While jokes about having a “senior moment” or “getting over the hill” may seem harmless, they can actually cause harm to older adults’ health, new research suggests.
These musings fall into the category of “everyday ageism” and help perpetuate negative stereotypes about older adults.
A new study published in the JAMA Network Open finds that almost all adults experience some form of old age in their daily lives. These aggressions and micro-aggressions range from absorbing old age messages in the media, meeting people who think they are less capable because of their age, and even believing in stereotypes about getting older.
“Alderism is a form of discrimination that can occur in all different ways, both overt and subtle,” said the study’s first author Julie Ober Allen, PhD, an assistant professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at the University of Oklahoma, Norman. . “Everyday ageism is rooted in stereotypes and very narrow beliefs about aging that tear away people’s individuality and treat them like a monolithic stereotype of older adults.”
In addition, the researchers found a link between experiences of everyday life and poorer health.
Ober Allen and colleagues from the University of Michigan studied more than 2,000 people between the ages of 50 and 80.
Participants were asked about 10 forms of everyday ageism, including reading or hearing jokes about aging or that older adults are unattractive or unwanted; meeting people who assume they have difficulty using technology or remembering or understanding things because of their age; and believing that having health problems, feeling lonely and feeling depressed is just part of getting older.
In total, 93 percent of respondents reported that they regularly experienced at least one form of old age.
The most common was to believe the statement that “having health problems is part of getting older.” Nearly 80 percent of participants had this belief, even though 82 percent described their own health as good or very good.
65 percent of respondents said they see, hear or read jokes that demean or stereotype older people, and 45 percent said they regularly experienced interpersonal old age or experiences that directly involved another person.
These could include others who assume they had difficulty seeing, hearing, understanding, remembering, or doing things independently. It can also mean that people assumed they were not doing anything important or anything valuable with their lives.
The researchers also looked at how ageism can affect the health of older adults.
To do this, they calculated an “everyday ageism score” for each participant and compared it with what they reported on their own physical and mental health.
The results showed that the higher the age score, the more likely it was that participants reported that their physical and mental health was “reasonable” or “poor”, the more chronic disorders they had, and the more likely they were to were depressed.
While the study cannot prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship between ageism and ill health, experts say it is worth investigating the link further.
Dr. Ronan Factora, a geriatrician at the Center for Geriatric Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, says internalized old age is a problem he needs to help his patients overcome every day.
“I often hear patients say ‘I’m getting weaker. It’s just because I’m getting older’ or ‘I’m short of breath because I’m getting older’ or ‘I have memory problems because I’m getting older,'” he said. people accept that these things they are experiencing are just a normal part of aging, but often that is not the case. “
When older adults internalize these beliefs, pull off their pain, and choose not to examine their ailments, they may miss an opportunity to receive treatment and find relief, he said.
Ober Allen and her colleagues believe that experiencing cases of everyday ageism triggers a stress response in the body that can contribute to accelerated aging.
“What we think is that when exposed to chronic sources of stress, which we suggest everyday life can be an example of a chronic source of stress, it really begins to strain the physiological stress response system,” he said. she.
In other words, the stress of being constantly bombarded with old age messages from the media, friends and family and the general public, as well as internalized harmful beliefs about aging, can have physical effects.
“When people experience the stress response so often and so regularly, research suggests that it can lead to premature aging and increase the risk of deteriorating multiple biological systems, putting people at risk for a variety of chronic diseases,” Ober Allen said. “So to some extent, some of the health-related changes that we associate with aging, if they are actually related to ageism and not chronological aging, could actually be prevented.”
Experts say that one of the most important things society can do to counteract the harmful effects of old age is to create awareness.
“It’s so common that most people don’t even notice it,” Ober Allen said. “We need to call it out when it happens and let others know it’s harmful.”
Factora suggests that we regard everyday life as any other form of discrimination.
“In this era, you would never stereotype a person based on their race, ethnicity or religion,” he said. “These are issues that we have really drummed over time, and age should be a part of it.”
At the interpersonal level, both experts advise to be aware of this when interacting with the older people in your life.
“Whether it’s your grandparents, neighbors, or a member of the general public, think twice about how you characterize them,” Factora said. “The words you say have an impact.”
He also recommends that you check in on your loved ones and encourage them to talk to their doctors about their health issues, especially if they seem to shrug their shoulders as a normal part of aging.
“When they do not seek medical attention for problems such as depression or anxiety, arthritis and related pain and mobility, memory problems and perhaps early dementia, they will end up with worsening chronic illness and it will have an effect on their function and independence,” he said. he. “Ultimately, if this cascade continues, these individuals will end up becoming disabled as people expect them to be. So it’s like a self-fulfilling prophecy. “
Of course, the medical profession is not exempt from the view of old age, so if you are an older adult and feel that your doctor does not take your complaints seriously, Factora recommends that you seek help from a geriatrician.
“They can help sort through your medical issues and see if there is anything else out there that can be addressed from a medical perspective, and it’s not just because of getting older,” he said.
