The adult life span

Distance learning materials for the B.Sc(Hons) Social work programme as part of the 'Working with Adults' module. A discussion, with critical thinking exercises, that presents a biographical approach to the study of the adult life course

Loneliness Across the Life Span

Most people have experienced loneliness and have been able to overcome it to reconnect with other people. In the current review, we provide a life-span perspective on one component of the evolutionary theory of loneliness—a component we refer to as the reaffiliation motive (RAM). The RAM represents the motivation to reconnect with others that is triggered by perceived social isolation. Loneliness is often a transient experience because the RAM leads to reconnection, but sometimes this motivation can fail, leading to prolonged loneliness. We review evidence of how aspects of the RAM change across development and how these aspects can fail for different reasons across the life span. We conclude with a discussion of age-appropriate interventions that may help to alleviate prolonged lonelines

Lifelongα-tocopherol supplementation increases the median life span of C57BL/6 mice in the cold but has only minor effects on oxidative damage

The effects of dietary antioxidant supplementation on oxidative stress and life span are confused. We maintained C57BL/6 mice at 7 ± 2°C and supplemented their diet with α-tocopherol from 4 months of age. Supplementation significantly increased (p = 0.042) median life span by 15% (785 days, n = 44) relative to unsupplemented controls (682 days, n = 43) and also increased maximum life span (oldest 10%, p = 0.028). No sex or sex by treatment interaction effects were observed on life span, with treatment having no effect on resting or daily metabolic rate. Lymphocyte and hepatocyte oxidative DNA damage and hepatic lipid peroxidation were unaffected by supplementation, but hepatic oxidative DNA damage increased with age. Using a cDNA macroarray, genes associated with xenobiotic metabolism were significantly upregulated in the livers of female mice at 6 months of age (2 months supplementation). At 22 months of age (18 months supplementation) this response had largely abated, but various genes linked to the p21 signaling pathway were upregulated at this time. We suggest that α-tocopherol may initially be metabolized as a xenobiotic, potentially explaining why previous studies observe a life span extension generally when lifelong supplementation is initiated early in life. The absence of any significant effect on oxidative damage suggests that the life span extension observed was not mediated via any antioxidant properties of α-tocopherol. We propose that the life span extension observed following α-tocopherol supplementation may be mediated via upregulation of cytochrome p450 genes after 2 months of supplementation and/or upregulation of p21 signaling genes after 18 months of supplementation. However, these signaling pathways now require further investigation to establish their exact role in life span extension following α-tocopherol supplementation

Long-Run Trends of Human Aging and Longevity

Over the last 200 years humans experienced a huge increase of life expectancy. These advances were largely driven by extrinsic improvements of their environment (for example, the available diet, disease prevalence, vaccination, and the state of hygiene and sanitation). In this paper we ask whether future improvements of life-expectancy will be bounded from above by human life-span. Life-span, in contrast to life-expectancy, is conceptualized as a biological measure of longevity driven by the intrinsic rate of bodily deterioration. In order to pursue our question we first present a modern theory of aging and show that immutable life-span would put an upper limit on life-expectancy. We then show for a sample of developed countries that human life-span thus defined was indeed constant until the 1950s but increased since then by about eight years in sync with life-expectancy. In other words, we find evidence for manufactured life-span.human life-span, life-expectancy, aging, compression of mortality, life-span extension

Brain Weight and Life-Span in Primate Species

In haplorhine primates (tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and humans), there is a significant correlation between brain weight and maximum life-span when the effect of body size is removed. There is also a significant correlation in haplorhine primates between brain weight and female age at first reproduction. For strepsirhine primates (lorises and lemurs), there are no significant correlations between brain weight and either life-span or female reproductive age when the effect of body size is removed. This lack of correlation in strepsirhine primates may be related to the fact that these primates are nocturnal and/or natives of the island of Madagascar, both of which conditions may reduce competition for resources and predation pressure. These findings suggest that in haplorhine primates the genetic systems controlling brain growth are linked to the systems governing the life cycle so that species with longer cycles have larger brains. When the effect of body weight is removed, leaf-eating haplorhines have significantly smaller brains and shorter lives than haplorhines with other diets. Harem-living haplorhines also have significantly smaller brains and shorter life-spans than troop-living haplorhines when the effect of body weight is removed. We also sought to test the rate-of-living hypothesis by determining whether primates with basal metabolic rates that are higher than would be expected for their body size have shorter maximum life-spans than would be expected for their body size. Metabolic rate is not correlated with life-span or female age at first reproduction when the effect of body size is removed

Life Span Management

One of the challenges plaguing the health of people is the effect of chronic diseases. Life expectancy of people has continued to be at stake due to the emergence of chronic diseases. The centers for public health in various countries have raised concern that there is a need for urgent intervention to address this challenge. Self-management is the key to a healthy life and healthy aging. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), lifespan management could play an important role in preventative measures of hereditary diseases, reduce mortality rates, and act as motivating factors to human beings in general. Life span is the duration of existence of an individual or the amount of time that a person or animal lives according to Cambridge dictionary and this could be improved. There are various measures that have been scientifically proven to improve lifespan management such as calorie reduction, good nutrition, regular exercise, weight reduction, and healthy relationship. In conclusion, healthcare givers, doctors, and nurses should be able to learn that treatment is not the only medical process that can heal a patient. Lifespan management is an all-round process aimed at improving the health of a patient and if possible, a total restoration