frail if he or
she needs help with one or more of these tasks.
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are actions that entail some
intellectual competence and planning. Which activities constitute IADLs
vary across cultures.
In addition to basic assistance with ADLs and IADLs, frail older adults are
prone to depression and anxiety disorders.
A study found that smoking, heavy drinking, physical inactivity,
depression, social isolation and fair or poor perceived health predicted
who would become disabled in some way. Physical activity is a huge
predictor in later disability and increases risks of cancer, cardiovascular
disease, diabetes and obesity, all which result in disability in old age.
10.
L4 -Health & Longevity
May 23, 2018 2:38 PM
Document Summary
What are the environmental and genetic factors that influence longevity? (pp. Average longevity is commonly called average life expectancy and refers to the age at which half of the individuals who are born in a particular year will have died. The current average longevity is about 79 for people in the united states. This means that after a group of people are born, half of them will be alive at age 79. Maximum longevity is the oldest age to which any individual of a species lives. Genetic theories place the human limit around 120 years. Being from a ethnic minority group that is poor. This person would have a higher risk to a harmful environment and less access to health care. Other research has shown a connection between genetics and the immune system. Diseases, lifestyle issues, toxins, water pollution are all examples of environmental factors. Longevity differs between high and low socioeconomic groups.
