Week 9: Health in Normal Ageing

Question 1

Explain our ageing population?

Answer 1

250 years ago, on average, a person could expect to live between 30-40 years - it was rare to live over 70.
Life expectancy has increased steadily
1 in 7 people are over 65 years old - this proportion is expected to grow

Question 2

Are there any gender differences in life expectancy?

Answer 2

Women still tend to live for longer than men do. However, this gap is closing.

Question 3

What is a potential reason for why this gender-based life expectancy gap is closing?

Answer 3

Could be because men now have better workplace conditions

Question 4

Which older Australians are disadvantaged?

Answer 4

Indigenous
Those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (barrier to seeking medical help)
Veterans
People from rural or remote areas
People who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless
Those who are part of LGBTQIA(??) community

Question 5

How do we combat agesim?

Answer 5

Requires a shift away from age based stereotypes

Question 6

What are some age-based stereotypes?

Answer 6

Wrinkles, disease, weakness, grey hair, aches and pains, death, cognitive decline, isolation and depression

Question 7

What are the components of healthy ageing?

Answer 7

Financial security
Meaning and purpose
Connectedness 
Physical health 
Resilience

Question 8

Explain why the rate of ageing is not equal

Answer 8

Every individual experiences old age differently - the process of ageing is complex and multifaceted with wide variations in its effects on older people

• genetics
• environment

Question 9

Which developmental factors can contribute to passing the disability threshold later in life?

Answer 9

Early life factors: may affect physical health and brain function later in life - issues that arise during pregnancy and birth, early life events and illnesses, education and parenting

Mid-life factors: many that are modifiable through diet and exercise include high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, cholesterol, obesity, heart and lung disease, alcohol and drug use

Question 10

What are the biological effects of high intensity interval training?

Answer 10

Increases mitochondria function by 69% - these are the powerhouses of cells that create energy needed by the body to sustain life. These typically decline with age

Question 11

What are the biological effects of endurance and interval training but not resistance?

Answer 11

Increase telomere (caps at end of DNA strands that protect chromosomes) activity and length. 
Typically shorten with age

Question 12

What are the effects of telomere shortening?

Answer 12

Accelerated telomere shortening has been associated with several age-related diseases and/or decreased lifespan in humans

Question 13

Are there any diets that are associated with telomere length?

Answer 13

The Mediterranean diet is considered to be 1 of the most recognized diets for disease prevention and healthy aging, partially due to its demonstrated anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties
The Mediterranean diet is associated with longer telomere length

Question 14

Loneliness with age: is this bad? Does it pose any risks?

Answer 14

50% of all people over the age of 75 live alone.

A lonely person is twice as likely to develop alzheimers disease

Loneliness is a comparable risk factor to smoking 15 cigarettes a day

Question 15

Are there any differences in social interactions with age?

Answer 15

There is higher social reasoning with age

Older people show better competencies for reasoning about social dilemmas and conflicts

Question 16

Does happiness increase with age?

Answer 16

Many countries show a u shaped curve between wellbeing and age but this is not universal

Question 17

How does general cognition change with age?

Answer 17

Speed of processing, working memory and long term memory decline with age
Whereas, world knowledge performance is preserved - even increases

Question 18

Does grey matter decline with age, if so, why?

Answer 18

Yes. Grey matter does show a steady decline with age which is typically due to lower synaptic densities

Question 19

Is there much grey matter decline in the lateral prefrontal cortex?

Answer 19

Yes there is a steady decline seen here

Question 20

Is there much grey matter decline in the primary visual cortex?

Answer 20

No there isnt much change here across the lifespan

Question 21

Is there much grey matter decline in the hippocampus?

Answer 21

Yes there is, however, declines only seen well into old age

Question 22

What do plaques do to the brain in AD?

Answer 22

They cause an inability for signals to get between cells

Question 23

What do tangles do to the brain in AD?

Answer 23

They kill brain cells by preventing normal transport of food and energy

Question 24

Which factors are associated with increased risks of the development of AD?

Answer 24

Physical and mental inactivity, smoking, obesity, diabetes, hypertension and depression

These are all MODIFIABLE - keeping mentally and physically active can help preserve cognitive skills, reduce AD risk and maintain health

Question 25

What gives us the independence of mobility as we age?

Answer 25

Control of standing

Question 26

What systems and processes control standing?

Answer 26

1. Proprioception in ankle joint (this is the sense of alignment we get from muscles and joints, our upright posture is maintained through reflexive brain stem and spinal processes that trigger responses in postural muscles)
2. Vestibular system: the inner ear detects acceleration of the head
3. Vision: allows us to orientate ourselves relevant to the environment

Question 27

What were the findings from studies on standing?

Answer 27

As standing tasks become more difficult (eg. removing vision completely or standing on surfaces that disrupt proprioceptive inputs) - prefrontal activation increases

Is this occurring in parallel or is it trying to compensate?

Question 28

What studies were done to understand the functional role of the prefrontal cortex during standing tasks?

Answer 28

They gave participants difficult balance coordination tasks as well as cognitive tasks - measures postural sway and prefrontal cortex activity through functional infrared spectroscopy

Findings:

• PFC plays a compensatory role in standing balance - regulated across unilateral or bilateral cortices to compensate for the relative balance difficulty
• Differences between older and younger subjects are consistent with the limit of cortical resources reached sooner in older subjects

Question 29

What is functional infrared spectroscopy?

Answer 29

There is a light source as well as a light detector

• measures cortical blood flow as some light is taken up into the blood oxygen which increases with and is an indicator of neural activity
• By recording the intensity of refracted light, you get information regarding brain activation

Question 30

What implications does understanding the functional role of the prefrontal cortex during standing tasks have?

Answer 30

• Scope for improving PFC function through cognitive/dual task balance training in older people
• Higher PFC compensation may improve balance in the elderly
• Potentially falls and related injuries in the elderly could be mitigated with improved PFC activation