Introduction to Gerontology

Introduction to Gerontology

• Gerontology is the study of aging, old age, and later life.
• It examines how aging affects individuals and how an aging population impacts society.
• Gerontology represents both a professional practice and an academic, multi- and interdisciplinary pursuit.
• Gerontology differs from geriatrics, which concerns itself primarily with the healthcare needs of older adults and possesses a practical base sense.
• Gerontology focuses on "normal" or "intrinsic" aging and variations in how aging processes manifest, whether through extrinsic or exogenous factors.
• Aging processes follows a predictable pattern, such as wrinkles and natural decline in working memory.
• Extrinsic or exogenous factors can result in the rapid deterioration of memory, forgetfulness, or dementia.
• Dementia is not a normal part of aging, though it can be associated with aging.
• Exposure to the sun at an early age can lead to early wrinkles.
• Choices made earlier in life tend to shape our older adulthood.
• Disciplines are branches of knowledge studied in higher education.
• Disciplinarity involves different disciplines combining for research.
• Paradigms are worldviews.

Multidisciplinary, Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Approaches

• Multidisciplinary approach involves several disciplines with little interaction between researchers.
  • Researchers have separate goals and disciplinary boundaries remain in place.
  • It can be depicted by several separate circles.
• Interdisciplinary approach involves several disciplines where theories/methods from each discipline inform others.
  • Researchers share goals and blur disciplinary boundaries, but disciplinary traditions are maintained.
  • This can be depicted by several partially overlapping circles.
• Transdisciplinary approach involves several disciplines with researchers working beyond the limits of their fields.
  • Researchers share goals and an overarching framework, transcending disciplinary boundaries.
  • This can be depicted by overlapping circles encompassed in a larger circle.
• Gerontology utilizes multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches and can also be transdisciplinary.
• Gerontology examines interconnected phenomena at multiple analytical levels:
  • body (genetics, bio, physiology, neurology)
  • mind (emotions, cognition, personality)
  • social aspects (roles, responsibilities, family, friends)
  • political economic factors (political and economic systems and policies)
  • historical context (age cohorts/generations)
  • Individual perspectives by asking the same set of questions with groups of people

Concepts in Gerontology

• Life course perspective is grounded in aging as a condition rooted in processes occurring over a long period.
  • The condition of old age varies depending on earlier life experiences and the setting in which aging occurs.
  • It helps to understand inequities in old age by better understanding WHEN later life begins and markers of old age.
• Lifespan signifies the fixed, finite maximum amount of time a species can live.
  • An outdated way of understanding the life course.
• Healthspan refers to the period in which a life is healthy.
  • It can be measured subjectively or as the period free from serious diseases.
  • Hard to measure but rooted in the biological and social indicators.
• Chronological age measures the number of times a body has revolved around the sun.
  • It cannot be altered by mind/body approaches.
  • Chronological age has little relevance to how someone feels or functions.
• Biological age measures how well physiological systems are functioning.
  • Biological aging can be reversed by attending to health
  • A primary component of the aging process, also know as physiological/functional aging.
• Aging is seen as both an individual (biological) and social process.

Demographic Trends in Aging

• Changes may not be caused because of biological age themselves
• Change in one variable does not cause the change in the other (correlation vs. causation).
• Aging occurs within the context of "lived experience."
  • Less generalizable about aging processes as we move away from biological causes/correlations..
  • Lived experience is shaped by the social structures in which one's life is embedded.
• Shift from asking about aging to asking about aging for whom; aging differs by lived experience.
• Epidemiology of aging helps understand correlation and causation via the age/period/cohort (APC) triad.
  • This helps frame questions about how time-varying effects contribute to variations in aging.
• Cohort effect looks at people in a specific year or range of years.
• Period effect considers those born during specific times. Period effect is age agnostic
  • Age effect is based on chronological age
• Populations are aging, surviving into older adulthood.
• Populations with a lower life expectancy historically now have higher life expectancy.
• People live longer than previous baseline ages.
• The rate of acceleration of these gains differs depending on location.
• Life expectancy indicates how long one might expect to live from a particular age.
  • Most trends focus on life expectancy from birth.
  • Life expectancy differs from lifespan and healthspan
  • Life expectancy is inversely related to death.
• Decreasing population mortality tends to increase life expectancy. More people are surviving into adulthood
• There are huge variations worldwide
• Older medians are produced by people living longer.
• Migratory factors also affect.
• Fertility decline leads to an increase in the median age of a population.
• Median age is not the same as life expectancy.
• Fertility rate in Canada (1860-2020).
  • 1860 saw the industrial revolution with a cultural desire to have a child.
• Infant mortality was high, which pressured parents to have more babies -In 1960, contraception introduced cultural change.
• Push for greater education to qualify for a job, and greater emphasis was placed on getting a job than a family.
• Mortality rate in Canada measures deaths in a population over time
  • Mortality differs from morbidity and the condition of being unhealthy. Overall mortality decline increases lift expectancy
• Infant mortality defined by deaths of those under 1 year per 1000 live births
• A decline in fertility and mortality rates leads to an overall increase in the overall median age and life expectancy.
• Canada's age pyramid in 1960 included lots of infants but that is declining
• Immigration helps population growth and aging in Canada.
  • Countries turn to immigration to keep the population up.
  • There are strong economic incentives to do so.
• This helps maintain the aging demographic/dependency at manageable numbers.
• Over the next 20 years, Canada's older adult population (65+) is expected to grow up to 68%
  • Those over 75 expected to grow the fastest
• Creates implications such as implications on the health capacity and caregiver productivity
• Silver tsunami refers to the population increase

The Aging Body

• Illness is a person's subjective experience of their symptoms like "loss" of health.
• Health professional disease is an underlying pathology from a provider’s view, like a disruption to regular bodily structure.
• Sickness is a social and cultural concept; the abnormal state of health interferes with wellbeing.
• Aging or old age can classify as a sickness or illness
• Leaning into sickness
• Biological age is viewable ay different unit of analyses
• Aging Theories can generally be put into one of two categories
• Programmed theories, the body designed to age. Error Theories, environmental impacts.
• Cellular theory includes At birth only a certain number of cells an dividde a limited amount.
• Programmed longevity and Endrocrine theory are also under this banner
• Autoimme or immunological theory tributes the body to the to the defense over and over to protect the proliferation of cancer
• The error theories speak about environmental damages to the body’s system over time
• Wear and tear theory the body simple wears out over time
• Free radicals theory might latch onto DNA and damaging it
• Genetic theory speaks to the variability of human lifespans
• Longervity can extent cells with certain processes such as removing some genes
• Cell senescence, telomeres, and stem cells affect aging
• Biochemical theory, reactions cause damage through the bodies processes
• Free radicals affect the bodies
• Our bodies are affected through bio markers.
• Bio markets leads to a body change, domino effect
• The Outer layer if the skin becomes thinner with cell loss, collagen fibre losses felxibility
• Changes in fats, hair follicle losses are age related and the skin becomes more prone to damage
• Sensory systems also reduce sensitivity to glare
• Respiratory system weakens
• Circularity decline is linked through diet or gentics