Now a lot of people are aging.And every year the number of elderly people will only increase. Why it happens? And all because every day the number of children born increases. After some 70 years, they will all grow old, which will lead to even greater relevance of the problem of aging and everything connected with it. Gerontology covers all these issues. What is this science? She studies the problems of aging people and everything that accompanies them.
Some call it a full-fledged science, andsomeone is the whole subdivision of medicine. The truth, as they say, is somewhere in the middle. And this is true, because it is impossible to consider, for example, the health of older people in isolation from their psychology and interaction with society. By the way, the issues of socialization of the elderly are considered by science, which is called social gerontology. About it will be discussed below. Now let's take a closer look at the science of aging.
Gerontology - what is this science?
Gerontology is an area of scientific knowledgewhich studies human aging and life extension mechanisms: both physiological and psychological. As for the treatment of elderly people, geriatrics is engaged in this as a sub-division of gerontology. In general, the subject matter of the science under consideration is rather wide, which allows it to be made complete. Gerontology deals with such problems:
- Treatment of elderly people.
- Study of the most common causes of death among the elderly.
- The study of age-related features associated with human aging.
- The study of the interaction of older people with society and different age categories in it.
- The study of the demographic dynamics of the elderly.
- Study of issues related to longevity.
As we see, the field of gerontology is quite wide,which creates a wonderful basis for the formation of a favorable society with a long life expectancy. Gerontology is becoming more and more important in the world. What triggered it? The reason for this is very simple. Gerontology is really an important science in the modern world. The more a person remains able to work, the better the whole world. And given the fact that retirees are more industrious than young people, this can significantly affect the positive aspects of social life. Let's look at some aspects related to gerontology in more detail.
Diseases of the elderly
A person can genetically live up to 120 years.We can find evidence of this not only in the works of gerontologists, but also in the Bible. As we see, in this case, religion says the same thing as science. In other cases, allegories are actively used, but this is another topic. How many pensioners live in the world? Maximum, up to 100 years. And if a person could live to 90 or even 80, then he is already considered a long-liver. And the question of achieving such a long life is engaged in gerontology. What can this provide? Scientists are thinking about this issue, and the answer is already found.
Why do people die so early?The reason for this is that they have illnesses that undermine their health. What are the most common diseases? First of all, the cardiovascular system suffers, which is the most vulnerable person. Therefore, a heart attack or ischemia at a solid age is common, albeit unpleasant. The locomotor system and respiratory system also suffer. Other associated pathologies may also occur. Very often there are several diseases at once, which only worsens the prognosis.
Age features of aging and old people
Old people have a lot of agepsychological features. In this case, gerontology has very close links with age psychology, which also studies this topic. This may also include diseases of the elderly, which are directly related to psychology. So, one of these is Alzheimer's disease or any other dementia, which is characterized by acquired dementia.
This disease develops rather slowly,but surely. You can only slightly delay its development, if you comply with preventive measures. Its course begins with the fact that a person has memory problems. Very often it is called senile sclerosis, but when it reaches the distant stages of the disease, it is already called marasmus.
Accordingly, it all depends on the stage at whichthere is a man. The disease lasts for about ten years, after which the patient becomes so lazy (this phenomenon in medical language is called abulia) that he has no desire to make even the slightest movement. Most often, Alzheimer's sufferers die from pneumonia, which appears on the background of a long lying on his back.
As you can see, age psychology is directly related to gerontology and medicine.
Relationship with society
In this case, it is considered howyourself an elderly person in society. This is also somewhat similar with regard to the subject of study with age psychology, where personal changes associated with the aging of a person are also in the range of interests. With the same Alzheimer's disease, the personal sphere can suffer a lot. So, for an elderly person may be characterized by some aggressiveness. It occurs for many reasons. Aspects of the relationship of an elderly person with society explores social gerontology.
Another reason for aggressive behavior in society
In addition, this disease significantly suffersthe human brain, so anything can happen. Another reason for aggressiveness can be the awareness of one’s own incompetence in what has worked very well before. For example, before a person could write, but now he loses this skill. All this negatively affects how the individual behaves with the people around him. However, the behavior can also become benevolent. Social gerontology tries to establish the causes and patterns.
What institutes in Russia are engaged in gerontology
Институт геронтологии – это научное, scientific and educational institution that devotes itself to the study of issues related to the aging person. There are several such educational institutions in Russia that have proven themselves quite well. This, for example, the Institute of Gerontology and Bioregulation. The first word in the title, we understood. But what is bioregulation? This is how the body maintains the constancy of its internal environment, functions. It is the deterioration of bioregulation that is a consequence of age-related changes. Therefore, bioregulation and gerontology are inseparable things. It is this issue that this gerontology institute is studying.
