Ms sajida kamran

Mphil, MSc, BSPT

Senior lecturer
Physiotherapy, IPMR, DUHS
 Upon completion of the prescribed program
for a major in sociology the student should
be able to:
 Demonstrate knowledge essential for
understanding aging, health issues for aging,
changes in the body and mind.
 Students also understand how social
devaluation occurs.
 What are the health challenges for older
adults.
 What are the health strategies.
 Aging is a pattern of life changes that occurs as one
grows older.
 Gerontology is the study of individual and collective
aging processes.
 Biological age
 Psychological age
 Social age
 Legal age
 Functional age
 Avoid serious, debilitating diseases and disability.
 Engage independently in most normal activities of
daily living.
 Maintain cognitive function.
 Able to cope with physical, social, and emotional
changes
 Sense of control of their lives
 As the number of older increases, their financial and
medical needs become issues.
 More people will be drawing from Social Security
while less people contribute to the system.
 Health care costs to the individual will rise as
Medicare coverage becomes less adequate.
 Housing and living arrangements will be a problem for
low-income elderly.
 A shortage of donor organs will present difficult
ethical questions.
 Typical physical changes
 Skin
 Bones and joints
 Head
 Urinary tract
 Heart and lungs
 Eyesight
 Glaucoma
 Macular degeneration
 Hearing
 Sexual changes
 Body comfort
 Typical mental changes
 Intelligence
 Memory
 Adaptability
 Depression
 Senility
 Older adults in industrialized societies may
experience social devaluation.
 Where in a person or group is considered to
have less social value than other persons or
groups.
 Social devaluation is especially acute when
people are leaving roles that have defined
their sense of social identity and provided
them with meaningful activity.
 Alcohol use and abuse
 Prescription drug use
 Over-the-counter remedies
 Develop and maintain healthy relationships
 Enrich the spiritual side of life
 Improve fitness
 Eat for health
 Older adults often experience comorbidity, or multiple

chronic health problems.

 Respite care is care that is given by someone who

relieves the primary caregiver.

ENVIRONMENTAL
POLLUTION AND
HEALTH
 After completion of the prescribed program
the student should be able to:
 Understand environment
 Understand pollution
 Understand allergy
 Also differentiate between indoor and
outdoor pollution
 Environment (biophysical), the physical and
biological factors along with their chemical
interactions that affect an organism or a
group of organisms. Environment (systems),
the surroundings of a physical system that
may interact with the system by exchanging
mass, energy, or other properties.
 The environment includes the physical

(geography & climate), biological (presence

& absence of known disease agent), & social

(socioeconomic status, occupation, &

location of home) environment.

 Pollution can be classified according to the
medium which is contaminated or where the
contamination occurs
 Water pollution

 Air pollution

 Soil pollution
Also commonly referred to as land pollution

 Indoor Pollution
 In developed nations…
 Potable drinking water is readily accessible

 Water used in households is treated to remove

dangerous pollutants

 Pollutants enter water supplies several ways

 Example: pollution from precipitation
 Example: pollution from irrigation runoff
 Most
water pollutants can be dangerous to
human health
Example: lead in water supplies from pipes and
pipe solder may cause brain damage, especially
in children

 Untreated or inadequately treated sewage

discharges can also be harmful to human
health
Example: microbes
Definition: very tiny pathogens, or organisms
such as protests, bacteria, or viruses, that cause
disease
Causes of air pollution
•Natural
Example: forest fires
•Human Activities
Example: combustion of fossil fuels as
energy

Major sources of air contamination remain

industrial processes and motor vehicles
Common air pollutants
Ozone (O3)
•Found in Earth’s upper
and lower atmosphere

Upper atmosphere
Protects Earth from
harmful solar radiation

Lower atmosphere
Pollutant that can
cause (chronic)
respiratory tract
infections, eye
irritation, coughing,
shortness of breath,
nausea, wheezing, and
headaches
 Carbon Monoxide (CO)
• Colorless, odorless gas
• Formed from the incomplete combustion of fuels
• Commonly found in automobile and industrial
emissions
• Exposure to carbon monoxide includes symptoms
such as headaches, fatigue, and flu-like symptoms at
low levels
• Exposure to carbon monoxide includes symptoms
such as impaired vision and hearing, problems with
fine motor skills, and lack of concentration at
moderate to high levels
 Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
• Formed from the burning of coal containing pyrite,
that combines with oxygen in the atmosphere

• Exposure to moisture in the atmosphere produces

sulfuric acid (acid rain)
• Exposure to sulfur dioxide includes symptoms such
as respiratory illnesses, decreased lung functions,
and aggravation of existing heart disease
 Definition: reaction to the body to a foreign
substance that, in similar amounts and
circumstances, is harmless to most other
people
 Produced by allergens which cause the allergic
reaction
Common allergens include bacteria, pollen, cigarette
smoke, animal dander, and dust
 Commonly controlled with medication and the
avoidance of the irritating substance or activity
 Pollution that contaminants all, or at
least portions of land and underlying
soils
 Common soil pollution sources
 Agriculture
Example: sediments, pesticides, herbicides, animal
wastes, and fertilizers resulting from poor irrigation
systems and the improper disposal of wastes
 Industrial Processes
Example: release of toxic substances from industry,
poor mining practices, oil and gas well leaks, and
underground storage tanks (Ex. Love Canal, NY et.
al.)
 Common in households and pose potential
health risks to humans
 Common household materials that are
potentially hazards include carpeting
adhesives, paints, cleaning products, oils,
and pesticides
 Potential harm from misuse and
mishandled materials
 Several ways to reduce the risk of
indoor pollutants
• Read instructions carefully and follow
the material on labels exactly
• Use minimal amounts of materials to
accomplish the task
• Discard excess or unused wastes
according to the manufacturers label
• Remove household hazardous waste by
contacting a local collection program
for proper disposal
 Sound that is unwanted or disrupts one’s quality of life
is called as noise. When there is lot of noise in the
environment, it is termed as noise pollution.

 Sound becomes undesirable when it disturbs the

normal activities such as working, sleeping, and during
conversations.

 It is an underrated environmental problem because of

the fact that we can’t see, smell, or taste it.

 World Health Organization stated that “Noise must be

recognized as a major threat to human well-being”
 According to the USEPA, there are direct links
between noise and health. Also, noise pollution
adversely affects the lives of millions of people.

 Noise pollution can damage physiological and

psychological health.

 High blood pressure, stress related illness, sleep

disruption, hearing loss, and productivity loss are
the problems related to noise pollution.

 Itcan also cause memory loss, severe depression,

and panic attacks.
THANK YOU