Q&A Hero

Q: _____ are the ninth leading cause of death among older adults. A. Suicides B. Homicides C. Unintended accidents D.

Q: _____ are the leading cause of injury deaths among adults who are 65 years and older. A. Household fires B. Falls C. Motor vehicle accidents D.

Q: Selena walks with a marked stoop now that she is old. This is most likely due to _____. A. bursitis B. osteoporosis C. arthritis D.

Q: Women are especially vulnerable to _____, which is the leading cause of broken bones in women. A. osteoporosis B. arthritis C. osteomalacia D.

Q: Which of the following is the leading cause of death in the 75 to 84 and 85 and over age groups? A. Cardiovascular disease B. Kidney disease C. Cancer D.

Q: Among ethnic groups in the United States, _____ have high death rates for stroke, heart disease, lung cancer, and female breast cancer. A. African Americans B. Asian Americans C. Latinos D.

Q: Mrs. Hernandez has considerable pain and swelling in her wrists, fingers, and knees. It is becoming very difficult for her to maintain her usual routines as her stiffness increases. Mrs. Hernandez has _____. A. arteriosclerosis B. diabetes C. arthritis D.

Q: Which of the following statements about arthritis is NOT true? A. There is no known cure for arthritis. B. Exercise is not beneficial for people with arthritis. C. Symptoms of arthritis can be reduced with medications. D.

Q: _____ involves an extensive loss of bone tissue. A. Arteriosclerosis B. Diabetes C. Arthritis D.

Q: _____ diseases have a slow onset and a long duration, and are rare in early adulthood. A. Acute B. Chronic C. Terminal D.

Q: Compared with elderly men, elderly women are less likely to have: A. arthritis. B. hypertension. C. visual problems. D.

Q: _____ is the most common chronic disorder in late adulthood. A. Glaucoma B. Diabetes C. Arthritis D.

Q: Which of the following chronic conditions has been associated with the greatest limitations on work? A. Asthma B. Diabetes C. Arthritis D.

Q: Felicia is an American between 65 and 74 years of age. Her doctor should be most concerned about her developing _____, the leading cause of death for her age group. A. cancer B. influenza C. lung disease D.

Q: Which of the following is observed in older adults? A. Lung capacity increases B. Lungs become more elastic C. The diaphragm strengthens D.

Q: For older adults, with a partner who reported not having sex, the main reason was: A. poor physical health. B. depression. C. lack of privacy. D.

Q: Which of the following is a major challenge for sexually interested older women (70 years or older)? A. Male partner's physical health B. Lack of sex education C. Physical health of older women D.

Q: Which of the following is true of the effects of aging on human sexual performance? A. Orgasm becomes less frequent in females with age, occurring in every second to third attempt rather than every time. B. More direct stimulation usually is needed to produce an erection. C. A large-scale study of individuals from 57 to 85 years of age revealed that sexually active life expectancy was longer for women than men. D.

Q: Lung capacity drops _____ between the ages of 20 and 80, even when disease is not present. A. 20 percent B. 40 percent C. 50 percent D.

Q: A recent national survey revealed that 63 percent of adults _____ had a hearing loss defined as an inability to hear sounds at frequencies higher than 25 dB with their better ear. A. 70 years and older B. 65 years and older C. 105 years and older D.

Q: Which of the following is NOT true of older adults' response to hearing loss? A. Older adults often don't recognize that they have a hearing problem. B. Older adults deny that they have a hearing problem. C. Older adults accept loss of hearing as a part of growing old. D.

Q: A study revealed that hearing loss was associated with a reduction in cognitive function in _____. A. infants B. older adults C. young women D.

Q: Which of the following statements is true of smell and taste in the elderly? A. There is no sign of decline in these senses as we age. B. Older adults show a greater decline in their sense of taste than in their sense of smell. C. Smell and taste decline less in healthy older adults than in their less healthy counterparts. D.

Q: Which of the following areas will be less sensitive to touch in older adults? A. Wrists B. Ankles C. Shoulder D.

Q: What is the leading cause of blindness in older adults? A. Glaucoma B. Cataracts C. Macular degeneration D.

Q: Cigarette smoking contributes to _____, a condition in which individuals may have relatively normal peripheral vision but may be unable to see clearly what is right in front of them. A. glaucoma B. cataracts C. macular degeneration D.

Q: Lydia has been diagnosed with early macular degeneration. Which of the following treatments is her doctor most likely to recommend? A. Eye drops B. Removal of the lens of her eye C. Prescription for glasses D.

Q: A recent national survey revealed that _____ of adults 70 years and older had a hearing loss defined as an inability to hear sounds at frequencies higher than 25 dB with their better ear. A. 15 percent B. 28 percent C. 50 percent D.

Q: Which of the following is linked to more rapid onset of hearing difficulties in older adults? A. Defects in mitochondria and declining levels of testosterone B. Inadequate nourishment and a lifetime of smoking C. High blood pressure and resistant hypertension D.

Q: Which of the following is NOT one of the three major diseases that can impair the vision of older adults? A. Myopia B. Cataract C. Glaucoma D.

Q: Gisela is suffering from a condition that involves thickening of the lenses of her eyes. This causes her vision to become cloudy or distorted. Identify the condition that Gisela is suffering from. A. Glaucoma B. Nearsightedness C. Macular degeneration D.

Q: Which of the following is a risk factor in the development of cataracts? A. Cardiovascular disease B. Diabetes C. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease D.

Q: Jake has been diagnosed with a condition characterized by damage to the optic nerve due to buildup of fluid in the eye. So Jake is suffering from _____. A. glaucoma B. cataracts C. retinopathy D.

Q: Cynthia is 91 years old. Doctors have found that Cynthiss optic nerves have been damaged due to accumulation of fluid in the eye. Cynthia is worried that she will lose her vision, but the doctor has told her that her condition can be treated with eye drops. The disease that has marred Cynthia's vision is: A. glaucoma. B. cataracts. C. retinopathy. D.

Q: The vision of older adults can be affected by age-related changes. One of these changes, which can make steps or street curbs difficult to manage, is a decline in: A. eye-hand coordination. B. depth perception. C. ocular elasticity. D.

Q: The greatest decline in visual perception beyond 75, and especially beyond 85, involves: A. tolerance for glare. B. dark adaptation. C. area of the visual field. D.

Q: Color vision declines with age due to: A. the yellowing of the lens of the eye. B. a decline in the effectiveness of the cones to discriminate colors. C. cataracts preventing certain parts of the light spectrum from entering the lens of the eye. D.

Q: In which part of the color spectrum is the loss of color vision most likely to occur? A. Red-orange-yellow B. Green-blue-violet C. Yellow-violet-indigo D.

Q: Which of the following is a result of declining color vision in the green-blue-violet part of the color spectrum? A. Difficulty in accurately matching closely related colors. B. Difficulty in distinguishing between contrasting colors. C. Difficulty in seeing colored objects at a distance. D.

Q: In late adulthood: A. both men and women get shorter. B. men get shorter, but women do not get shorter. C. women get shorter, but men do not get shorter. D.

Q: Data from the Nun Study have pointed all of the following EXCEPT: A. positive emotions in early adulthood that were associated to longevity. B. stimulating the brain with intellectual activity that keeps neurons healthy and alive. C. negative emotions in early adulthood that were linked to longevity. D.

Q: In terms of percentage of total weight, which of following increases as a person reaches late adulthood? A. Muscle B. Bone density C. Fat D.

Q: Regular _____ has been shown to decrease the onset of physical disability in older adults. A. weight training B. walking C. massage D.

Q: Why does night driving become especially difficult in late adulthood? A. Due to diminishing sensitivity to contrasts and reduced tolerance for glare. B. Due to the decline in color vision. C. Due to increased tolerance for glare and increased sensitivity to contrasts. D.

Q: At 60 years of age, the retina receives only about _____ as much light as it did at 20 years of age. A. one-half B. one-third C. one-quarter D.

Q: The _____ is involved in memory. A. hippocampus B. amygdala C. prefrontal cortex D.

Q: The _____ is involved in smell. A. hippocampus B. amygdala C. olfactory bulb D.

Q: According to a study by Coleman that compared the brains of adults at various ages, from the forties through the seventies, the: A. growth of dendrites increased. B. growth of dendrites decreased. C. number of axons increased. D.

Q: Because of a decline in the functioning of the immune systems, vaccination against _____ is especially important in older adults. A. acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) B. influenza C. osteoarthritis D.

Q: _____ are the most noticeable changes in physical appearance in late adulthood. A. Loss of hair and brittle nails B. Osteoporosis and osteoarthritis C. Reduction in height and weight D.

Q: Reductions in _____ have been linked to small declines in memory functioning and to the severe memory loss associated with Alzheimer disease. A. gamma-aminobutyric acid B. dopamine C. acetylcholine D.

Q: Severe reductions in the production of dopamine have been linked with: A. Parkinson disease. B. Alzheimer disease. C. dementia other than Alzheimer disease. D.

Q: The neurotransmitter _____, which helps to control the preciseness of the signal sent from one neuron to another, decreases with aging. A. serotonin B. dopamine C. GABA D.

Q: Which of the following is a region of the adult human brain where neurogenesis has been documented? A. Amygdala B. Hippocampus C. Prefrontal cortex D.

Q: Identify the region of the human brain in which neurogenesis has been documented in adults. A. Amygdala B. Hypothalamus C. Prefrontal cortex D.

Q: Prolonged, elevated levels of stress-related hormones have been associated with all of the following conditions EXCEPT _____. A. hypertension B. cancer C. diabetes D.

Q: On average, the adult brain loses _____ percent of its weight between the ages of 20 and 90. A. 1 to 5 B. 5 to 10 C. 10 to 20 D.

Q: A study by Shan & others found that the volume of the brain was _____ in older adults than younger adults. A. 20 percent more B. 15 percent less C. 25 percent less D.

Q: With age: A. brain weight decreases; brain volume does not decrease. B. brain volume decreases; brain weight does not decrease. C. both brain weight and brain volume decrease. D.

Q: Which of the following is NOT a primary reason for the lowered brain volume of older adults compared to that of younger adults? A. Shrinkage of neurons B. Reduced length of axons C. Lower numbers of synapses D.

Q: The _____ is one area that shrinks more than others with aging. A. prefrontal cortex B. amygdala C. hypothalamus D.

Q: Defects in mitochondria have been linked with all of the following conditions EXCEPT: A. cardiovascular disease. B. arthritis. C. decline in liver function. D.

Q: Which of the following is a similarity among the cellular clock, free-radical, and mitochondrial theories? A. They attribute the process of aging to hormonal changes. B. They attempt to explain aging at the cellular level. C. They discount the role of genetics in aging. D.

Q: When faced with external challenges such as stressful situations, the human body adapts by altering internal physiological processes in a process known as _____. A. allostasis B. homeostasis C. peristalsis D.

Q: Continuous accommodation of physiological systems in response to stressors may result in _____, a wearing down of body systems due to constant activity. A. reverse peristalsis B. homeostatic load C. allostatic load D.

Q: What is the main difference between the way younger people and older people respond to stress? A. Younger people have a slower restorative process after a stressful episode. B. Younger people have better coping strategies for dealing with stress. C. The process of aging increases the pituitary gland's response to stress, making it work harder. D.

Q: Researchers have found that _____ reduces the oxidative damage created by free radicals. A. hormone replacement therapy B. moderate intake of red wine C. a diet restricted in calories D.

Q: Which of the following is NOT a biological theory explaining aging? A. Cellular clock theory B. Free-radical theory C. Mitochondrial theory D.

Q: The tiny bodies within cells that supply essential energy for function, growth, and repair are known as: A. Lewy bodies. B. ribosomes. C. chromosomes. D.

Q: The _____ theory states that aging is due to the decay of _____. A. free-radical; oxygen molecules B. mitochondrial; mitochondria C. stress; nutrients D.

Q: According to the mitochondrial theory, which of the following steps is NOT part of the damage caused by free radicals? A. Oxidative damage impairs mitochondrial function. B. Generation of even greater amounts of free radicals. C. The affected mitochondria become inefficient in generating energy for cellular needs. D.

Q: Based on the ways cells divide, Hayflick places the upper limit of the human life-span potential at about _____ years of age. A. 90 to 100 B. 100 to 110 C. 120 to 125 D.

Q: _____ are DNA sequences that cap chromosomes. A. Free radicals B. Polymers C. Telomeres D.

Q: According to the cellular clock theory, after about 70 or 80 replications, the cell no longer can reproduce and the _____ are dramatically reduced. A. mitochondria B. telomeres C. chromosomes D.

Q: Researchers have extended the life of a human cell by: A. removing the cap of the DNA molecule. B. injecting it with telomerase. C. rearranging the DNA sequences. D.

Q: Telomeres and telomerase are increasingly thought to be key components of the _____ process, providing a possible avenue to restrain cancer and delay aging. A. hormone production B. antibody proliferation C. free radical regeneration D.

Q: Which of the following biological theories of aging states that people age because their cells' normal metabolism produces unstable oxygen molecules? A. Cellular clock theory B. Free-radical theory C. Telomerase-injection theory D.

Q: The majority of older adults aged 80 and over: A. continue to live in the community. B. are institutionalized. C. report that their health is excellent or good. D.

Q: According to evolutionary theory, natural selection is linked to _____, which is present in the earlier part of adulthood. A. reproductive fitness B. neurogenesis C. cognitive and perceptual fitness D.

Q: According to evolutionary theory, which of the following is the reason Alzheimer disease not been eliminated by evolution? A. It appears only in adolescence or early adulthood. B. It is a genetic disorder. C. It is caused by improper diet and inadequate physical activity. D.