Santrock: Chapter 4Feldman: Modules 4-1 & 4-2

• Injury and Illness through the Lifespan

Children

Influences on Physical Growth & Health – Infectious Diseases

• 70% of deaths in children under age 5 are due to infectious diseases

• 99% are in developing countries and are related to malnutrition

• Most death due to diarrhea can be prevented by oral rehydration therapy (ORH)

Children’s Health - Prevention

• Immunization– Meningitis, measles, rubella, mumps, chicken pox,

polio

• Accidents– Poisonings, falls, drowning, choking

• Poverty– Good medical care, nutrition, living conditions

Influences on Physical Growth & Health - Immunization

• Immunization has caused a dramatic decline in childhood diseases in the industrialized world

• 24% of American preschoolers lack essential immunizations (40% in poverty)– Availability of care– Misconceptions (MMR & autism)

Influences on Physical Growth & Health – Otitis media

• 70+% of American children have had at least one bout by age 3

• Xylitol may be a preventative• Tubes remain controversial• Child-care settings should control infection• May cause problems in language

development due to hearing problems

Health - Middle to Late Childhood

• This is generally a healthy time• The most common vision problem (25%) is

myopia (nearsightedness), which progresses more rapidly during the school year.

• Otitis media becomes less prevalent.

Asthma

• 19% of N.A. children have chronic diseases and conditions

• Asthma accounts for 1/3 of chronic illness and is the most common reason fro school absence

• Incidence has increased dramatically, 8% of U.S. children—boys, low SES, parents smoke, born underweight most at risk

Injuries in Early Childhood

• Leading cause of childhood mortality in industrialized countries.

• Motor vehicle collisions are the most frequent source of injury at all ages & the leading cause of death among children over 1 year old

• Auto accidents, drownings and burns are the most common accidents of early childhood

Injuries in Middles to Late Childhood

• The rate of injury fatalities increases into adolescence with rates for boys rising considerably above those for girls.

• MV accidents are still the leading cause of death, with bicycle accidents next.

• Parents often overestimate children’s safety knowledge and behavior

A Problem for All Ages

Obesity: U. S. & Western Nations

There has been a marked rise in obesity in the U.S. and other Western nations. Percentage doubled since 1980;

quadrupled since 1965

U.S. may have 2nd highest rate15% of U.S. children 6-11 overweight

Less common in African American than white children; trend reverses in adolescence

Causes of Obesity

• Genetics• SES (diet); high fat, low-cost

foods• Family stress (comfort food)• Pastimes (TV, videogames) and

lack of exercise• Fast-food and busy schedules• Learned food preferences (school

cafeterias)

Middle Adulthood: Illness & Disability

• Cancer & cardiovascular disease are the leading causes of death. Cancer alone among women.

• Motor vehicle collisions decline, falls resulting in fractures & death nearly double.

• Personality traits that magnify stress, especially hostility and anger, are serious threats to health.

Cardiovascular Disease• First detected factors may be high blood

pressure, high cholesterol, and atherosclerosis (a buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries).

• Heart attack: blockage of blood supply to an area of the heart (50% die before reaching the hospital, 15% during treatment)

• Other conditions include arrhythmias and angina pectoris

Cancer – Middle Adulthood• The death rate multiplies tenfold from early to

middle adulthood.• Lung cancer has dropped in men (fewer smoke) and

increased in women.• Cancer occurs when a cell‘s genetic program is

disrupted, leading to uncontrolled growth.• Damage to the p53 gene is involved in 60% of

cancers. This gene stops defective DNA from multiplying.

• Having the BRCA1 or BRCA2 tumor-suppressing gene is protection against breast cancer.

Cancer

• 40% of people with cancer are cured.• Breast cancer is most prevalent for women,

prostate cancer for men.• Lung cancer is next, followed by colon/rectal

cancer.

Adult-Onset Diabetes• Causes abnormally high levels of blood

glucose• Incidence doubles from middle to late

adulthood• Effects 10% of the elderly• Inactivity and abdominal fat deposits greatly

increase risks• Treated with controlled diet, exercise, and

weight loss

Arthritis• Osteoarthritis: most common and involves

deteriorating cartilage on the ends of bones of frequently used joints

• Rheumatoid arthritis: an autoimmune response leading to inflammation of connective tissue, especially the membranes that line the joints

• Effects 45% of American men and 52% of women over 65. Rises to 70% in women at age 85.

Nutrition – Obesity in Adulthood

• Adult obesity correlated with increased risk of hypertension, diabetes, & cardiovascular disease

• May be a genetic propensity for obesity. It tends to run in families. (May also be learned eating patterns.)

Health & Disease in Older Adulthood

• Generally a continuation and intensification of problems that began in middle adulthood.

Physical Disabilities• Cardiovascular illness and cancer increase

dramatically and remain the leading causes of death

• Respiratory diseases also rise sharply– Emphysema, mostly from smoking– Pneumonia, 50 types

• Stroke is the 4th most common killer– Hemmorage or blockage of blood flow in the brain

Chronic Conditions of Older Adulthood

ArthritisHypertensionHearing impairmentHeart diseaseDiabetesAsthmaOsteoporosis

Osteoporosis• Major age-related bone loss• 12 to 20 % of patients die within a year of a

major break such as a hip• Patients are advised to:– Take calcium and vitamin D– Engage in weight-bearing exercise– Take HRT/ERT– Take bone-strengthening medications

Unintentional Injury• At age 65 and older, the death rate from

unintentional injuries is at an all-time high• Due to MV accidents and falls• Older adults have higher rates of traffic violations,

accidents, and fatalities per mile driven than any other age group

• 30% of people over 65 and 40% of those over 80 have experienced a fall in the last year

• Declines in vision, hearing and mobility make it harder to avoid hazards and keep one‘s balance