Week Nine - Health in Normal Ageing

Question 1

Why is the gender life expectancy gap closing?

Answer 1

Because men now have better workplace conditions

Question 2

Which Australians are disadvantaged?

Answer 2

ATSI
People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
Veterans
Rural and remote residence
Homeless
LGBTIQ

Question 3

How do we combat ageism?

Answer 3

Requires a shift in thinking away from age based stereotypes

Question 4

What are some age-based stereotypes?

Answer 4

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

Question 5

What are the components of healthy ageing?

Answer 5

Financial security
Meaning and purpose
Connectedness
Physical health
Resilience

Question 6

Why is the rate of ageing not equal?

Answer 6

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

• genetic
• environment
• anti-ageing therapies

Question 7

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

Answer 7

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: Modifiable through diet and exercise
- high blood pressure
diabetes, HD, obesity, lung disease

Question 8

What are the biological effects of endurance and interval training?

Answer 8

Increase telomere activity and length which typically shorten with age - has been associated with several age-related diseases

Question 9

What are the biological effects of high intensity training?

Answer 9

increases mitochondria function

Question 10

What are the associations between diet and telomere shortening?

Answer 10

Accelerated telomere shortening has been associated with several age-related diseases and/or decreased life span in humans
- Mediterranean diet is the most significant for disease prevention.

Question 11

Explain the relationship between loneliness and age.. outcomes?

Answer 11

Lonely people twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease

Loneliness has a comparable risk factor for early death to smoking 15 cigarettes a day

Question 12

Interaction between age and social reasoning?

Answer 12

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

Question 13

How does general cognition change with age?

Answer 13

speed of processing, working memory and long term memory decline with age whereas world knowledge is preserved, even increases

Question 14

Explain the correlation between grey matter and age?

Answer 14

Grey matter declines with age due to slower synaptic densities

Question 15

What brain region has little grey matter decline?

What has some decline?

Answer 15

Little in the primary visual cortex

Some decline in lateral prefrontal cortex

Decline well into old age in hippocampus

Question 16

What do plaques do in the brain in AD?

Answer 16

They cause an inability for signals to get between cells

Question 17

What do tangles do to the brain in AD?

Answer 17

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

Question 18

What factors are associated with increased risks of developing AD?

Answer 18

Physical and mental inactivity
Smkoing
Obesity
Diabetes
Hypertension
Depression

ALL modifiable.

Question 19

What systems control standing?

Answer 19

1) Proprioception
2) Vestibular Sense: The inner ear detects acceleration of the head
3) Vision: Allows us to orientate ourselves relevant to the environment

Question 20

What were the findings from studies on standing?

Answer 20

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

Question 21

What were the concluding findings on the role of the PFC during standing tasks?

Answer 21

• PFC appears to play a compensatory role in standing balance

Question 22

What are the implications that understanding the role the PFC has on standing?

Answer 22

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

Question 23

What are the differences between older and younger subjects in the standing task consistent with?

Answer 23

The differences between older and younger subjects are consistent with the limit of cortical resources reached sooner in older subjects