Functional Loss in Old Age
Aging is a normal process in life that everyone must undergo at different times. The phase of being associated with aging is a reflection of changes that occurs throughout life. The changes in the body of an individual start from birth until he or she attains maturity. Among the young people, aging is fascinating, while the middle age people notice the reality of aging following the occurrence of changes such as the presence of grey hair, physical decline, and wrinkling of the skin. Even the healthiest individuals cannot escape the changes associated with aging. Gradual and stable functional disability and physical impairment are realized, which results in increased cases of dependency among older people. WHO (World Health Organization) states that aging is a process of the biological reality that starts during the conception period and ends when a person dies (Amarya, Singh & Sabharwal, 2017). The aging process is associated with various psychological changes such as the nervous system, musculoskeletal system, gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, reproductive system, among other systems which leads to functional loss. The presence of functional loss may lead to a downward spiral in life, which affects the quality of life and the independence of an individual on other people.
Aging is related to the loss of vision, which leads to falls and accidents among older people. Visual functions, including stereo acuity, contrast sensitivity, and visual acuity, are linked to the risks of falls among older people (Saftari & Kwon, 2018). The change of vision in older people affects the ability to maintain balance. Falls are acknowledged to be the second leading cause of accidental death after road accidents. However, visual acuity is the most common dysfunction that leads to increased risks of falls among the older population. The flexibility of the lens of the eyes is affected, impacting the ability to focus the near or far objects. However, the presence of sufficient visual acuity with low contrast sensitivity affects older people not to detect hazardous objects in their environment, especially at night. Following the deterioration of vision, older people face challenges with maintaining their balance, which makes them dependent on other people. Therefore, the decline of vision among older people makes them have, low-quality life as they need to be assisted by other people with activities of daily living. The activities of daily living, such as cleaning, walking, and cooking, among others, are affected by vision. When vision is impaired, the quality of life is affected adversely. The scores for quality of life among people who suffer visual impairment is lower (Saftari & Kwon, 2018). The rising concerns about safer mobility and the ability to be involved with work among older people is a significant factor as they are considered as people who need assistance in performing different tasks. Thus, the loss of vision functioning is a factor that leads to low quality of life and dependence in older age.
Also, the change in mobility functioning is a factor that lowers the quality of life of the aging population. Mobility is a significant functioning in human life as it supports different activities of daily living. Activities such as cooking, going to the markets, cleaning, among other vital tasks, requires people to move. The impairment in movement affects the ability of older people to perform these tasks, making them dependent on other people (Ferrucci et al., 2016). Notably, mobility is one of the most critical physical abilities that is studied among the older population as it affects their life significantly. Movement, which includes the ability to climb stairs and walk, is an essential predictor of quality of life among older people. It is also a significant measure of successful aging. The limitations in mobility diminish the functional abilities, reduce the accessibility to medical services, and increases the risks of falls. Immobility is a problem that affects approximately 30% of older people (Musich eta al., 2018). The most common factors associated with stiffness are arthritis and lung problems, which leads to change in the gait. The limitations in mobility are also linked to back and knee pain. There are increased risks of falls three times more among people who have mobility limitations. The inability to move affects the lifestyle of older people due to the failure to perform tasks by themselves. They depend on other people who are around them to help them with activities of daily living such as cooking cleaning, shopping, among others, which affects their quality of life. The lack of people around to assist them in ambulation and performing essential tasks affects them more, leading to psychological stress. Also, the inability to access health care services in old age affects the older population to suffer health issues affecting them without access to assistive measures. Therefore, immobility is a functional dysfunction that affects older people leading to a diminished quality of life.
Furthermore, brain functioning is affected by the aging population. As people age, they experience loss of brain function because the brain cells degrade while there is no regeneration of these cells. Therefore, the ability of the brain to communicate and transmit signals is diminished. Loss of brain functioning is associated with increased fear among older people, especially when it comes to conditions like dementia (Amarya, Singh & Sabharwal, 2017). During the loss of brain function, diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease emerge following neurodegeneration WHO reveals that 6% of women and 5% of men who are 60 years and above have Alzheimer’s with dementia globally. The decline in brain functioning is linked to the reduction in the quality of life. The quality of life is affected by brain dysfunction following the inability to perform activities of daily living and decreased cognitive functioning. Also, it affects the behavior of the elderly as they associate with other people. The psychological changes in old age impact the ability of people to socialize effectively (Marshall et al., 2012). The brain controls the functioning of the body; thus, if it is affected, the whole body is adversely affected. Therefore, domains such as the performance of tasks and the health status of individuals are affected, which requires to be addressed through support from other people. For example, Alzheimer’s disease affects the ability of older people to perform activities of daily living, which makes them dependent on other people. The inability to perform tasks lowers the quality of life of older individuals.
Besides, older people experience loss of cognition, memory, intelligence, and the ability to learn, which affects their quality of life. Cognitive functions diminished in old age following proximal and distal life events such as social, physical, and cultural conditions. The rise in impaired cognition among elderly individuals is linked to the increased risks of self-injuries and a decline in the functional activities of daily living (Amarya, Singh & Sabharwal, 2017). Also, older people experience loss of intelligence, learning, and memory. The volume of the brain is at its maximum in the 20s, and it starts to degrade for the rest of life. At the age of 40 years, the cortex begins to shrink, which makes people realize the change in their ability to recall or perform more than one task at the same time. The decrease in the blood flow to the brain affects the ability to learn and retrieve information. Intelligence is also affected as people are not able to solve complex problems. Therefore, loss of cognition among older people affects their quality of life as they are prone to self-harm, which makes them dependent on other people to take care of them. The loss of memory, learning, and intelligence affects the ability of the people to perform tasks that require skills, which makes them dependent on other people. Carrying out more than one activity is challenging among the older people, and therefore they cannot may task effectively.
In conclusion, aging is an inevitable process for every human, which is associated with various challenges following functional changes in the body. Aging is linked to the decrease in the regenerative and reparative ability of organs and tissues in the body. Aging leads to sensory, functional, and physiological changes in the body that affects the quality of life. The ability of people to move is affected in old age following muscle weakness and the change in gait. The limitations in mobility jeopardize the ability of older people to perform activities of daily living such as cleaning, cooking, and going to the market, which influences them to depend on other people. Vision loss is one of the most significant sensory function that is affected in old age. The loss of vision leads to increased risks of falls, which makes the more aged people dependent on other people in performing tasks. Also, a decline in the function of the brain affects the older people through influencing degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, which makes people have a challenge in performing activities of daily living. Loss of cognition, memory, intelligence, and learning affects the ability of older people to perform actions that require skills and reminiscence. Therefore, people who are in their old age needs to be taken care of by people surrounding them to ensure that they can perform various activities of daily living and to enhance the quality of life.
Reference
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Marshall, G. A., Amariglio, R. E., Sperling, R. A., & Rentz, D. M. (2012). Activities of daily living: where do they fit in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease? Neurodegenerative disease management, 2(5), 483–491. https://doi.org/10.2217/nmt.12.5
Musich, S., Wang, S., Ruiz, J., Hawkins, K., & Wicker, E. (2018). The impact of mobility limitations on health outcomes among older adults. Geriatric Nursing, 39(2), 162-169. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2017.08.002
Saftari, L., & Kwon, O. (2018). Aging vision and falls: a review. Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 37(1). doi: 10.1186/s40101-018-0170-1 Saftari, L., & Kwon, O. (2018). Aging vision and falls: a review. Journal of Physiological Anthropology, 37(1). doi: 10.1186/s40101-018-0170-1