IMPACT OF AGEING ON

PHYSIOLOGY,
PSYCHOLOGY AND SOCIAL-
EMOTIONAL
 AGEING

 Ageing is a universal phenomena and every object in the earth

undergoes the process of ageing.
 It is a process that accumulates changes in organisms or objects
over time. Human aging process involves multidimensional
changes on physical, psychological, cultural and social levels.
 cellular and physiologic deterioration
 It occurs at different rates among individuals.
 IMPACT OF AGING ON
PHYSIOLOGY
Those changes that occur normally with the age, not due to disease.
These changes include sensory loss, digestion, circulation, and sexuality

 Hearing and Vision  Musculoskeletal System

 Taste and Smell  Kidney
 Skin and hair  GI
 Body Composition  Cardiovascular
 Nervous System
 SENSORY LOSS

 Humans receive and process information from the environment

through hearing, vision, taste, smell, and touch.
 With aging, these senses are often diminished and incoming
information may be distorted or difficult to understand. As a
result, the older person may give up some enjoyable activities
or lose contact with friends and family who are important
sources of support.
 Hearing :- About 30% of people over 60 have a hearing
impairment, but about 33% of those 75 to 84, and about half of
those over 85, have a hearing loss (Suzanna Smith and
Jennifer
E. Gove ). Hearing loss affects the older person's ability to talk
easily with others.
 Vision:- The retinas become thinner than usual in aging eyes, the
sharpness that should be achieved in viewing objects at a distance is
impaired, objects placed at a distance appear blurred.
 With aging, peripheral vision is reduced. A person may need to turn
her or his head to see to the sides.
 The flexibility of the eye decreases and it takes an older person more
time to accommodate to changes in light.
 Degeneration of eye muscles and clouding of the lens are associated
with aging. Several changes in vision result from this.
 Older people tend to have trouble focusing on near objects, but
eyeglasses may correct this problem.
 The irises get stiffened, hence, the pupils become less responsive and
more sensitive to glare. The ability to see colors changes with age .
Red, yellow, and orange are easier to see than blue and green.
 Serious vision impairments such as cataracts, glaucoma, and blindness
affect between 7% and 15% of older adults.
  TASTE AND SMELL:- SOME LOSS IN TASTE SENSITIVITY
TAKES PLACE WITH AGING. HOWEVER, THE LOSS IS
MINOR AND DOES NOT SEEM TO OCCUR IN MOST
PEOPLE UNTIL WELL AFTER 70. THERE IS ALSO A LOSS OF
SMELL, BUT THIS IS NOT SEVERE.
 Skin :- The skin serves a protective function by buffering us from

the environment. Skin changes leave the older person vulnerable to

discomfort and harm.
 Reduced sensitivity.
 Begins to develop wrinkles and dark spots (normally
tagged as age spots also).
 The ability of skin to produce oils reduces resulting in dry and
lusterless skin.
 The skin tears and breaks more easily, increasing the chance of
injury and infection.
 HAIR :- HAIR BECOMES
THINNER THAN NORMAL AND

THE CHANGES IN HAIR COLOR
FROM GRAY INITIALLY TO
Decreased facial hair in men


TURNING WHITE EVENTUALLY
Possible chin and upper lip hair in women
MARKS AGING.
 Nails :-decreased growth rate
NERVOUS SYSTEM:-
 There is neuronal loss in the brain throughout life
(the amount & location varies).
 Some brain regions shrink, while others remain stable as we
age.
 Loss is chiefly gray matter not white matter
 Aging of the brain also impairs the ability of the brain to
encode or decode new memories and facts, while processing
speed and reflexes decline. Slowed neuronal transmission
 Changes in sleep cycle: takes longer to fall asleep, total
time spent sleeping is less than their younger years,
awakenings throughout the night, increase in frequency of
 daytime naps Sense of smell markedly decreases
 MUSCULOSKELETAL
SYSTEM
Muscles:- As muscles age, they begin to shrink and lose mass.
 The number and size of muscle fibers also decrease. less bone mass
and strength
 Decreasedwater content of tendons, the cordlike tissues that attach
muscles to bones.
 This makes the tissues stiffer and less able to tolerate stress.
 Handgrip strength decreases, making it more difficult to accomplish
routine activities.
 The heart muscle becomes less able to propel large quantities of blood
quickly to the body. Tire more quickly and take longer to recover.
 loss of calcium from the bones. Bone demineralisation – osteoporosis.
Joints:- Joint motion becomes more restricted and flexibility decreases
with age because of changes in tendons and ligaments.
 As the cushioning cartilage begins to break down from a lifetime of
use, joints become inflamed an arthritic.
Heart :-Blood vessels lose their elasticity and the fatty deposition on the
artery walls makes the arteries smaller or rather narrow the space for
the blood flowing through it.

 All these factors make the heart work harder than usual to pump the
blood to other parts of the body.

 These changes may result in a slightly slower heart rate.

 A slight increase in the size of the heart, especially the left ventricle,
is common. The heart wall thickens, so the amount of blood that the
chamber can hold may actually decrease.

 The heart may fill more slowly. To compensate, elderly

subjects demonstrate a doubling of percent atrial contribution to
filling.

 The result is hypertension, cardiac arrest, arteriosclerosis and other

serious disorders. Heart may be slightly less able to tolerate increased
 KIDNE
 :-
Y blood vessels become smaller & thicker reducing renal
Renal
blood flow.
 Decreased renal blood flow from about 600ml/min (age 40) to
about 300ml/min (age 80)
 Kidney size decreases by 20-30% by age 90.
 There is a decline in the number of renal tubular cells,
an increase in tubular diverticula, & a thickening of
the tubular walls  decreased ability to concentrate
urine & clear drugs from the body.
 Overall kidney function, however, remains normal
unless there is excessive stress on the system.
 BLADDER:-THE MUSCULAR URETERS,
 URETHRA, & BLADDER LOSE TONE &
ELASTICITY. THE BLADDER MAY
RETAIN URINE. THIS CAUSES
 DeclineINCOMPLETE EMPTYING.
in bladder capacity from about 500-600mL
to about 250ml  less urine can be stored in the
bladder.
This causes more frequent urination.
The warning period between the urge and actual urination
is shortened or lost as one ages.
 GASTROINTESTINAL
SYSTEM
 Salivary glands decrease saliva production
 Reduces cleansing action – dry mouth (xerostomia)
 Dysphasia (difficulty swallowing)
 Taste sensation diminishes (fewer taste receptors)
 stomach and intestine mucosa atrophy
 Basal and maximal stomach acid production diminish sharply in old
age. At the same time, the mucosa thins. Very little seems to
happen to the small bowel constipation
 Decline in number of gastric cells  decreased production HCL (an
acidic environment is necessary for the release of vitamin B12 from
food sources)
 Decreased production of digestive enzymes
 Thinner and weaker large intestine wall
 REPRODUCTIVE
SYSTEM
Female
 decreased oestrogen
 decreased uterine size
 decreased secretions
 atrophy of vaginal lining

Male
 decreased testosterone levels
 decreased sperm count
 decreased testicular size
 IMPACT OF AGING SOCIAL-
EMOTIONS
 The social changes that come with life are change in life style, loss
of other family members, neighbors and friends.

 The main social problems, which confront elderly persons, are:

- social isolation
- finance
- loneliness
- rejection and loss of purpose in life.
- deterioration in housing standard and poor nutritional
level.
 IMPACT OF AGING SOCIAL-
EMOTIONS
 Retirement:-A change in work role comes with retirement. It
changes the way time is managed and daily activities are carried
out.It alters identity, status, financial problem, lack of self-
satisfaction and self-esteem and sometimes friendships.
 Widowhood:-A common event that alters family life for the
aged is the death of a spouse. Loss of spouse is a highly
stressful experience.
 Loneliness:- It is a subjective, negative feeling related to the
person’s own experience of deficient social relations. lessen
interests in hobbies/events and refused social engagements may
lead isolation and leads to loneliness.
 IMPACT OF AGING SOCIAL-
EMOTIONS
Loss of independence:-Due to the retirement and physical
disability there were loss of independence which create
tremendous frustration, feelings of uselessness, sadness, fear
anger and guilt.
Changes in roles and relationships:-
 parents become grandparents
 adult children become caregivers for ageing parents
 spouses become widows or widowers
Group membership roles change at:
 retirement
 moving neighbourhoods
 cessation of social activities due to failing health
 IMPACT OF AGING SOCIAL-
EMOTIONS
 Loss of status and decision- making power :- Due to division of
property in younger children and loss of jobs the status and
decision making power decrease in family and society.
 Depression:-It is associated with mortality only when feelings of
loneliness are present. Depression is a problem that often
accompanies loneliness.
 Religiosity :- Fear of death/religious needs increase.
 Embarrassment and shame at conditions (incontinence,
dependence, illness seen as weakness, etc.).
 IMPACT OF AGING ON
PSYCHOLOGY
 Most elderly people seems to be most vulnerable to psychological
dysfunction when they experience change.

 Affective function refers to the mood, emotions (such as happiness, sadness,

fear, pain, anger, and confusion).

 Cognitive function refers to memory, learning, and intelligence.

 Cognitive and affective functioning affects the person’s self-esteem.

 AFFECTIVE
FUNCTIONING
 It is influenced by the way an individual views the world and
self.
 A positive view of self and surrounding environment promotes
positive expression of mood and emotions.

Self-esteem:- It is the way a person views himself/herself.

A positive view of self promotes health and enables
the person to cope better with the changes and challenges of
growing older.
FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO
A DECREASED IN SELF-
 Age related changes and losses that occur with aging
 Function impairment.
 Chronic diseases.
ESTEEM:-
  Lack of dependency
Increased control over. the person environment

•Personality:-

 The basic personality does not change as a result of aging process.

 The personality will be consistent with that of earlier years.
DEPRESSIO
N :-
 Depression occurs 16-65% of elders living in the community.

 Depression including: sleep disturbance, lake of interest,

feelings of guilt, lack of energy, decreased concentration and,
loss of appetite.

 Losses can lead to depression.

 COGNITIVE
FUNCTIONING
Intelligent, learning, attention and memory are all related to cognitive
functioning and how well the mind is able to reason and make sound
judgments.
 Intelligent:-Intelligent is a mental alertness and includes the ability to
learn new material, make wise decisions, and deal with stressful
situation. Intelligent does not become less with age. IQ test
performance of older adults may be hindered because of sensory
deficits or the stress of being tested. These factors must be considered
when assessing.
 Memory:-Memory is defined as a recall of items learned more than a
few minutes earlier or many years earlier. It is affected by age. Older
people start to forget things an some part of memory in that age.
 LEARNING :-
 LEARNING IS THE ACQUISITION OF
NEW KNOWLEDGE OR SKILLS.
 The ability of the mind to learn and retain new information
remains unaltered, particularly when mind is stimulated through
regular use.
 The ability to solve complex problems decline with age.
 Hearing and visual deficits related to aging process affect
can
learning.
Attention
 Vigilancespan:- There is
performance is the
decrease
abilityintovigilance performance.
retain attention longer than 45
minutes.
 The elderly is more liable to distract (divert) attention by irrelevant
information and stimuli.
 Deficits in attention may affect learning and memory.
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