PHYSIOLOGIC CHANGES
OF AGING
NEUROLOGICAL CHANGES
-Delirium/ Acute confusion
-Dimentia
-Sundowner’s Syndrome
SENSORY ORGAN CHANGES
-Poor Vision
-Hearing problems
-Loss of Smell
-loss the sense of Touch or
feeling
-Loss of taste
CARDIOVASCULAR CHANGES
-Decrease cardiac output
- Increase arterial stiffness
-decrease heart rate modulation
-Myocardial hypertrophy
-Impaired endothelial function
-Conduction abnormalities
-Cardiac Atrophy
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
-decrease elastic recoil
-Decrease ciliary function
- Weak thoracic inspiratory and
expiratory muscles
-Less effective inspiration
contractions
-Decrease lung volume
GASTROINTESTINAL CHANGES
-Saliva production decreases
-Tooth loss can lead to GI
problems since almost elders rely
on dentures
- Taste sensation decreases
because taste buds atrophy
-Esophageal motility decreases
-slower stomach motility
- Mass of the liver decreases in
weight and storage capacity
GENITOURINARY CHANGES
-Renal mass becomes smaller
with age
-tubular function decreases
- Changes in the kidney’s
function with aging alter the
renal excretion of drugs.
-increase urinary frequency
-bladder muscle and volume
decrease
-male reproductive system
changes such as: Decreased
testosterone production,
reduced sperm count, smaller
testes, and a need for more
direct physical stimulation to
achieve an erection
-female reproductive system
changes such as: Decreased
estrogen production, reduction
in breast tissue, increase
possibility of vaginitis, vaginal
canal is drier.
MUSCULOSKELETAL CHANGES
-Muscle tremors
-Bones become brittle and can
break easily
-Osteoporosis is a condition that
occurs so frequently
-Bone loss
INTEGUMENTARY CHANGES
-The skin becomes less elastic,
drier and more fragile
-Scalp, pubic and axilla hair thins
and loses color
-Fingernail growth slows and they
become thicker and more brittle.
-Increased proportion of adipose
tissue
-loss in subcutaneous tissue
IMMUNE SYSTEM CHANGES
-increased risk of infection
-Natural antibodies decrease
-greater risk of autoimmune disorders
-Antibody response to antigens
declines
ENDOCRINE CHANGES
-Reduction in hormone
production to regulate
physiology
COGNITIVE CHANGES
-changes in personality
-memory maybe altered by age
- With increasing age, there is more
time needed for problem solving.
