Omaima UNIT 4 – P5 M3
P5-M3: Explain the physical and psychological changes which may
be associated with ageing and discuss the effects on self-esteem
and self-confidence, of the physical changes associated with ageing
When an individual goes though ageing various changes occur and those can be physical or
psychological.
Some of the physical changes are:
Hormones - these are chemical substances that affect the activity of another part of the
body. There are various hormones, some increase like epinephrine and parathyroid
while others do not change like thyroid hormones and insulin. However, usually
hormones decrease with age, so as an example would be the level of testosterone
gradually lowering with time in men starting at the age of 30 years old and in women is
estrogen that lowers and leads to menopause.
Menopause – this happens to all women with age and it is normal. It’s when a female
stops having menstruation and is not able to get pregnant.
There are many symptoms a woman will experience during this physical change, such as:
o Hot flushes
o Low mood and mood swings
o Anxiety
o Reduced sex drive and discomfort during sex
o Memory problems
Menopause usually happens between the age of 45 and 55 years and it happens
gradually. For example, a woman in her mid-40s would experience mood swings and
irregular periods before they stop completely.
Cardiovascular system – many people suffer from cardiovascular disease, which is a
problem with the heart and/or blood vessels. Older people are more likely to be affected
by these health issues, an example could be coronary heart disease which happens
when the blood vessels delivering to the heart are constricted or blocked.
Symptoms are:
Chest pain
Breathlessness
Heart attacks
Heart failure
However, some people do not experience symptoms before they get analysed, reason
why cardiovascular illnesses remain the leading cause of death. For example, an older
adult who has been experiencing chest pain for several months goes to the GP and gets
referred to understand the issue, but another person who does not have any type of
symptoms would not know they have any problems therefore it would go unnoticed for
a long time.
Respiratory system – when a person ages there is a decline in physiological
developments, leading to more health difficulties.
, Omaima UNIT 4 – P5 M3
A respiratory system interrelated disorder is chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
shortened as COPD which are lung related conditions that causes breathing
complications. This illness is common and it usually effects smokers in middle adulthood
and senior years, sometimes it can be caused by a continuous exposure to damaging
dust. This disorder happens when the lungs become constricted, damaged and irritated.
Young adults do not experience this disorder since individuals are typically 40 years old
when the first symptoms start to happen, which might be:
Breath shortness
Persistent cough
Breathing difficulties
An individual’s life expectancy can vary with this illness because it gets worse with time
depending on the treatments and environments. For instance, an ex-smoker who has
been receiving treatment for his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease but lives with
other smokers in a small house won’t feel better since he would be exposed to second-
hand smoking by breathing his housemates smoke.
Nervous system - cognitive changes are normal with ageing and they are different from
disorders like Alzheimer’s since the brain, like any other part of the body, starts to work
less effectively due to age. It is also important to consider that an individual experiences
cognitive changes based on the genetics, lifestyle and environmental factors.
There are various ways an old adult goes through intellectual changes, such as:
Memory
Attention
Language skills
An example could be when an elderly takes a long time to process her thinking or recall
something happened a long time ago while having a conversation with other people.
However, there are some mental tasks that need knowledge in which older people are
better at performing since they would have more experience and capability.
Muscular-skeletal - rheumatoid arthritis
is an autoimmune illness that affects the
joints on both sides of the body. For
example, an individual would experience
symptoms of this illness in the mornings
on both hands or feet.
Autoimmune means that the immune
system attacks the body.
The symptoms can be:
Swelling
Pain
Stiffness
A person can get this condition at any age, still it's more common that it starts at 30 and
60 years old.
This is an illness that progresses with time and has no cure which means that if someone
gets it early in their life stage it could get worse with time.
