Age 25 +

• Gradual physical decline related to aging

• Neurons fire more slowly
• Brain size decreases
• Processing takes longer
• Severe brain loss due to:
▫ Drug use
▫ Poor circulation
▫ Viruses
▫ Genes

How does physical appearance change?
• Age 30-Skin becomes thinner & less flexible
• Age 60 – All faces are wrinkled
• Hair turns gray & thinner
• “Middle-age spread” appears
• Muscles weaken
• Height decreases
▫ Natural collapse of vertebrae in spine
• Effects are less if you exercise

How does vision and hearing change?
• Vision
▫ Peripheral vision narrows
▫ Color vision shifts (vivid to faded more quickly)
▫ Farsightedness increases
• Hearing
▫ Loss not apparent until after
60

• How does the brain change?
• How does your skin, hair, muscles, and height change?
• How does your vision and hearing change?

How does the sexual-reproductive
System change?
• Sexual responsiveness
▫ Arousal is slower
▫ Orgasm takes longer
• All ages enjoy sex
• Men & women – most likely “extremely satisfied” with sex if in a committed, monogamous relationship

• 15% of all couples are infertile
• 40’s = half are infertile, half risk complications

• Males
▫ Responsible for 1/3 of infertility
▫ Age, radiation, drugs, stress, drug abuse, alcoholism cigarette smoking
 Reduces sperm number, shape, and motility
• Females
▫ Responsible for 1/3 of infertility
▫ 1/3 of infertility is a mystery
▫ Age, diseases, smoking, esteem dieting, obesity
▫ Pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) – Can block fallopian tubes

What are the treatments for infertility?
• Assisted reproductive technology (ART)
▫ Overcome low sperm count & blocked fallopian tubes
• In Vitro fertilization (IVF)
▫ Eggs (ova) removed and fertilized with sperm in the laboratory
▫ After fertilized cells (Zygotes) have divided several times – inserted into the woman’s uterus

What are the effects of menopause?
• Around age 50 – Menstrual periods cease
• Ovulation stops
• Estrogen, progesterone & testosterone drops
• Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
▫ Usually estrogen & progesterone
▫ Minimizes menopausal symptoms
▫ Reduces risk of osteoporosis
▫ Involves health risks
 Not recommended as much today

What is male menopause (Andropause)?
• Drop in testosterone
▫ Reduced sexual desire, erections, & muscle mass
▫ Effectiveness of HRT is questionable

• How does your sexual response system change?
• Men are responsible for how much of infertility?
• What causes infertility in men and women?
• What are some treatments for infertility?
• What causes menopause?
• What is andropause, and what causes it?

What is the effects of health habits and age?
• Diseases and chronic conditions are strongly affected by lifestyle
▫ Drug abuse
 Abuse of illegal drugs decreases
 Abuse of prescription drugs increases
▫ Tobacco
 Lung cancer = leading cause of cancer deaths
(including women) in North America
 Declined in U.S.
 Rising in developing nations
 Affected by social norms, laws, & advertising

• Drinking
▫ In moderation
 Reduces coronary heart disease and strokes
 Increased “good” cholesterol (HDL)
 Reduces “Bad” cholesterol (LDL)
▫ Heavy drinking
 Increases violent death
 Implicated in 60 diseases
▫ Drinking alcohol is not a health strategy
• Overeating
▫ Excess weight increases every chronic disease
▫ E.g. diabetes

• U.S. = Highest rate of obesity and diabetes
• Metabolism decreases by 1/3
• Genetics – Correlates with weight and diabetes
▫ Cultural influences are more important
• Inactivity – Correlates with almost every unhealthy condition

• What is the leading cause of cancer deaths
(including women) in North America?
• What is the bad cholesterol in a blood test?
• What increases every chronic disease?
• What is the effect of aging on metabolism?

• Dealing with stress
▫ Problem –focused coping
 Solve the problem causing the stress
 Used more by men
▫ Emotion focused coping
 Change your feelings about the situation causing the stress
 Used more by women
• High stress increases the risk of disease

• Mortality = Death
▫ Number of deaths each year per 1,000 people in a population
• Morbidity = Disease
▫ The rate of physical, emotional and fatal diseases in a population

• Well-educated, financially secure adults (with high socioeconomic status – SES) live longer
▫ Healthy habits
▫ Better housing
▫ Better medical care

• What are the two strategies for dealing with stress?
• What is the difference between mortality and morbidity?
• What is the relationship between income and health?