Santrock: Chapter 4
Feldman: Modules 4-1 & 4-2
• Injury and Illness through the
Lifespan
Children
Influences on Physical Growth & Health –
Infectious Diseases
• 70% of deaths in children under age 5 are due
to infectious diseases
• 99% are in developing countries and are
related to malnutrition
• Most death due to diarrhea can be prevented
by oral rehydration therapy (ORH)
Children’s Health - Prevention
• Immunization
– Meningitis, measles, rubella, mumps, chicken pox,
polio
• Accidents
– Poisonings, falls, drowning, choking
• Poverty
– Good medical care, nutrition, living conditions
Influences on Physical Growth & Health Immunization
• Immunization has caused a dramatic decline
in childhood diseases in the industrialized
world
• 24% of American preschoolers lack essential
immunizations (40% in poverty)
– Availability of care
– Misconceptions (MMR & autism)
Influences on Physical Growth & Health –
Otitis media
• 70+% of American children have had at least
one bout by age 3
• Xylitol may be a preventative
• Tubes remain controversial
• Child-care settings should control infection
• May cause problems in language
development due to hearing problems
Health - Middle to Late Childhood
• This is generally a healthy time
• The most common vision problem (25%) is
myopia (nearsightedness), which progresses
more rapidly during the school year.
• Otitis media becomes less prevalent.
Asthma
• 19% of N.A. children have chronic diseases
and conditions
• Asthma accounts for 1/3 of chronic illness and
is the most common reason fro school
absence
• Incidence has increased dramatically, 8% of
U.S. children—boys, low SES, parents smoke,
born underweight most at risk
Injuries in Early Childhood
• Leading cause of childhood mortality in industrialized
countries.
• Motor vehicle collisions are the most frequent source
of injury at all ages & the leading cause of death
among children over 1 year old
• Auto accidents, drownings and burns are the most
common accidents of early childhood
Injuries in Middles to Late Childhood
• The rate of injury fatalities increases into
adolescence with rates for boys rising
considerably above those for girls.
• MV accidents are still the leading cause of
death, with bicycle accidents next.
• Parents often overestimate children’s safety
knowledge and behavior
A Problem for All Ages
Obesity: U. S. & Western Nations
There has been a marked rise in obesity in the U.S.
and other Western nations. Percentage
doubled since 1980;
quadrupled since 1965
U.S. may have 2nd highest rate
15% of U.S. children 6-11 overweight
Less common in African American than white
children; trend reverses in adolescence
Causes of Obesity
Genetics
SES (diet); high fat, low-cost foods
Family stress (comfort food)
Pastimes (TV, videogames) and lack
of exercise
• Fast-food and busy schedules
• Learned food preferences (school
cafeterias)
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Middle Adulthood: Illness & Disability
• Cancer & cardiovascular disease are the
leading causes of death. Cancer alone among
women.
• Motor vehicle collisions decline, falls resulting
in fractures & death nearly double.
• Personality traits that magnify stress,
especially hostility and anger, are serious
threats to health.
Cardiovascular Disease
• First detected factors may be high blood
pressure, high cholesterol, and atherosclerosis
(a buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries).
• Heart attack: blockage of blood supply to an
area of the heart (50% die before reaching the
hospital, 15% during treatment)
• Other conditions include arrhythmias and
angina pectoris
Cancer – Middle Adulthood
• The death rate multiplies tenfold from early to
middle adulthood.
• Lung cancer has dropped in men (fewer smoke) and
increased in women.
• Cancer occurs when a cell‘s genetic program is
disrupted, leading to uncontrolled growth.
• Damage to the p53 gene is involved in 60% of
cancers. This gene stops defective DNA from
multiplying.
• Having the BRCA1 or BRCA2 tumor-suppressing gene
is protection against breast cancer.
Cancer
• 40% of people with cancer are cured.
• Breast cancer is most prevalent for women,
prostate cancer for men.
• Lung cancer is next, followed by colon/rectal
cancer.
Adult-Onset Diabetes
• Causes abnormally high levels of blood
glucose
• Incidence doubles from middle to late
adulthood
• Effects 10% of the elderly
• Inactivity and abdominal fat deposits greatly
increase risks
• Treated with controlled diet, exercise, and
weight loss
Arthritis
• Osteoarthritis: most common and involves
deteriorating cartilage on the ends of bones of
frequently used joints
• Rheumatoid arthritis: an autoimmune response
leading to inflammation of connective tissue,
especially the membranes that line the joints
• Effects 45% of American men and 52% of women
over 65. Rises to 70% in women at age 85.
Nutrition – Obesity in Adulthood
• Adult obesity correlated with increased risk of
hypertension, diabetes, & cardiovascular
disease
• May be a genetic propensity for obesity. It
tends to run in families. (May also be learned
eating patterns.)
Health & Disease in Older
Adulthood
• Generally a continuation and intensification of
problems that began in middle adulthood.
Physical Disabilities
• Cardiovascular illness and cancer increase
dramatically and remain the leading causes of
death
• Respiratory diseases also rise sharply
– Emphysema, mostly from smoking
– Pneumonia, 50 types
• Stroke is the 4th most common killer
– Hemmorage or blockage of blood flow in the brain
Chronic Conditions of Older
Adulthood
Arthritis
Hypertension
Hearing impairment
Heart disease
Diabetes
Asthma
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis
• Major age-related bone loss
• 12 to 20 % of patients die within a year of a
major break such as a hip
• Patients are advised to:
– Take calcium and vitamin D
– Engage in weight-bearing exercise
– Take HRT/ERT
– Take bone-strengthening medications
Unintentional Injury
• At age 65 and older, the death rate from
unintentional injuries is at an all-time high
• Due to MV accidents and falls
• Older adults have higher rates of traffic violations,
accidents, and fatalities per mile driven than any
other age group
• 30% of people over 65 and 40% of those over 80
have experienced a fall in the last year
• Declines in vision, hearing and mobility make it
harder to avoid hazards and keep one‘s balance