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~ Aging Facts ~
by
Barbara Riley-Baker, BA, MA, CMC, C.P.G.
AGING FACTS
GERONTOLOGY
is the
study of aging from a variety of
perspectives; psychological,
socioeconomical, physiological,
historical and clinical.
Time
Period
Live Expectancy, Years
Prehistoric
men/women
18
Ancient
Greece
20-30
Middle Ages (England)
<20
1620
Massachusetts Bay
Colony 35
1900
US
47.3 (4% of Pop. 65+)
1993
US
75.4 (12.5 of Pop. 65%)
1994
Japan
81 (women)
2040
US
83 (women)
Americans who make it to age 65 can
expect to reach 82.
-
Arthritis
is
the most common chronic health problem
of older adults affecting nearly ½ of
those 65 or older.
-
Cardiovascular
disease is the leading cause of death
in the U S and other developed
nations. (1996)
-
Cancer
has
now replaced cardiovascular disease as
the leading cause of death in the US.
Lung cancer is the leading cancer.
-
The average time from
HIV infection to death
ahs been 10 years. (About 5% of HIV
infected people remain health). People
over 50 accounts for 11% of recorded
cases in US (1994).
-
Dementia
is
NOT
part of normal aging.
-
Alzheimer’s disease
is
the 4th leading cause of
death in the U S (1994). The disease
was named after German psychiatrist,
Alois Alzheimer, who discovered the
disease in 1907.
-
Even moderate use of
alcohol brings a 40 to
100% greater risk of
breast cancer.
-
People over 65 have
fewer colds than
younger adults.
-
Women
live
longer than men, on average 7 years
longer. This longevity has been
attributed to the genetic protection
given by the presence of 2 X
chromosomes and before menopause to
the beneficial effects of female
hormones.
-
People who are
isolated from friends
and family are twice as likely to
become ill and die as people who
maintain
social ties.
-
Marriage
seems
to be associated with good health.
-
Smoking
is
the leading preventable cause of death
in the U S killing 390,000 people
yearly. It is responsible for 1/3 of
all cancer.
ACTIVIES OF DAILY LIVING:
eating,
bathing, grooming, getting in and out of
bed, dressing, toileting. With
increased age there is an increased need
for assistance.
AGE %
that need help with Activities of Daily
Living
85+
50%
80-84
31%
75-79
20%
70-74
11%
65-69
9%
-
Hearing
and
vision are best about
age 20.
-
Men typically lose 2 inches in
stature, women lose 1
½ to 1 ¾ inches.
-
Stress,
long-term over secretion of stress
hormones may play a part in a number
of age-related disorders from
mature-onset diabetes to osteoporosis.
STRESS
WEIGHTED VALUE
Death of a
spouse
100
Divorce
73
Marital
separation
65
Jail
term
63
Death of close family
member 63
Injury or
illness
53
Marriage
50
Being fired at
work
47
Marital
reconciliation
47
Retirement
45
(Holmes and Rahe,
1976)
·
With
age we have fewer
taste buds. There are
also changes in the olfactory bulb, the
organ in the brain responsible for
smell. These changes
cause food to taste less appealing.
·
Older
adults may have difficulty in
distinguishing between the
colors of blue, green and
violet due to yellowing of the lens in
the eye.
Depth perception
diminishes and sensitivity to
glare increases due to
changes in the eye.
(Whittemore, Margaret, P.
University of Central Okalahoma)
(Papalia, Camp, Feldman. (1996). Adult
Development and Aging. McGraw-Hill).
Perhaps
Robert
Browning in his immortal poem
“Rabbi Ben Ezra”, sums up for
us how society and each individual in
society should address the issue of
aging.
“Grow old along with me, the best is yet
to be.
The last of
life, for which the first was made;
Our times are
in His hands, who saith,
A whole I
planned, Youth shows but half,
Trust God: see
all, nor be afraid.
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