Chapter 4: Longevity Health and Function

Health

The absence of acute and chronic physical or mental disease and impairments.

How well distribution occurs depends on what?

The accuracy of the cardiovascular system.

Active life expectancy

The age to which one can expect to live independently.

Dependent life expectancy

The age to which one can expect to live with assistance.

Primary appraisal

"Is the event actually stressful?" First step in stress and coping paradigm in which events are categorized into three groups based on the significance they have for our well-being—irrelevant, benign or positive, and stressful.

What are environmental factors that influence average longevity?

- Diseases, toxins, lifestyle, and social class. Examples: - Lifestyle issues such as smoking and exercise -Living in poverty may also shortens longevity

What processes does learning about development changes in how medications work involve?

- Absorption - Distribution - Metabolism - Excretion

What are some causes of functional limitations and disability in older adults?

- Heavy drinking - Physical inactivity (powerful predictor) - Depression - Social isolation - Poor perceived health - Socioeconomic factors

What are the five major types of specialized antibodies known as immunoglobins?

- IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG, and IgM -- IgM includes the first responders in the immune system -- IgE is involved in allergies and asthma -- IgG helps fight hepatitis

What types of negative effects does chronic stress have?

- Negative effects on the immune system. -Which results in increased susceptibility to diseases. - Impaired memory and cognition -Effects can last for decades.

What are some gender differences in average longevity?

- Women have nearly a seven year edge over men. - Men are more vulnerable to disease

What changes occur in older adult's immune system?

1. It takes longer to build up defenses against specific diseases, even after an immunization. 2. B-lymphocytes decrease in functioning. 3. They are more prone to serious consequences from illnesses.

According to Verbrugge and Jette what are the four main parts of their model of disability resulting from chronic conditions?

1. Pathology 2. Impairments of organ systems 3. Functional limitations 4. Disability

List 4 ways to reduce risk of cancer:

1. Stay away from tobacco and smoking 2. Get moving with regular physical activity 3. Eat healthy fruits and vegetables 4. Know family history and risks

Functional incontinence

: A type of incontinence usually caused when the urinary tract is intact but due to physical disability or cognitive impairment the person is unaware of the need to urinate. This is most common in people with dementia, Parkinson's, or arthritis.

Stress and Coping Paradigm

A model that views stress, not as an environmental stimulus or as a response but as the interaction of a thinking person and an event. Stress is a transactional process between a person and the environment, and takes into account personal resources, and that a person's appraisal of the situation is key, unless the situation is considered to be threatening or harmful stress does not result.

Type I Diabetes

A type of diabetes that tends to develop earlier in life and requires the use of insulin; also called insulin dependent diabetes.

Type II Diabetes

A type of diabetes that tends to develop in adulthood and is effectively managed through diet.

Stress incontinence

A type of incontinence that happens when pressure in the abdomen exceeds the ability to resist urine flow.

Urge incontinence

A type of incontinence usually caused by a central nervous system problem after a stroke or urinary tract infection in which people feel the urge to urinate but cannot get to a toilet quickly enough.

Overflow incontinence

A type of incontinence usually caused by improper contraction of the kidneys, causing the bladder to become over distended.

About how much of the adults in the United States have a chronic health condition?

About half

Instrumental activities of daily (IADLs):

Actions that entail some intellectual competence and planning. Ex: shopping, paying bulls, making telephone calls

What are some ethnic differences in average longevity?

African Americans average longevity at birth is about 5 years less than European Americans. (May be due to less a access to health care)

Give an example of a reappraisal situation

After being shown pictures of your partner in a romantic situation with another person, you reappraise the event as stressful. Reappraisal can either increase stress (if your partner had initially declined the encounter) or lower stress (if you discovered the photographs were fakes.)

How can diabetes be managed?

Although it can never be cured, diabetes can be managed through a low calorie diet, exercise, proper care of skin, and medication (insulin).

Activities of daily living (ADLs)

Basic self-care tasks such as eating, bathing toileting, walking, and dressing.

Intraindividual factors

Behavior and personality Includes things such as beginning an exercise program, and keeping a positive outlook.

What is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., behind cardiovascular disease?

Cancer

Acute diseases

Conditions that develop over a short period of time and cause a rapid change in health. - Ex: colds, flu, and food poisoning - Most are cured with medications such as antibiotics and allowed to run their course.

Chronic diseases

Conditions that last a longer period of time (at least 3 months) and may be accompanied by residual functional impairment that necessitates long-term management. Ex: arthritis and diabetes

Extraindividual factors

Environmental and health care. Includes interventions such as surgery, medication, and social support services.

What two risk factors and two types of intervention strategies does Verbrugge and Jette's model have?

Extraindividual factors and Intraindividual factors

What do the most widely applied approaches to stress involve?

Focusing on the physiological responses the body makes through the nervous and endocrine system.

Longevity is determined jointly by what two factors?

Genetic and environmental factors.

What are genetic factors that influence average longevity?

Having family members who have lived long lives.

What are the two types of quality of life do most researchers look into?

Health related quality of life and Non-health related quality of life

Functional health status

How well a person is functioning in daily life.

Secondary appraisal

In the stress and coping paradigm, an assessment of our perceived ability to cope with harm, threat, or a challenge. It's the "What can I do?"

Reappraisal

In the stress and coping paradigm, this step involves making a new primary or secondary appraisal resulting from changes in the situation. May occur when you learn additional information or experience another situation that indicates you should reappraise the original event.

Health related quality of life

Includes all of the aspects of life that are affected by changes in one's health status.

Urinary incontinence, the most common form, ___________ with age and varies across ethnic groups as a function of gender.

Increases

Problem-focused coping

Involves attempts to tackle the problem head on. Examples: studying for an exam to do well on a test or taking medication to slow down the progression of a disease.

Emotion-focused coping

Involves dealing with one's feelings about the stressful event. Example: Allowing oneself to become angry after failing an exam. Or using your relationship with God as the basis for coping

Coping

It occurs during the secondary appraisal of an event after it has been labeled as stressful by the primary appraisal in the stress and coping paradigm. And is any attempt to deal with stress.

Risk factors

Long-standing behaviors or conditions that increase one's chances of functional limitation or disability.

When stress is looked at as a physiological state, what gender differences can be noted?

Men tend to opt for a "fight or flight" approach when stressed where as women tend to opt for a "tend and befriend" approach. Release of the hormone oxytocin (the love hormone) results in perceptions of social interactions but in different ways. - Men's performance improved in competition recognition. - Women's performance improved for kinship recognition.

Diabetes mellitus

Occurs when the pancreas produces insufficient insulin. The primary characteristic is above normal sugar (glucose) levels.

Who is diabetes more common in?

Older adults and minority groups

Frail older adults

Older adults who have physical disabilities, are very ill, and may have cognitive or psychological disorders and need assistance with everyday tasks.

What is one of the most common complaints of older adults?

Pain

What are the two general pain management techniques?

Pharmacological and Non-pharmacological

Non-health related quality of life

Refers to things in the environment, such as entertainment, economic resources, arts and so on that can affect our overall experience and enjoyment of life.

How important are socioeconomic factors?

Research indicates a fairly strong and consistent relationship between socioeconomic status and health-related quality of life.

Exacerbators

Situations that makes a situation worse than it was originally.

What is the difference between active life expectancy and dependent life expectancy?

The difference is between living to a healthy old age (active) or simply living a long time (dependent).

Disability

The effects of chronic conditions on people' ability to engage in activities that are necessary, expected, and personally desired in their society.

Average longevity (average life expectancy)

The length of the time it takes for half of all people born in a certain year to die. - The current average longevity is about 79 years at birth. - When computed at times other than birth, people who have died are not included.

Incontinence

The loss of the ability to control the elimination of urine and feces on an occasional or consistent basis.

Maximum longevity

The maximum length of time of time an organism can live—roughly 122 years for humans.

Drug metabolism

The process of getting rid of medications in the bloodstream, partly in the liver.

Drug excretion

The process of getting rid of medications, usually through the kidneys in urine through sweat, feces, and saliva.

What happens to the incidence of acute and chronic diseases as people age?

The rate of chronic diseases goes up, while the rate of acute diseases goes down. That means adults have fewer colds than younger adults, but when they do get an acute disease they tend to get sicker and recovery takes longer.

Compression of morbidity

The situation in which the average age when one becomes disabled for the first time is postponed, causing the time between the onset of disability and death to be compressed into shorter period of time. Implies that older adults in the United States are becoming disabled later in life than previously and are disabled a shorter time before dying than in past generations.

What are two important age-related differences in the stress and coping paradigm?

The sources of stress and the choice of coping strategies.

Psychoneuroimmunology

The study of the relations between psychological, neurological, and immunological systems that raise or lower our susceptibility to and ability to recover from disease.

Absorption

The time needed for a medication to enter a patient's bloodstream. May take longer in older adults, resulting in either too little or too much absorption depending on the drug.

Polypharmacy

The use of multiple medications. Is potentially dangerous because many drugs do not interact well.

What is the primary job of the T- and B-lymphocytes?

To defend against malignant (cancerous) cells, viral infection, fungal infection, and some bacteria.

What are the two types of diabetes mellitus?

Type I and Type II

Can longevity be predicted at any age?

Yes but it's mostly predicted at birth.

Are age differences in coping across the life span consistent?

Yes, older adults are less likely to use active coping strategies and are more likely to use emotion coping strategies.