question

ageism:

answer

A prejudice whereby people are categorized and judged solely on the basis of their chronological age.

question

This author believes a major problem is that ageism is institutionalized in our culture, evident in television, employment, and retirement communities

answer

The resulting self-doubt fosters anxiety, morbidity, and even mortality.

question

ageist idea

answer

"extremely resistant to change," undercutting their own health and intellect

question

Those who were most ageist initially were twice as likely to have serious heart disease 30 years later, compared with those who were least ageist

answer

...

question

. Most people older than 70 think they are doing better than other people their age—who, they believe, have worse problems and are too self-absorbed

answer

...

question

Asked how old they feel, typical 80-year-olds lop a decade or more off their age

answer

This is illogical, but in an ageist culture, thinking you feel younger than your chronological age is self-protective.

question

Indeed "feeling youthful is more strongly predictive of health than any other factors including commonly noted ones like

answer

chronological age, gender, marital status and socioeconomic status

question

Elders in all three groups (Chinese, deaf Americans, and hearing Americans) scored lower than their younger counterparts. This was expected; age differences are common in laboratory tests of memory.

answer

The gap in scores between younger and older hearing North Americans (most exposed to ageism) was double that between younger and older deaf North Americans and five times wider than the age gap in the Chinese

question

When older people believe that they are independent and in control of their own life, despite the ageist assumptions of others, they are likely to be healthier

answer

mentally, as well as physically—than other people their age.

question

For instance, at a restaurant, older people should feel no shame in asking a younger dinner companion to read the fine print of a menu, but that younger person should not spontaneously offer to cut the elder's steak

answer

...

question

elderly European American men have the highest suicide rate of any age, gender, or ethnic group

answer

ealth professionals are less aggressive in treating disease in older patients, researchers testing new prescription drugs enroll few older adults (who are most likely to use those drugs), and caregivers diminish independence by helping the elderly too much

question

The day-night circadian rhythm diminishes with age:

answer

...

question

Older adults spend more time in bed, take longer to fall asleep, wake frequently (about 10 times per night) (Ayalon & Ancoli-Israel, 2009). They also are more likely to nap.

answer

: If they choose their own sleep schedules, elders are less likely to feel tired than are young adults.

question

In the United States, only 30 percent of those over age 64 meet recommended guidelines for exercise

answer

(2½ hours a week of moderate activity),

question

, compared with 55 percent for adults aged 18 to 44 (CDC, 2011).

answer

...

question

self-imposed ageism leads the elderly to exercise less

answer

which increases stiffness and reduces range of motion while impairing circulation, digestion, and thinking

question

ageism is evident in many caregivers: Efforts to reduce that prejudice are not always successful, perhaps because they attempt to counteract a common stereotype

answer

...

question

elderspeak

answer

A condescending way of speaking to older adults that resembles baby talk, with simple and short sentences, exaggerated emphasis, repetition, and a slower rate and a higher pitch than used in normal speech.

question

The homicide rate

answer

of those over age 65 is only one-tenth the rate for those aged 20 to 24.

question

15 percent of Europeans older than 75 ride their bicycles every day

answer

...

question

demographic shift:

answer

A shift in the proportions of the populations of various ages.

question

In an earlier era, there were 20 times more children than older people, and only 50 years ago,

answer

the world had 7 times more people under age 15 than over age 64. No longer.

question

The United Nations estimates that nearly 8 percent of the world's population in 2010 was 65 or older, compared with only 2 percent a century earlier.

answer

This number is expected to double by the year 2050.

question

Already 13 percent in the United States are that old, as are 14 percent in Canada and Australia, 20 percent in Italy, and 23 percent in Japan

answer

...

question

demographic pyramid- it was widest at the base, and each higher level was narrower than the one beneath it, for three reasons

answer

More children were born than the replacement rate of one per adult, so each new generation had more people than the previous one. Many babies died, which made the bottom bar much wider than later ones. Serious illness was usually fatal, reducing the size of each older group.

question

Early death is uncommon; demographic stacks have become rectangles, not pyramids.

answer

Worldwide, children outnumber elders more than 3 to 1, but not 20 to 1

question

United Nations predictions for 2015 are for 1,877,551,000 people younger than 15 and 602,332,000 older than 64. Not until 2065 is the ratio projected to be 1 to 1 (United Nations, 2012)

answer

...

question

In 2010 in the United States, there were more than 4 times as many people 80 and older than there were 50 years earlier (11.8 million compared with 2.7 million

answer

The percent of residents 80 and older has more than doubled, but not quadrupled (increasing between 1960 and 2010 from 1.6 percent to 3.8 percent).

question

What percent of the population 80 years and older are in nursing homes or hospitals?

answer

only 10 percent of U.S. residents are in such facilities. The average person 80 years or older spends two weeks per year in a hospital (CDC, 2011, 2009). These rates are actually lower than 20 years ago; now more people stay in their homes, with visiting nurses, home health aides, and so on, if needed.

question

dependency ratio

answer

A calculation of the number of self-sufficient, productive adults compared with the number of dependents (children and the elderly) in a given population. This ratio is calculated by dividing the number of dependents (defined as those under age 15 or over 64) by the number of people in the middle, aged 15 to 64

question

The highest dependency ratio is in Uganda, with more than one dependent per adult (1:1)

answer

the lowest in Bahrain, with one dependent per three adults (1:3).

question

Most nations, including the United States, are about 1:2, that is, one child or elder for every two adults

answer

...

question

Only 10 percent of those over age 64 are dependent on others for basic care, and those "others" are usually relatives, not taxpaying strangers.

answer

In the United States, only 4 percent of people over 64 (less than one-half of 1 percent of the total population) are in nursing homes or hospitals.

question

Most are living completely independently, alone or with an aging spouse; only a minority are living with adult children.

answer

The United States has a higher rate than most nations of people in hospitals and nursing homes, yet even after age 80, only 10 percent of U.S. residents are in such facilities.

question

Gerontologists distinguish among the young-old, the old-old, and the oldest-old.

answer

...

question

young-old

answer

are the largest group of older adults. Healthy, vigorous, financially secure older adults (generally, those aged 60 to 75) who are well integrated into the lives of their families and communities.

question

old-old

answer

suffer some losses in body, mind, or social support, but they proudly care for themselves. Older adults (generally, those older than 75) who suffer from physical, mental, or social deficits.

question

oldest-old

answer

are dependent, and they are the most noticeable. Elderly adults (generally, those older than 85) who are dependent on others for almost everything, requiring supportive services such as nursing homes and hospital stays.

question

Many of the young-old are aged 65 to 75, old-old 75 to 85, and oldest-old over 85, but age itself does not indicate dependency.

answer

For well-being and independence, attitude is more important than age

question

THEORIES OF AGING:three clusters.

answer

: wear and tear, genetic adaptation, and cellular aging

question

The oldest, most general theory of aging is known as

answer

wear and tear

question

wear and tear

answer

A view of aging as a process by which the human body wears out because of the passage of time and exposure to environmental stressors.

question

Exercise improves heart and lung functioning; tai chi improves balance; weight training increases muscles; sexual activity stimulates the sexual-reproductive system; foods that require intestinal activity benefit the digestive system.

answer

...

question

A second cluster of theories focuses on genes

answer

genetic clock

question

genetic clock:

answer

A purported mechanism in the DNA of cells that regulates the aging process by triggering hormonal changes and controlling cellular reproduction and repair.

question

Evidence for genetic aging comes from premature aging.

answer

...

question

Hutchinson-Gilford syndrome (a genetic disease also called progeria)

answer

stop growing at about age 5 and begin to look old, with wrinkled skin and balding heads. These children die in their teens of heart diseases typically found in people five times their age.

question

Certain alleles—SIR2, def-2, among them—directly accelerate aging and death

answer

, allele 2 of ApoE is protective, aiding survival

question

Of men in their 70s, 12 percent have ApoE2, but of men older than 85, 17 percent have it.

answer

Another common allele of the same gene, ApoE4, increases the risk of death by heart disease, stroke, dementia, and—if a person is HIV-positive—by AIDS

question

The third cluster of theories examines

answer

cellular aging

question

cellular aging:

answer

The ways in which molecules and cells are affected by age. Many theories aim to explain how and why aging causes cells to deteriorate.. Toxins damage cells over time, so minor errors in copying accumulate

question

This process is first apparent in the skin, an organ that replaces itself often. The skin becomes wrinkled and rough, eventually developing "age spots" as cell rejuvenation slows down.

answer

ellular aging also occurs inside the body, notably in cancer, which involves duplication of rogue cells. Every type of cancer becomes more common with age because the body is increasingly less able to control the cells.

question

Hayflick limit:

answer

The number of times a human cell is capable of dividing into two new cells. The limit for most human cells is approximately 50 divisions, an indication that the life span is limited by our genetic program.

question

the telomere is gone, duplication stops, and the creature dies

answer

Hayflick himself believes that the Hayflick limit, and therefore aging, is caused by a natural loss of molecular fidelity—that is, by inevitable errors in transcription as each cell reproduces itself. He believes that aging is a natural process built into the very cells of our species, affected by stress, drugs, and so on (Hayflick, 2004).

question

by late adulthood, telomeres are longer in women than in men, and longer in European Americans than in African Americans (Aviv, 2011)

answer

...

question

calorie restriction

answer

The practice of limiting dietary energy intake (while consuming sufficient quantities of vitamins, minerals, and other important nutrients) for the purpose of improving health and slowing down the aging process.

question

Aging slows down in most living organisms with calorie restriction

answer

However, specifics of diet and timing may be crucial. Some research on monkeys finds that calorie restriction extends life, but other studies do not (Mattison et al., 2012). Much remains to be understood; application to humans is controversial.

question

Less aging and longer life (sometimes twice as long), as well as stronger hearts, less disease, and better cognition, result from keeping nonhuman animals on a restricted diet

answer

after puberty

question

Given all that, it would be difficult to recruit even a dozen people from the general population. However, in several places (e.g., Okinawa, Denmark, Norway), wartime brought severe calorie reduction plus healthy diets (mostly fresh vegetables) to entire populations. The result was a markedly lower death rate (Fontana et al., 2011).

answer

Currently, more than 1,000 North Americans belong to the Calorie Restriction Society, voluntarily eating only 1,000 nutritious calories a day, none of them buttered or fried.

question

More than ever, scientists recommend exercise, a moderate diet, and staying away from harmful drugs (especially cigarettes). Many people seem unready to follow that advice.

answer

...

question

selective optimization with compensation

answer

The hope is that the elderly will compensate for any impairments of senescence and will excel (optimize) at whatever specific tasks they select.

question

INDIVIDUAL COMPENSATION: SEX

answer

Desire correlates with sexual satisfaction and quality of life in late adulthood more than frequency of intercourse does

question

study found that kissing and hugging, not intercourse, predicted happiness in long-lasting romances

answer

The research finds that older women, more often than older men, say they have no sexual desire

question

However, elders who feel sexual desire tend to be happier and healthier than those who do not

answer

so the women with diminished sexual desire may be impaired by ageism and sexism.

question

There is no disagreement that women, on average, stop intercourse earlier than men, primarily because of partner availability, not biology.

answer

...

question

With age, sign reading takes longer, head turning is reduced, reaction time slows, and night vision worsens. The elderly compensate

answer

Many drive slowly and avoid night driving. As a result, elderly drivers have fewer accidents than do younger adults

question

. If an older adult causes a crash, age is blamed but not the family or the law (

answer

Laws are often lax; many jurisdictions renew licenses without testing, even at age 80. If testing is required, it often focuses on knowing the rules of the road or being able to read with glasses, not on the characteristics that correlate with accidents.

question

TECHNOLOGICAL COMPENSATION: THE SENSES

answer

Only 10 percent of people of either sex over age 65 see well without glasses

question

cataracts

answer

As early as age 5o, about 10 percent of adults have cataracts by age 70, 30 percent do

question

Glaucoma

answer

About 1 percent of those in their 70s and 10 percent in their 90s have glaucoma

question

macular degeneration

answer

About 4 percent of those in their 60s and about 12 percent over the age of 80 have deterioration of the retina.

question

Sensory loss need not lead to morbidity or senility, but without compensation, isolation and depression result in less movement and reduced intellectual stimulation.

answer

Consequently, illness increases and cognition declines as the senses become less acute

question

New neurons form and dendrites grow in adulthood

answer

growth is slow

question

Senescence reduces production of neurotransmitters

answer

glutamate, acetylcholine, serotonin, and especially dopamine—that allow a nerve impulse to jump quickly across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another

question

Neural fluid decreases, myelination thins, cerebral blood circulates more slowly.

answer

The result is an overall brain slowdown, evident in reaction time, moving, talking, and thinking.

question

Deterioration of cognition correlates with slower walking as well as with almost every kind of physical disability

answer

...

question

Some areas shrink more than others, among them the

answer

hippocampus (crucial for memory) and the prefrontal cortex (necessary for planning, inhibiting unwanted responses, and coordinating thoughts)

question

n every part of the brain, the volume of gray matter (crucial for processing new experiences) is reduced;

answer

as a consequence, many people must use their cognitive reserve to understand events

question

White matter typically is reduced overall as well,

answer

but white matter increases in an odd way: Bright white spots appear on MRIs after age 50 or so

question

Higher education and vocational challenge correlate with less decline, either because keeping the mind active is protective or because such people began late adulthood with more robust and flexible minds

answer

Exercise, nutrition, and normal blood pressure are powerful influences on brain health, and all predict intelligence in old age.

question

In fact, some experts contend that with good health habits and favorable genes, no intellectual decrement will occur (Greenwood & Parasuraman, 2012).

answer

...

question

A curious finding from PET and fMRI scans is that, compared with younger adults, older adults use more parts of their brains, including both hemispheres, to solve problems.

answer

This may be selective compensation: Using only one brain region may be inadequate, so the older brain automatically activates more parts.

question

on many tasks, older adults are as intellectually sharp as they always were.

answer

However, in performing difficult tasks that require younger adults to use all their cognitive resources, older adults are less proficient, perhaps because they already are using their brains to the max

question

Brain shrinkage interferes with multitasking.

answer

young children and older adults are particularly affected when they are given several tasks at once

question

. Recognizing this, many elders are selective.

answer

...

question

INPUT

answer

sensations precede perception,

question

sensory threshold,

answer

the divide between what is sensed and what is not, in order to be perceived.

question

People of all ages believe they look at the eyes of their conversation partner, yet a study that examined gaze following found that older adults were less adept at knowing where someone was looking

answer

Another study found that already by age 50, adults were less adept at reading emotions by looking at the eyes

question

Older adults are less able to decipher the emotional content in speech, even when they hear the words correctly

answer

Similarly, for older adults, understanding speech is impaired when vision is impaire

question

hus, small sensory losses—not noticed by the person or family but inevitable with age—impair cognition

answer

...

question

MEMORY

answer

The second step of information processing is memory.

question

If older people suspect their memory is fading, anxiety itself impairs memory, a phenomenon more apparent among those with more education

answer

...

question

Some aspects of memory remain strong throughout late adulthood, including vocabulary, while others do not, such as memory for names

answer

forgetting the origin of a fact, idea, or snippet of conversation.

question

One memory deficit is source amnesia

answer

...

question

Source amnesia is particularly problematic with the

answer

information bombardment of television, radio, and print.

question

Working memory,

answer

the memory of information held in the brain for a moment before processing. shrinks with age.

question

Older individuals take longer to perceive and process sensations, and this reduces working memory because some items fade before they can be evaluated.

answer

...

question

Speed of processing would explain why memory for vocabulary (especially recognition memory, not recall) is often unaffected by age

answer

...

question

Some research finds that when older people take their time and concentrate, their working memory may be as good as ever.

answer

older people reread phrases more than younger people did, when allowed ample time the old and young were equally accurate in reading comprehension

question

For testing memory, not only time but also motivation and context are crucial

answer

...

question

ecological validity

answer

: The idea that cognition should be measured in settings that are as realistic as possible and that the abilities measured should be those needed in real life.

question

Ecological validity is particularly significant for the elderly, who are handicapped by traditional testing

answer

older adults are at their best in the early morning, when adolescents are half asleep.

question

Traditional tests measure fluid cognitive abilities that are valued by the young, but the elderly are more adept at problem solving and emotional regulation

answer

Those practical abilities may improve with age but are not traditionally measured.

question

there is no objective way to evaluate the degree of ecological validity...because ecological validity is a subjective concept"

answer

...

question

The final ecological question is, "What is memory for?" Older adults usually think they remember well enough. Fear of memory loss is more typical at age 60 than at age 80

answer

...

question

CONTROL PROCESSES

answer

the elderly tend to rely on prior knowledge, general principles, familiarity, and rules of thumb in their decision making

question

They are less likely to use analytic reasoning and more likely to base conclusions on personal and emotional experience

answer

analytical thinking is needed to control the impulses that arise from past experience.

question

the underlying impairment of cognition in late adulthood may be in

answer

control processes,

question

control processes

answer

The part of the information-processing system that regulates the analysis and flow of information. Memory and retrieval strategies, selective attention, and rules or strategies for problem solving are all useful control processes.

question

These include memory and retrieval strategies, selective attention, and rules or strategies for problem solving, all part of what is called

answer

executive function

question

Control processes depend on the

answer

prefrontal cortex, which shrinks with age.

question

One control process is retrieval.

answer

Some developmentalists believe retrieval is crucial because elders may have many thoughts and memories that they cannot access.

question

Without retrieval of past instances, the benefits of past experiences fade.

answer

Inadequate control processes may explain why many older adults have extensive vocabularies but limited fluency

question

why they are much better at recognition than recall, why tip-of-the-tongue forgetfulness is common, and why spelling is poorer than pronunciation.

answer

...

question

Among the half who merely read the list, the younger adults assigned 78 percent of the items to the correct categories, whereas the older adults got only 52 percent correct. As for the half who were taught memory strategies, the younger adults still got 78 percent correct, but the older ones got 66 percent right (Thomas & Bulevich, 2006). Thus, guidance in retrieval strategies was more helpful to the old than to the young.

answer

...

question

Many gerontologists think elders would benefit from using control strategies,

answer

Unfortunately, even though "a high sense of control is associated with being happy, healthy, and wise," many older adults resist suggested strategies because they believe that declines are "inevitable or irreversible" and that no strategy could help. Efforts to improve their use of control strategies are often discouraging

question

OUTPUT

answer

he final step in information processing is output

question

In the Seattle Longitudinal Study

answer

verbal meaning, spatial orientation, inductive reasoning, number ability, and word fluency—declined, beginning at about age 60.

question

Thus, the usual path of cognition in late adulthood is gradual decline, at least in output

answer

Impairment in control processes—especially retrieval strategies—may underlie the cognitive deficits of old age.

question

primary aging:

answer

The universal and irreversible physical changes that occur in all living creatures as they grow older.

question

secondary aging:

answer

The specific physical illnesses or conditions that become more common with aging but are caused by health habits, genes, and other influences that vary from person to perso

question

Primary aging does not directly cause illness, but it makes almost every disease more likely.

answer

For example, with age the heart pumps more slowly and the vascular network is less flexible, increasing the risk of stroke and heart attack.

question

The lungs take in and expel less air with each breath so that blood oxygen is reduced and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is more common.

answer

Digestion slows and the kidneys are less efficient, risking problems if people become dehydrated because they drink less to reduce incontinence, which itself is caused by an aging renal/urinary system

question

Indeed, pneumonia is a leading cause of death for the oldest-old.

answer

Primary aging increases the impact of every secondary factor—cigarette smoking, viruses, obesity, stress.

question

anesthesia may damage an older person's brain or may cause the heart to stop.

answer

Temporary hallucinations and delirium after surgery are far more common for the old than for the young (Strauss, 2013).

question

If systolic blood pressure is above 140, and diet and exercise do not lower it, drugs not only reduce it but also make strokes and heart attacks less likely for middle-aged adults.

answer

the same drugs for the same blood pressure are counterproductive for the oldest-old. For them, mild hypertension (140-160) may be protective because their slower homeostasis does not quickly respond to a sudden dip in blood pressure. That can be fatal

question

Allostatic load

answer

is measured by 10, or even 16, biomarkers—including cortisol, C-reactive protein, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, waste-hip ratio, and insulin resistance

question

Thus, measurement of allostatic load assesses the combined, long-term effect of many indicators, none necessarily dangerous alone.

answer

If many of these biomarkers are outside the normal range, people become sick and die, especially when aging already has reduced organ reserve

question

Thus, lifelong responses to stress create a biological burden, a load that becomes lethal.

answer

...

question

Cerebrovascular disease ( stroke)

answer

20 times more likely in adults over 65

question

Illness can be delayed, and its severity can be limited by having established good childhood habits

answer

...

question

compression of morbidity:

answer

A shortening of the time a person spends ill or infirm, accomplished by postponing illness.

question

For instance, unlike 30 years ago, most people diagnosed with cancer, diabetes, or a heart condition continue to be independent for decades

answer

...

question

the percentage of U.S. residents over age 65 with a limitation in activity—something that interferes with self-care, work, or socialization—decreased from 35 percent to 31 percent between 1997 and 2009 (

answer

...

question

The importance of compression of morbidity is apparent with

answer

osteoporosis

question

osteoporosis

answer

(fragile bones), which occurs because primary aging makes bones more porous, especially if a person is at genetic risk (

question

(European American women are more vulnerable, genetically, than women of other ethnic groups).

answer

...

question

How can morbidity from osteoporosis be compressed?

answer

Tobacco and alcohol weaken bones, as does low calcium and insufficient weight-bearing exercise.

question

By old age, the most common liability from a fall is fear.

answer

Second, through faster recuperation if a fracture occurs

question

one-third of those who fell became overcautious, reducing their activity.

answer

...

question

Ironically, only 6 percent of the falls for these elders resulted in serious injury, but the 94 percent with less serious injuries often moved less.

answer

...

question

Cognitive impairment increases falling more than physical weakness

answer

This provides a clue for compression of morbidity. If falling can be reduced with special equipment, such as shoes, canes, and so on—and if the elderly and their caregivers become less fearful and fatalistic—then morbidity will decrease. Ideally, elders strengthen their muscles and improve their balance, so morbidity does not even begin.

question

If the elderly selectively remedy whatever challenges their primary aging presents,

answer

morbidity will be compressed.

question

senile

answer

simply means "old," but senility is used to mean severe mental impairment, implying that old age brings intellectual failure

question

dementia:

answer

Irreversible loss of intellectual functioning caused by organic brain damage or disease. Dementia becomes more common with age, but it is abnormal and pathological even in the very old.

question

when dementia occurred before age 60, it was called

answer

presenile dementia

question

when it occurred after age 60, it was called

answer

senile dementia or senile psychosis

question

A person may develop dementia at age 40 or age 90; the symptoms are the same at every age.

answer

More than 70 diseases can cause dementia, each different in sequence, severity, and particulars, although all are characterized by mental confusion and forgetfulness.

question

delirium:

answer

A temporary loss of memory, often accompanied by hallucinations, terror, grandiosity, and irrational behavior.

question

Older adults who cannot remember names or places as well as they did might have

answer

mild cognitive impairment

question

About half of them will be mildly impaired for decades or will regain cognitive abilities

answer

...

question

researchers selected a representative sample of people 70 years and older from every part of the United States,

answer

14 percent had some form of dementia

question

indicates that probably about 4 million U.S

answer

only about 1 percent of people in their 60s have dementia, as do even fewer people younger than 60.

question

2 to 25 percent, with an estimated 35 million people affected worldwide

answer

Developing nations have lower rates, but that may be because millions of people in the early stages are not counted or because health care overall is poor.

question

Diabetes, for example, increases the rate of dementia, but in some nations most people with diabetes die in middle age.

answer

If good health habits reduce the underlying factors that increase dementia, then rates will fall

question

if exercise increased and obesity decreased overall, then dementia would be less common as well. That is the public health goal: less illness, less dementia, as well as longer lives.

answer

Genetics and social context always affect rates, but it is not known by how much

question

more women than men have dementia, which may be genetic, educational, or stress-related.

answer

However, it may be simply that women live longer than men

question

Plaques are clumps of a protein called

answer

beta-amyloid found in tissues surrounding the neurons;

question

tangles are twisted masses of threads made of a protein called

answer

tau

question

Alzheimer disease these plaques and tangles proliferate, especially in the hippocampus

answer

Forgetfulness is the dominant symptom; working memory disappears first.

question

between 20 and 30 percent of cognitively normal elders have, at autopsy, the same level of plaques in their brains as people who had been diagnosed with probable AD

answer

possibly plaques are a symptom, not a cause.

question

Most cases of AD begin much later, at age 75 or so

answer

Then many genes have some impact, including SORL1 and ApoE4 (i.e., allele 4 of the ApoE gene).

question

. People who inherit one copy of ApoE4 (as about one-fifth of all U.S. residents do) have about a

answer

50/50 chance of developing AD.

question

Those who inherit two copies almost always develop the disease if they live long enough,

answer

although many die before diagnosis because ApoE4 increases the risk of many other serious ailments

question

The second most common cause of dementia is a stroke or a series of strokes, called transient ischemic attacks

answer

...

question

vascular dementia (VaD) also called multi-infarct dementia.

answer

A form of dementia characterized by sporadic, and progressive, loss of intellectual functioning caused by repeated infarcts, or temporary obstructions of blood vessels, which prevent sufficient blood from reaching the brain. (Also called multi-infarct dementia.)

question

The progression of VaD is different from the progression of Alzheimer disease, but the result is similar (

answer

...

question

In North America and Europe, VaD is not the primary diagnosis for most people with dementia,

answer

but in Japan and China, as well as in the oldest-old everywhere, VaD is more common than Alzheimer disease.It correlates with stroke risk, stroke recovery, and with the ApoE4 allele

question

Vascular dementia is also a risk if an older person undergoes surgery that requires general anesthesia,

answer

probably because it can cause a ministroke, which, added to reduced cognitive reserve, damages the brain

question

frontal lobe dementia:or frontotemporal lobar degeneration

answer

Deterioration of the amygdala and frontal lobes that may be the cause of 15 percent of all dementias. (Also called frontotemporal lobar degeneration.)

question

frontal lobe dementias,

answer

which causes perhaps 15 percent of all cases of dementia in the United States.

question

...

answer

Parts of the brain that regulate emotions and social behavior (the amygdala and the frontal lobes) deteriorate, with emotional and personality changes being the main symptoms

question

Frontal lobe dementia may be worse than Alzheimer disease or vascular dementia

answer

in that compassion, self-awareness, and judgment fade in a person who otherwise seems normal.

question

...

answer

usually begins before age 70 and progresses rapidly, leading to death in about five years.

question

Many other dementias begin with impaired motor control (shaking when picking up a coffee cup, falling when trying to walk), not with impaired thinking.

answer

The most common of these is Parkinson disease,

question

Parkinson disease:

answer

A chronic, progressive disease that is characterized by muscle tremor and rigidity and sometimes dementia; caused by reduced dopamine production in the brain.

question

Parkinson disease

answer

he cause of about 3 percent of all cases of dementia

question

Parkinson disease starts with rigidity or tremor of the muscles as dopamine-producing neurons degenerate,

answer

affecting movement long before cognition.

question

...

answer

older people with Parkinson disease develop dementia sooner

question

Another 3 percent of all dementias in the United States are

answer

Lewy body dementia,

question

Lewy body dementia:

answer

A form of dementia characterized by an increase in Lewy body cells in the brain. Symptoms include visual hallucinations, momentary loss of attention, falling, and fainting.

question

Lewy bodies are also present in Parkinson disease,

answer

but in Lewy body dementia they are more numerous and dispersed throughout the brain

question

Motor movements and cognition are both impacted, although the motor effects are less severe than in Parkinson disease and the memory loss is not as dramatic as it is in Alzheimer disease

answer

The main symptom is loss of inhibition: A person might gamble, or become hypersexual.

question

Comorbidity is common with dementia.

answer

For instance, most people with Alzheimer disease also show signs of multi-infarct dementia

question

. Parkinson, Alzheimer, and Lewy body dementias can occur together

answer

People who have all three experience more rapid and severe cognitive loss

question

Huntington disease, multiple sclerosis, a severe head injury, repeated concussions as experienced by athletes or soldiers, or the last stages of syphilis, AIDS, or bovine spongiform encephalitis

answer

Some other types of dementia begin in middle age or even earlier

question

Although the rate of systemic brain disease increases dramatically with every decade after age 60, Boogaard and many dead professional boxers and football stars reveal that brain disease can occur at any age

answer

Obviously, senility and senescence are not synonyms for dementia.

question

PREVENTING IMPAIRMENT

answer

exercise that improves blood circulation also may build brain capacity and repair damage, not merely prevent loss

question

Medication to prevent stroke also protects against dementia

answer

...

question

half of a large group of older Finns were given drugs to reduce lipids (primarily cholesterol)

answer

Years later, fewer of them had developed dementia than did a comparable group who were not given the drug (Solomon et al., 2010).

question

Avoiding toxins (lead, aluminum, copper, and pesticides) or adding supplements (hormones, aspirin, coffee, insulin, antioxidants, red wine, blueberries, and statins)

answer

have been tried but not proven effective in controlled, scientific research.

question

Thousands of scientists seek to halt the production of beta-amyloid, with some success in mice but not yet in humans.

answer

One goal is to diagnose Alzheimer disease 10 or 15 years before the first outward signs, to prevent brain damage

question

the first step in treating dementia is to improve overall health

answer

High blood pressure, diabetes, arteriosclerosis, and emphysema all impair cognition.

question

TREATMENT OF DEMENTIA

answer

Early, accurate diagnosis, years before obvious symptoms appear, leads to more effective treatment

question

Drugs do not cure dementia, but many slow the progression

answer

...

question

The U.S. Pentagon estimates that more than 200,000 U.S. soldiers who were in Iraq or Afghanistan suffered traumatic brain injury,

answer

which predisposes them to early-onset dementia (Miller, 2012).

question

Measures to remedy their brain damage may, ironically, help the aged as well.

answer

...

question

Two decades ago, many people thought senility, dementia, and Alzheimer disease were synonyms.

answer

Yet even today, diagnosis is often missed or delayed (Bradford et al., 2009), partly because symptoms are ignored or accepted as mere aging.

question

Tests of behavior, cognition, blood, spinal fluid, and brain can help in specific diagnosis, but they also are expensive, time-consuming, and stressful.

answer

...

question

the major types of dementia, including Alzheimer disease, have several distinct subtypes

answer

ach may have particular symptoms, and varied drug responses, so treatment must be tailored to each person.

question

Few physicians are trained care providers for people with dementia; many avoid telling caregivers when dementia seems likely. That hesitancy is understandable, but wrong in two ways: (

answer

(1) early treatment might slow the progression, and (2) caregivers are often relieved to know why someone they love is confused, distant, and forgetful (

question

REVERSIBLE DEMENTIA?

answer

care improves when everyone knows that dementia is occurring and what form it's taking.

question

Accurate diagnosis is even more crucial when memory problems are not dementia.

answer

...

question

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE):

answer

A test that is used to measure cognitive ability, especially in late adulthood.

question

...

answer

which reveals whether a person's cognition is worsening because of dementia or whether some nondementia problem is the likely cause.

question

The most common reversible condition that is mistaken for dementia is

answer

depression.

question

Normally, older people tend to be quite happy; frequent sadness or anxiety is not normal

answer

Ongoing depression, untreated, increases the risk of dementia

question

people with untreated anxiety or depression may exaggerate minor memory losses or refuse to talk

answer

Quite the opposite reaction occurs with early Alzheimer disease, when victims are often surprised when they cannot answer questions, or with Lewy body or frontal lobe dementia, when people talk without thinking.

question

Specifics provide other clues. People with dementia might forget what they just said, heard, or did because current brain activity is impaired, but they might repeatedly describe details of something that happened long ago.

answer

The opposite may be true for emotional disorders, when memory of the past is impaired but short-term memory is not.

question

Five other conditions—malnutrition, dehydration, brain tumors, physical illness, and overmedication—

answer

can also cause symptoms that can mimic dementia

question

The aging digestive system needs better nutrition but fewer calories. That requires new habits, less fast food, and more money (which many do not have).

answer

Since homeostasis slows with age, malnutrition and dehydration are harder to recognize and remedy (e.g., thirst signals from body to brain are reduced)

question

Symptoms of brain tumors (headaches, blurred vision) or other serious diseases may not get medical attention if getting to a physician requires considerable effort.

answer

In this regard, living alone is a liability: Partners make each other go to the doctor.

question

The fifth item listed above, overmedication, is a risk for almost every older person and is least likely to be recognized by

answer

a partner, friend, or caregiver.

question

polypharmacy

answer

Refers to a situation in which elderly people are prescribed several medications. The various side effects and interactions of those medications can result in dementia symptoms

question

In addition, anesthesia often triggers hallucinations, and pain medication can produce delirium.

answer

Risks of polypharmacy increase with transitions: When someone is transferred from a hospital to a nursing home, overmedication and confusion are common

question

The average elderly person in the United States sees a doctor

answer

eight times a year

question

A "prescribing cascade"

answer

when a drug is prescribed to treat an adverse effect of another drug)

question

Both Erik Erikson and Abraham Maslow were particularly interested in the elderly,

answer

Erikson found that many older people gained interest in the arts, in children, and in human experience as a whole.

question

His eighth stage, integrity versus despair,

answer

is the time when life comes together in a "re-synthesis of all the resilience and strengths already developed" (

question

Maslow maintained that older adults are more likely than younger people to reach the highest stage of development

answer

self-actualization.

question

Maslow rejected an age-based sequence of life

answer

efusing to confine self-actualization to the old.

question

self-actualization

answer

The stage of self-actualization is characterized by aesthetic, creative, philosophical, and spiritual understanding

question

...

answer

Studies of centenarians find that they often have a deep spiritual grounding and a surprising sense of humor—surprising, that is, if one assumes that people with limited sight, poor hearing, and frequent pain have nothing to laugh about.

question

For many, "old age can be a time of emotional sensory awareness and enjoyment"

answer

For that reason, some of the elderly take up gardening, bird watching, sculpting, painting, or making music, even if they have never done so before.

question

In a study of extraordinarily creative people, almost none felt that their ability, their goals, or the quality of their work had been much impaired by age.

answer

In their seventies, eighties, and nineties, they may lack the fiery ambition of earlier years, but they are just as focused, efficient, and committed as before

question

Expressing one's creativity and aesthetic sense is said to aid in social skills, resilience, and even brain health

answer

...

question

life review:

answer

An examination of one's own role in the history of human life, engaged in by many elderly people.

question

A massive international survey of 26 nations, at least one on each inhabited continent,

answer

found that most people everywhere agree that wisdom is a characteristic of the elderly

question

most objective research finds that wisdom does not necessarily increase with age.

answer

An underlying research quandary is that a universal definition of wisdom is elusive:

question

One summary describes wisdom as an "

answer

expert knowledge system dealing with the conduct and understanding of life"

question

Several factors just mentioned,

answer

ncluding the ability to put aside one's personal needs (as in self-actualization), self-reflective honesty (as in integrity), and perspective on past living (the life review), are considered part of wisdom.

question

These researchers posed life dilemmas to adults of various ages and asked others (who had no clue as to how old the participants were) to judge whether the responses were wise

answer

They found that wisdom is rare at any age, but, unlike physical strength and cognitive quickness, wisdom does not fade with maturity. Thus, some people of every age were judged as wise.

question

longitudinal study of 814 people concludes that wisdom is not reserved for the old,

answer

perspective, and altruism increase over the decades, gradually making people wiser. He then wrote:

question

A more comprehensive study (Pitskhelauri, 1982) found that the lifestyles in all three of these regions were similar in four ways:

answer

Diet. People ate mostly fresh vegetables and herbs, with little meat or fat. They thought it better to be a little bit hungry than too full. Work. Even the very old did farm work, household tasks, and childcare. Family and community. The elderly were well integrated into families of several generations and interacted frequently with friends and neighbors. Exercise and relaxation. Most took a walk every morning and evening (often up and down mountains), napped midday, and socialized in the evening.

question

THE TRUTH ABOUT LIFE AFTER 100

answer

Everyone who claimed to be a centenarian was probably exaggerating, and every researcher who believed them was too eager to accept the idea that life would be long and wonderful if only the ills of modern civilization could be avoided

question

It is important to distinguish the average life span from the maximum.

answer

...

question

maximum life span:

answer

The oldest possible age that members of a species can live under ideal circumstances. For humans, that age is approximately 122 years

question

humans, 122

answer

Maximum life

question

average life expectancy:

answer

The number of years the average newborn in a particular population group is likely to live.

question

average life expectancy

answer

In human groups, average life expectancy varies a great deal, depending on historical, cultural, and socioeconomic factors as well as on genes

question

Recent increases in life expectancy are attributed to the reduction in deaths from adult diseases

answer

...

question

In the United States in 2012, average life expectancy at birth was about 76 years for men and 81 years for women.

answer

That is four years longer than it was 30 years ago, and it is projected to be another five years longer in 2050

question

hose who study centenarians find many quite happy (

answer

...

question

Some studies find a higher rate of physical and mental health problems before age 100 than after

answer

For example, in Sweden, where medical care is free, researchers found that centenarians were less likely to take antidepressants, but more likely to use pain medication, than those who were aged 80 or so

question

Social relationships in particular correlate with robust mental health

answer

Centenarians tend to be upbeat about life.

question

The presence of _______ increases the risk of Alzheimer disease.

answer

ApoE4

question

The fact that older adults have difficulty gathering and considering all relevant information with which to make a decision can be explained by:

answer

a shrinking prefrontal cortex.

question

Most late adults who maintain sufficient intellectual powers:

answer

gain a greater appreciation of aesthetics and become creative.

question

Researchers need to consider _________ when measuring memory.

answer

ecological validity

question

Which of the following comments about the life review is false?

answer

Nostalgia represents a preoccupation with self that is meaningless.

Developmental Psychology: Chapter 14 – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Haven't found what you were looking for?

Search for samples, answers to your questions and flashcards