Elder Respect

ageism: prejudice against individuals or groups because of their age, including the values and beliefs which justify that prejudicebiodemography: science dealing with the integration of biology and demography (the statistical study of human populations)centenarian: someone who has lived to be over 100 years oldelder abuse: the mistreatment of older adultselderly care: addressing the special needs of senior citizens through assisted living, nursing homes, hospice care, and other servicesgerontology: the study of all of the aspects of aging, including physical, mental, and social, as well as the effects of aging on societyHayflick limit: the number of times a cell population will divide before stopping when the telomeres reach critical lengthInternational Federation on Ageing: international non-governmental organization dedicated to “generating positive change for older people throughout the world by stimulating, collecting, analyzing, and disseminating information”Jeanne Calment: the longest recorded lifespan in human history; born in Arles, France February 21, 1875 and died there August 4, 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 dayspopulation aging: when the median age of a country or region risesRespect for the Aged Day: a Japanese holiday that honors the elderly, first held in 1947 and made a national holiday in 1966retirement: when a person stops working; first introduced in Germany in the 1880ssandwich generation: the generation of people who care for their elderly parents while also raising their own growing children; added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2006senescence: also known as biological aging; refers to the changes in an organism’s biology as it ages after maturity, from the cellular to whole-organism levels; from senex, “old man or old age”Social Security: a federal program known officially as the Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program; offers benefits and assistance for the retired, disabled, and those affected by the death of a providersupercentenarian: someone who lives to be over 110