If we are engaged in a struggle against aging, we need to understand what aging does to our body. Other than the gray hair and wrinkles, do you know that aging actually affects many of our organs and their functions?
Signs of aging
Signs of aging
Cardiovascular system
Arteries and blood vessels become stiffened. The heart must work harder to pump blood through blood vessels. The heart muscles, in turn, must adjust to the increased workload. These changes raise the risk of high blood pressure and heart diseases such as coronary artery disease. The changes in blood vessels in the brain also increase the risk of stroke.
Bones, joints, and muscles
Bones shrink and become weaker. Age significantly increases the risk of osteoporosis (bone mass loss).
Joints become stiff and lose their flexibility. Most people over age 60 have osteoarthritis to some degree.
Muscles lose their volume and strength. After age 30, you begin to lose as much as 3-5 percent per decade.
These changes can affect coordination stability and balance while increasing the risk of falling and fractures. Aging can increase the risk of osteoarthritis and often causes a stooped posture in elderly people.
Digestive system
Structural changes in the large intestine can lead to constipation.
A recent study of fruit flies suggested that the guts of female fruit flies become leaky as they age, suggesting that the digestive system may play a more important role in mediating aging than had previously been understood.
Bladder and urinary tract
The bladder may become less elastic while the bladder and pelvic floor muscles become weak. These changes can cause more frequent urination and incontinence. In men, there is also the tendency of an enlarged prostate.
Brain
Changes in the brain may have minor effects on the memory or thinking skills of healthy older adults.
Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. Although age is not a direct cause for Alzheimer’s, it is the greatest known risk factor. Alzheimer’s normally develops in adults aged 65 or older. The risk doubles every 5 years after age 65. By the age of 85, nearly one-third of people will develop dementia.
The risk of Parkinson’s disease increases with age. It normally develops around age 60 or older.
Respiratory system
With aging, the airways will close more easily as the muscles and other tissues supporting the airways become weakened and contracted. The air sacs in the lungs can become baggy.
These changes, together with the chronic inflammation often observed in older adults and the over-production of mucus in the airways, increases the risk of another top killer – Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which is commonly diagnosed after the age of 45.
Eyes and ears
Aging can cause difficulty focusing on nearby objects (presbyopia); it can also cause clouded vision (cataracts).
Hearing ability also can diminish with aging.
Teeth
Aging often causes gum tissue to pull away from the teeth. This can make teeth and gums more vulnerable to decay and infection.
Skin
Skin becomes thinner and less elastic. Fatty tissue below the skin decreases. Wrinkles, age spots, and skin tags are all signs of aging skin.
Body metabolism
The body’s metabolism slows down with aging, which means that it is easier to gain weight even with the same food intake.
The risk of type-2 diabetes increases with age, especially after age 45. This is probably due to the muscle loss and weight gain associated with aging,
Sexuality
Sexual needs and performance may change with age. Vaginal dryness for women and impotence for men can become a concern.
Cellular aging
Aging processes and cancer share several mechanisms at the cellular level. Age is the greatest risk factor for developing cancer. According to the US National Cancer Institute’s database, 43 percent of men and 38 percent of women will develop an invasive cancer over their lifetime. The famous cancer expert Dr. Bob Weinberg of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology once said, “If you live long enough, you will get cancer.”
Another problem created by the “old” cells is chronic inflammation, which is a contributing factor to many of the age-related diseases mentioned above.
Age-related disease
Age-related disease
Aging affects nearly all the organs in our body. It is also the single most important risk factor for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. If we fight the battles one by one, we are just replacing one problem with another one. Sooner or later, one of the age-related diseases will get us. For example, if a patient survives a heart attack at age 60, he might develop cancer at age 80. But what if we can prevent, delay, or even reverse aging itself? This seems to be the only way of winning the battle with age-related diseases.
Besides my professional training and experience, this chapter relies on the following resources for inspiration and content:
- Healthy aging on the Mayo Clinic website: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/healthy-aging/in-depth/aging/art-20046070
- The basics of osteoarthritis on WebMD: https://www.webmd.com/osteoarthritis/default.htm
- Parkinson’s disease on the Mayo Clinic website: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/parkinsons-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20376055
- Causes and risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease on the website of the Alzheimer’s Association.
- Type-2 diabetes on the Mayo Clinic website: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/type-2-diabetes/symptoms-causes/syc-20351193