The effects of ageing
Introduction
Ageing is a gradual and continuous process.
Ageing can be defined in various ways, including:
- "a distinct and progressive decline in function which makes us more vulnerable to disease",
- "a loss of adaptability and failure to maintain the body’s homeostasis (metabolic equilibrium)",
- "a process leading to the functional impairment of tissues and organs",
- "A series of changes that lead to the loss of function of organs and cells, with the eventual outcome of death".
It is basically the changes that occur with time, to make a person different from how they were when younger. Obvious, visible signs of ageing, such as greying hair and wrinkles, will be accompanied by less obvious, but progressive deterioration of bodily systems, (such as bone thinning, and stiffening of the arteries), and gradual increased susceptibility to disease and death.
The process of ageing is still not fully understood, but it is felt that there are many mechanisms involved. One of the most favourite theories is that the formation of "free radicals", (a by-product of the body’s use of oxygen), causes damage at cellular level, and the ability of the individual’s maintenance and repair systems to counter this process determines how quickly a person ages.
With ageing, there is an increased risk of death, due to internal and/or external factors.
However, individuals vary greatly in the rate at which they age, and how they age, which is genetically determined, and it is important to bear this in mind when considering the older person’s functional ability. An older person‘s unique characteristics of genetic makeup and lifestyle may render them much more healthy than a person 20 years younger.
Several other factors, which are not intrinsic, may influence the rate of ageing. Lifestyle features, such as poor diet, lack of exercise, and cigarette smoking can exacerbate osteoporosis, atrophy of muscles, and reduced lung function, for example. Where you live (that is, in a developed world country or a third world country, as well as how advantaged is your local community), is important as well as other environmental factors, such as exposure to toxins and infections, and psychological issues, such as depression (with resultant lack of motivation to live a healthy lifestyle).
Many species have a set lifespan; the maximum possible lifespan for humans is 120 years.
Life expectancy in the developed world is now 80 years for females, and 75 years for males.
The percentage of elderly people in the population is rising, and also the numbers of elderly people, with implications for the amount of chronic and degenerative diseases in the population, as a whole, in the future.
Click on the links below for details of:
- Normal ageing
- Ageing and disease
- Clinical features
- Effects of multiple conditions
- Side effects of treatment
- Case example
