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Mental Health and Aging

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Encyclopedia of Geropsychology

Synonyms

Ageing; Behavioural problems; Gerontology; Mental health; Old age

Definition

Aging is the biological process of growing older. It is characterized by the progressive loss of physiological integrity, which leads to impaired function and higher vulnerability to death (López-Otín et al. 2013). While the United Nations considers a person above the age of 60 years to characterize an “older” or “elderly” person, high-income countries use the chronological age of 65 years as the reference point for older age. Aging is considered a primary risk factor for a number of major human pathologies, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and neurodegenerative diseases (López-Otín et al. 2013). The process of aging can be characterized by three main features: (1) an exponential increase in mortality with age, (2) physiological changes which typically result in functional decline with advancing age, and (3) an increased susceptibility to age-related diseases.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Research on Ageing, Health and Wellbeing, The Australian National University, 0200, Canberra, ACT, Australia

    Moyra E. Mortby & Kaarin J. Anstey

Authors
  1. Moyra E. Mortby
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  2. Kaarin J. Anstey
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Moyra E. Mortby .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Nancy A. Pachana

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© 2015 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

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Mortby, M.E., Anstey, K.J. (2015). Mental Health and Aging. In: Pachana, N. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geropsychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_1-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-080-3_1-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore

  • Online ISBN: 978-981-287-080-3

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