Is There Such a Thing as Normal Aging?

Yale University Professor Thomas Gill and colleagues have identified examples of what are often, but not always, considered to be indicators of normal aging for people who practice good health habits and get recommended preventive care, reports Kaiser Health News . A decline in stamina is one such indicator, which accelerates in the 50s, as does a decline in resilience from injuries or sickness. Meanwhile, people's susceptibility and negative response to flu, pneumonia, and shingles increase as they get older, as does the importance of vaccines for those illnesses. A loss of hearing also is a common affliction, and Gill notes the chances of developing some form of dementia doubles every five years beginning at age 65, according to a report in the American Journal of Public Health . Gill also says people in their 60s might start recognizing a slowdown of information retrieval. "This doesn't mean you have an underlying disease," he says. In their 70s, chronic conditions — such as hypertension, diabetes, or dementia — often arise. "A small percentage of people will enter their 70s without a chronic condition or without having some experiences with serious illness," Gill says. Furthermore, people in their 70s lose bone and muscle mass, which makes them more vulnerable to serious injury or fracture. Mobility issues are another growing symptom for people in their seventh decade. In their 80s, fear of falling becomes prominent, and Gill says by age 90, people have about a 1-in-3 chance of manifesting signs of Alzheimer's-related dementia.