Old Age 2

 Old Age 2

Ageing

At the biological level, ageing results from the impact of the accumulation of a wide variety of molecular and cellular damage over time. This leads to a gradual decrease in physical and mental capacity, a growing risk of disease and ultimately death. These changes are neither linear nor consistent, and they are only loosely associated with a person’s age in years. The diversity seen in older age is not random.

Common health conditions associated with ageing

Common conditions in older age include hearing loss, cataracts and refractive errors, back and neck pain, osteoarthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes, depression and dementia. As people age, they are more likely to experience several conditions at the same time.

Older age is also characterised by the emergence of several complex health states commonly called geriatric syndromes. They are often the consequence of multiple underlying factors and include frailty, urinary incontinence, falls, delirium and pressure ulcers.

Older people also contribute in many ways to their families and communities. Yet the extent of these opportunities and contributions depends heavily on one factor: health.

Although some of the variations in older people’s health are genetic, most is due to people’s physical and social environments – including their homes, neighbourhoods, and communities, as well as their personal characteristics, such as their sex, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.

Physical and social environments can affect health directly or through barriers or incentives that affect opportunities, decisions and health behaviour. Maintaining healthy behaviours throughout life, particularly eating a balanced diet, engaging in regular physical activity and refraining from tobacco use, all contribute to reducing the risk of non-communicable diseases, improving physical and mental capacity and delaying care dependency.

Challenges in responding to population ageing

There is no typical older person. Some 80-year-olds have physical and mental capacities similar to many 30-year-olds. Other people experience significant declines in capacities at much younger ages. A comprehensive public health response must address this wide range of older people’s experiences and needs.

The diversity seen in older age is not random. A large part arises from people’s physical and social environments and the impact of these environments on their opportunities and health behaviour.

Older people are often assumed to be frail or dependent and a burden to society.

What Are the Stages of Ageing?

Ageing is a long and complicated process, and an ageing person’s needs can change at any time. In some cases, seniors are relatively stable in their physical and cognitive health for years. Other times, though, they may go through a rapid decline in health. 

The Following Are the Five Stages of Aging That Most Older Adults Experience

1. SELF-SUFFICIENCY

At this stage, family members should encourage their loved one to continue with their healthy habits in order to maintain their independence. This includes eating well, getting regular exercise, and socialising with friends and family. It’s also important for the senior to arrange for their future needs later in the ageing process. 

2. INTERDEPENDENCE

Eventually, your ageing loved one will require some support and assistance. They do need some degree of care from family or friends.

A cognitive decline is expected at this stage, too, so you may notice the early stages of memory loss in your loved one. Stress, anxiety, and depression are common during the interdependence stage as well. It can be difficult to accept any loss of independence, and your loved one may start to worry about their future. Emotional support is more important than ever in these moments.

3. DEPENDENCE

At this stage, the senior can no longer live on their own safely.

They’ll need significant home modifications and support. They may need a home health aide to assist them during the day or frequent check-ins from family.

Try to focus on the positive moments at this time. The senior has an opportunity to spend quality time with their children or grandchildren, and they can enjoy time in the community.

4. CRISIS MANAGEMENT

This care is necessary because of physical ailments. Other times, the senior requires memory care due to Alzheimer’s or dementia.

It’s impossible to know how long a senior will stay in the interdependence stage before requiring this extra level of care. A sudden medical emergency could cause an unexpected progression to the dependence stage, or it may be an anticipated transition.

 Regular connection with family continues to be important at this stage, especially as your loved one adjusts to their new environment.

5. END OF LIFE

Overall, though, the goal at this stage is for the older adult to feel as comfortable as possible.

Accepting the end of life can be profoundly difficult for an individual and their family. This is often a spiritual experience, but everyone’s attitudes toward the process are different. Family members may have to make complex and painful medical decisions, which can cause severe emotional turmoil. The end of life doesn’t have to be entirely negative, though.

 Remember that the ageing process is a natural part of life and that there are meaningful moments at every stage. By understanding the stages of ageing, you and your family can offer your senior loved ones the best possible care.

Understanding Old Age

Old age is the range of ages for people nearing and surpassing life expectancy. People of old age are also referred to as: old people, elderly, elders, senior citizens, seniors or older adults. Old age is not a definite biological stage: Some disciplines and domains focus on the aging and the aged, such as the organic processes of ageing (senescence), medical studies of the aging process (gerontology), diseases that afflict older adults (geriatrics), technology to support the aging society (geotechnology), and leisure and sport activities adapted to older people (such as senior sport).

Old age cannot be universally defined because it is context-sensitive. Sub-group definitions

Gerontologists have recognised that people experience very different conditions as they approach old age.  the young-old (60 to 69), the middle-old (70 to 79), and the very old (80+). Describe the fourth age as "an arena of inactive, unhealthy, unproductive, and ultimately unsuccessful ageing".

Chronological age may differ considerably from a person's functional age. People may be considered old when they become grandparents or when they begin to do less or different work in retirement.

Senior citizen

Senior citizen is a common euphemism for an old person. It implies that the person being referred to is retired. This, in turn, usually implies that the person is over the retirement age, which varies according to country.

Signs

A basic mark of old age that affects both body and mind is "slowness of behaviour". 

Physical

Physical marks of old age include the following:

·        Bone and joint problems:

·        Chronic diseases:

·        Chronic mucus hypersecretion (CMH), defined as "coughing and bringing up sputum",

·        Dental problems:

·        Digestive system issues:

·        Essential tremor (ET):

·        Eyesight deterioration: 

·        Falls: Old age increases the risk of injury from falls. 

·        Gait change:

·        Hair usually turns grey and may become thinner. 

·        Women enter menopause.

·        Hearing loss:

·        Hearts can become less efficient

·        Immune-function loss (immunosenescence).

·        Lungs may expand less efficiently.

·        Mobility impairment or loss:

·        Pain: 25% of seniors have chronic pain, - rheumatological, musculoskeletal-related, or malignant.

·        Decreases in sexual drive in both men and women. 

·        Skin loses elasticity and gets drier and more lined and wrinkled.

·        Trouble sleeping and daytime sleepiness affect more than half of seniors. 

·        Taste buds diminish by up to half by the age of 80.

·      Thirst perception decreases.

·        Urinary incontinence

·        Vocal cords weaken and vibrate more slowly. This results in a weakened, breathy voice, "old person's voice".

Mental

Mental marks of old age include the following:

·        Agreeability:

·        Antipathy toward "risk-taking"

·        Depressed mood. Old age depression results in the over-65 population having the highest suicide rate.

·        Increasing fear of health problems.

·        Mental disorders affect about 15% of people

·        Reduced mental and cognitive ability: Memory loss - more time to learn the same amount of new information. dementia increases - Alzheimer's disease 

·        Stubbornness:

Ageing

Early old age can be a pleasant time; children are grown, work is over, and there is time to pursue other interests.  

The eyes are weak, the ears are deaf, the strength is disappearing because of weariness of the heart, and the mouth is silent and cannot speak.
The heart is forgetful and cannot recall yesterday. The bone suffers from old age. one in four people over 60 and one in three over 75 feel lonely.

Attitudes toward old age well-being vary somewhat between cultures. For example, in the United States, being healthy, physically, and socially active is are sign of a good old age. On the other hand, Africans focus more on food and material security and a helpful family when describing old age well-being.  Additionally, Koreans are more anxious about ageing and more scared of old people than Americans are.

Negative attitudes exceed positive attitudes toward old people because of their looks and behaviour. Despite its prevalence, ageism is seldom the subject of public discourse.

Frailty has been depicted as a group of "complex issues", distinct but "causally interconnected", that often include "comorbid diseases", progressive weakness, stress, exhaustion, and depression.

Patients aged 65+ had the highest percentage of hospital stays for adults with multiple chronic conditions, but the second highest percentage of hospital costs in 2003–2014.

These final years are also costly in economic terms.  

Medical treatments in the final days are not only economically costly; they are often unnecessary or even harmful. 

Death

20% of the people wanted to use whatever treatment might postpone death. About the same number said that, given a terminal illness, they would choose assisted suicide. Roughly half chose doing nothing except live day by day until death comes naturally without medical or other intervention designed to prolong life. This choice was coupled with a desire to receive palliative care if needed.

Religiosity

Speaking, old people have always been more religious than young people. At the same time, wide cultural variations exist.

The "young old" are the healthy individuals who can function on their own without assistance and can complete their daily tasks independently, while the old are those who depend on specific services due to declining health or diseases.

Theories

Social theories, or concepts, propose explanations for the distinctive relationships between old people and their societies.

Life expectancy

Life expectancy by nation at birth in the year 2011 ranged from 48 years to 82 years. Low values generally indicate high death rates for infants and children.

In most parts of the world, women, on average, live longer than men; even so, the disparities vary between 12 years in Russia to no difference or higher life expectancy for men in countries such as Zimbabwe and Uganda.

The number of elderly people worldwide began to surge in the second half of the 20th century. In developed countries before then, five per cent or less of the population was over 65. Few lived longer than their 70s, and people who attained advanced age (i.e., their 80s) were rare enough to be a novelty and were revered as wise sages. The worldwide over-65 population in 1960 was one-third of the under-5 population. By 2013, the over-65 population had grown to equal the under-5 population and is projected to double the under-5 population by 2050.

However, the concept of a maximum lifespan of humans is still widely debated among the scientific community.

Most Common Chronic Conditions

In Older Adults

Nearly 95% of adults 60 and older have at least one chronic condition, while nearly 80% have two or more.

Learn more about the most common chronic medical conditions and how you can prevent or manage them.

 

Number 10: Alzheimer's disease and dementia

Number 9: Depression

Number 8: Heart failure

Number 7: Chronic kidney disease (CKD)

6: Diabetes

Number 5: Ischemic heart disease (or coronary heart disease)

Number 4: Arthritis

Number 2: High cholesterol

Number 1: Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Other common chronic conditions for older adults

Another common chronic condition for adults 65+ is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which includes two main conditions: emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Dealing with fatigue, pain, frustration, or isolation

·        Maintaining strength, flexibility, and endurance

·        Managing medications

·        Communicating with family, friends, and health professionals

·        Healthy eating