Geriatric Basics

Gero 300
Introduction to Gerontology
Instructor: Habib Chaudhury, PhD
Teaching Assistant: Kim McKercher, MA Student
What is the difference between

“Gerontology” and “Geriatrics”?
Gerontology – study of aging

geron – old man
logos – reason or discourse
Geriatrics – branch of Internal Medicine

geron – old man
iatros -- healer
What term should we use

to refer to older people?
NO Old people
NO Old folks
NO Aged
ged
NO Elderly
YES Seniors
YES Elders
YES Older adults
Gerontology
¾ Focuses on aging and old age

¾ Physiological aspects of aging
¾ Psychological aspects of aging
¾ Social aspects of aging
Gerontology – Which professions and

disciplines are involved?
• Health Sciences
e.g., Medicine, Nursing, Occupational Therapy,
Ph i l Therapy,
Physical Th Kinesiology,
Ki i l Public
P bli Health,
H lh
Social Work, etc.
• Social Sciences
e.g., Sociology, Psychology, Anthropology, etc.
Why study Gerontology?
• Gerontology is a growing professional field
• Working with older adults can be deeply rewarding
• Civic responsibility to know about seniors
• Understanding your own life

The World is Aging!
Canada’s Aging Population, 1921-2041
4.5 million or 13.7% are 65+
Population is Aging. How do we know?
Percentage of population aged 65+
A population with 10% or more people 65 or over

is considered old
Canada has 13.7% of 65 or over older population
Limitations:
-- diversity in the people 65+ by health, income, etc.
-- proportion of older adults with other age groups can
vary in different countries
Median Age
As the median age increases, the population

is aging
Canada’s median age – 39.5 years

(30 or over considered as old)
Dependency Ratio
¾ Theoretically, proportion of population earning
money vs those who are not;
¾ >65 years / 20-64 years
¾ Canada: 21/100 (projected to be 31/100 in 2021)
Limitations of Dependency Ratio:

¾ Many people 65+ are working and many people
in 18-64 are not working

¾ Only captures economic likelihood, misses
familial and societal definitions of dependency
Defining Old Age:
1.Chronological Age
2.Social Roles and Age

g
3.Biological Aging and Functioning
4.Subjective Aging
1. Chronological Age
Commonly used indicator – 65 and over

Otto von Bismarck (German Chancellor) first
used 65 as the age of military personnel for
pension eligibility
Social construction of age
Limitations – People’s functional capabilities vary

may not capture the diversity of physical ,
psychological, social functioning of people.
(especially older people)
Subcategories:
Young-old 65-74
Middle-old
dd e o d 75-84
75 8
Oldest-old 85 or older
2. Social Roles and Age
Social expectations for some roles

– grandparent, widow, retiree
Age structure – infancy,

A i f early
l childhood,
hildh d
adolescence, young adulthood, middle age,
early late life and very late life
The expectations are getting blurred

3. Biological Aging and Functioning
How people look and what they can do
Physical
y changes
g effect functioning
g
Appearance of aging
• Well-elderly
-- healthy and active
• Somewhat impaired elderly

– need some assistance
• Frail elderly
– mental and physical decline,
may live in residential care
What is age-related decline?
¾ most noticeable outwards effects: grey hair,

wrinkles, slower movement, reduced
strength, chronic illness, etc.
¾ Not able to or having difficulty in doing
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living
(IADLs) (e.g., shopping, cooking, banking)
¾ Not able to or having difficulty in doing
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
(e.g., eating, toileting, bathing)
4. Subjective Aging
Aging as a perception of the mind,

e.g., managing grief due to loss of spouse,
coping with chronic illness, etc.
Influenced byy societal attitudes and values
Positive perception can compensate for

decline in physical functioning
Two-thirds of those between 60-70 think

they are young or middle-aged
Cohort:
Group of individuals born in the same period,
share the same event at the same time.
Cohort effect:
Something people in the same age cohort
have in common. E.g., experience of living
through World War II, women working full time,
living in the suburbs,….
“The Inception” experience
List of Generations
Baby-Boomers – born 1946-64 (>10 million)
Baby Bust or Generation X – born late 60s – 70s

(also known as Millennial Generation)
Echo-boomers –born 1977-1994

(also known as Generation Y)
Generation Z – born early 90s – early 2010
Generation Alpha – 2010 ---

Increased life-expectancy has transformed
"Yesterday's Yuppie" into today's "ZOOMER".
Canadian lifestyle
magazine for 45+
Life Span
Number of years humans could live under
ideal conditions, estimated -- 120 years
Life expectancy
Average number of years people in a given
population can expect to live
http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2006/as-sa/97-551/vignettes/cda06pymd.swf
Why do women live longer, seriously?
Delay in cardiovascular diseases

M – 50s and 60s
W – 70s and 80s
(W - heart works better, hormonal effect)
M – smoke more,, eat more high

g cholesterol food
W – 2 “X chromosomes”
M – 1 “X chromosome”
(W – cells more likely to survive)
M - “Testosterone Storm” – dangerous behaviours

in 20s and 30s
M – higher suicide rate than W

I can’t help it, BUT here is the real reason….
“The Grand Plan” –
W -- need to look after their kids

kids’ kids
M -- no need to raise kids
(they are busy hunting, gathering and
chasing women…and dying in the process)
Community or Institutions?
¾ 94% live in private households

¾ Residential care and long-term care in B.C.:
¾ 9.3% of 65-74
65 74 years
¾ 27.5 % of 75-84 years
¾ 64.4 % of 85+ years
What does the current older Canadian
population look like?
¾ there more females as males die younger

¾ often widowed
¾ females married older males, females live
l
longer, males
l remarried.
i d
¾ females usually living alone, males with
someone
What causes population aging?
¾ Three major factors driving demographics

of a population are:
¾ birth
bi th (fertility)
(f tilit ) rates
t
¾ higher life expectancy
¾ immigration rates
Fertility Rate
¾ Average number of children born per woman by
the end of their childbearing years
¾ Average age of women giving birth rose from

7.0 to 29.3
27.0 9.3 (last
( ast 200 years)
yea s)
¾ Influenced by birth control

availability/reliability/acceptance, abortion rate,
desirability of children (economic advantage or
disadvantage to having many children),
Life expectancy
-- we are living longer

-- improved public health and sanitation
-- immunization, food safety
-- medical innovation (antibiotics and
diagnostics)
Immigration
Overall effect is much less than fertility and mortality rates
During first half of 20th century:

¾ immigrants to Canada were very young adults
¾ immigrants
i i post WWII include
i l d mostly
l 30+
30
More than 600,000 immigrants/year could have a

measurable impact
Effect more on ethnic diversity than population aging

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Gero 300

Instructor: Habib Chaudhury, PhD

Teaching Assistant: Kim McKercher, MA Student

What is the difference between

Gerontology – study of aging

Geriatrics – branch of Internal Medicine

What term should we use

¾ Focuses on aging and old age

Gerontology – Which professions and

Why study Gerontology?

• Gerontology is a growing professional field

• Working with older adults can be deeply rewarding

• Civic responsibility to know about seniors

• Understanding your own life

4.5 million or 13.7% are 65+

Population is Aging. How do we know?

Percentage of population aged 65+

A population with 10% or more people 65 or over

Canada has 13.7% of 65 or over older population

As the median age increases, the population

Canada’s median age – 39.5 years

Limitations of Dependency Ratio:

in 18-64 are not working

familial and societal definitions of dependency

Defining Old Age:

2.Social Roles and Age

3.Biological Aging and Functioning

Commonly used indicator – 65 and over

Social construction of age

Limitations – People’s functional capabilities vary

2. Social Roles and Age

Social expectations for some roles

Age structure – infancy,

The expectations are getting blurred

How people look and what they can do

• Somewhat impaired elderly

What is age-related decline?

¾ most noticeable outwards effects: grey hair,

Aging as a perception of the mind,

Influenced byy societal attitudes and values

Positive perception can compensate for

Two-thirds of those between 60-70 think

Baby-Boomers – born 1946-64 (>10 million)

Baby Bust or Generation X – born late 60s – 70s

Echo-boomers –born 1977-1994

Generation Z – born early 90s – early 2010

Generation Alpha – 2010 ---

Why do women live longer, seriously?

Delay in cardiovascular diseases

M – smoke more,, eat more high

M - “Testosterone Storm” – dangerous behaviours

M – higher suicide rate than W

“The Grand Plan” –

W -- need to look after their kids

¾ 94% live in private households

¾ there more females as males die younger

What causes population aging?

¾ Three major factors driving demographics