Case: A 50 year old American Female in 2004. Her name is Nancy, which was
the 10th most popular name for baby girls
in 1954. She has female friends who are both
older and younger than her age. Nancy
has been married, divorced, and remarried. Her
first marriage to Gary
(the 10th most popular name in 1954) occurred when they both
were 19.
Her current husband is David (the most popular boys name in 1960). They have
been married for 15 years, having blended
into their family children from both of their
previous marriages and they had one child
together. They claim five children (two each
from former marriages) and expect their
first grandchild in near future.
David does have a couple of close friends his age, but only acquaintances that are
older or younger than his current age,
this is typical of middle aged males.
Wondering if there are less days ahead of them than behind them, Nancy and
David searched out the following information:
At 40 years old, the longevity for males is age 75, for females it is age 78.4
At 45 years old, the longevity for males is age 74.6, for females it is age 78.8.
At 50 years old, the longevity for males is age 75.4, for females it is age 79.5.
At 55 years old, the longevity for males is age 76.3, for females it is age 80.3.
(Source: 1980 Commissioners Standard Ordinary Mortality Table)
Physical Changes
Nancy and David have noticed that their bodies seem to be changing. They run
across the following:
Metropolitan Life Insurance company reported in 1974 and again in 1992 that the
most common chronic problems "of middle
age" are breathing difficulties (asthma and
bronchitis), mobility and pain problems (arthritis and rheumatism), circulatory
malfunctions (including, but not limited
to hypertension), nutritional difficulties (diabetes
and digestive problems), sensory declines
(impairments of vision and hearing), and
genitourinary difficulties. They also mentioned
some emotional and mental disorders
showing up in middle age.
David and Nancy are wondering if they are near the "top of the hill" they have
heard older people talk about. They read
about Diane E. Papalia and associates, (1996,
page 11) giving major developments of middle
adulthood (40 to 65 years of age)
including:
1- "Typically women become more assertive, men more nurturant and
expressive."
2- The search for meaning in one's life becomes much more important.
3- "Wisdom and practical problem solving skills are high; [the] ability
to solve novel problems declines."
4- Adult caregiving may be necessary along with care giving younger
family members: the Sandwich Generation.
At times, Nancy has noticed that David does not seem bothered about work
injuries. She reads more from Diane E.
Papalia and associates, (1996, page 101). The
claims she reads is "...a decline in sensitivity
to touch after age 45, adults at about 50
begin to loose sensitivity to pain. But
at the same time that they feel pain less, they
become less able to tolerate it." She goes
on to express the difference in the ability of the
older body to adjust to cold; it is slower
than for younger people. Maybe this is the
answer to David's strange behavior.
With further study, Nancy finds some interesting data (Cavanaugh et al.,
2002):
1- Women affected with Osteoporosis
may loose up to 50% of bone
mass between the ages of 40 and 70.
2- Vital capacity (volume of
breath you can take) begins decline in the
40s and can drop as much as 40% by
the 70s.
In David's studying, he comes up with the following facts: During the decade of
the 50s, there is a noticeable increase
of hypertension, the climacteric leads to menopause
in middle 50s for most women, and the Thymus
shrinks to about 10% of its former size.
It is also interesting to note that Alzheimer's
disease is rarely seen in anyone under 50.
By the decade of life of the 60s, the normal hearing ranges have shown marked
declines, most especially in our male population.
Presbycusis (hearing loss) is especially
noted in the higher pitches and, in fact,
the normal charts show an expected decline in
those pitches as early as the mid 20s.
More surprising, David reads Constanza Villalba, (2001/2002), who suggests that
in their early 40s men have decline of
1% per year in their testosterone levels. They also
loose 3-5% of their muscle mass each decade
starting about age 25. Villalba also says
that about 50% of men in their 60s and
about 90% of men in their 70s and 80s have
enlarged prostrates.
Together David and Nancy find an interesting book and read the following from
Nancy Shute, (2001-2002). She gives a decade
by decade summary of the physical
changes that occur from age 40. Some of
her findings:
1- begin to burn 120 fewer calories than you did at 30.
2- You have lost 5/8th of an
inch since your 30th birthday and will
continue to loose about 1/16th of an inch every year thereafter.
3- Especially in men, hearing loss of high frequency pitches is normal.
4- The lenses of the eyes loose some of their accommodation to
different distances as the lens has grown thicker.
Nancy Shute, (2001-2002), says that in your 50s,
1- reach menopause (women only).
2- The eyes diminish in their ability to handle glare and low levels of
illumination.
3- Muscle mass is diminishing and becomes noticeable.
4- The thymus has shrunk by 90-95 % which results in more
vulnerability to infections and cancers.
So far David and Nancy have learned a good deal about physical aging for middle
adulthood. Some of this information seems
to be validated when they think of people
they know, although they are not sure how
well it applies to themselves. They now turn
to study what might happen to thinking
processes during middle age.
