Outline of Contents

The outline of articles that follows was compiled by the editors to provide readers with an overview of the encyclopedia's coverage of topics in aging. This systematic list is intended to be helpful in developing courses, pursuing research, or simply browsing in a particular area of gerontology or geriatrics. Readers seeking a particular topic should consult the index of this encyclopedia.

Many topics in aging cut across thematic and disciplinary lines. For example, "longevity" is a topic in biology, health care, and social science. "Family caregiving" draws scholars from health care, social services, and social and behavioral science. In the interest of economy, every article in this encyclopedia appears but once on the list. Rather than list a large number of topics under multiple headings, we have placed each article under its most appropriate heading. The entries themselves can also help the reader discover the interconnected knowledge base in aging, as we encourage them to follow the cross-references that are shown at the end of each article.

The headings below are notlisted in alphabetical order. Rather, they are listed in an order of knowledge that is customary in the field of aging—the sequence will no doubt be familiar to specialists who work in the aging field. The consideration of age and aging tends to begin with demography so as to characterize the longevity of individuals and describe the nature of aging populations. In this way, cross-national, cultural, and historical perspectives establish aging as an enduring and universal concern. Next in the list of headings are the interests of various disciplines. An implicit order here focuses on the maturation and aging processes from the narrowest context up to the societal level, from topics in biological gerontology to issues in social policy and practice. It should be noted, however, that the order of headings does not suggest that one discipline is more important than another when it comes to understanding age and aging.

Because the list is not in alphabetical order, please consult the master list of headings that appears directly after this paragraph to locate the position of the heading you are consulting.

OUTLINE

THE FIELD

POPULATION PROCESSES

AGING AROUND THE WORLD

CULTURE AND HISTORY

BASIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

GENETICS OF AGING

AGING WITHIN CELLS

LONGEVITY

LOWER ORGANISMS

ORGAN SYSTEMS

SENSORY CHANGES

IMMUNE SYSTEM AGING

NEUROBIOLOGY

HORMONAL FACTORS

DISEASES AND CONDITIONS

NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE

HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND PRACTICES

HEALTH CARE AND TREATMENT

MEDICAL ETHICS

END OF LIFE ISSUES

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES

COGNITION

MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

MENTAL HEALTH AND CONDITIONS

MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT; BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS

SOCIAL THEORIES OF AGING

PATHS ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE

RELATIONSHIPS

SELECTED POPULATION GROUPS

POLITICAL QUESTIONS

WORK AND RETIREMENT

PENSIONS AND SOCIAL SECURITY

HEALTH INSURANCE

ECONOMICS AND FINANCES

HOUSING

SOCIAL SERVICES

LONG-TERM CARE

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ROLE

THE FIELD

Age-Period-Cohort Model
Aging
Careers in Aging
Gerontology
Internet Resources
Panel studies
Professional Organizations in Aging
Qualitative Research
Surveys

POPULATION PROCESSES

Cohort Change
Compression of Morbidity
Epidemiology
Life Expectancy
Migration, Geographic Mobility, and Distribution
Mortality
Population Aging

AGING AROUND THE WORLD

Canada
Canada, Health Care Coverage for Older People
Canada, Income and Health Protection for Retirees
China
East Europe and Former USSR
Israel
Japan
Latin America
Middle Eastern Countries
South Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa
West Europe

CULTURE AND HISTORY

Age
Age Norms
Ageism
Cultural Diversity
Gender
Images of Aging
Language About Aging
Literature and Aging
Prolongevity
Status of Older People, Ancient and Biblical World
Status of Older People, Modernization
Status of Older People, Preindustrial West
Status of older people, Tribal Societies
Visual Arts and Aging

BASIC BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Biology of Aging
Biomarkers of Aging
Circadian Rhythms
Evolution of Aging
Nutrition
Stress
Theories of Biological Aging
Theories of Biological Aging: Disposable Soma
Theories of Biological Aging: DNA Damage
Theories of Biological Aging: Error Catastrophe
Theories of Biological Aging: Programmed Aging

GENETICS OF AGING

Accelerated Aging: Animal Models
Accelerated Aging: Human Progeroid Syndromes
Genetics
Genetics: Ethnicity
Genetics: Gender
Genetics: Gene Expression
Genetics: Gene-Environment Interaction
Genetics: Longevity Assurance
Genetics: Parental Influence
Genetics: Tumor Suppression
Mutation

AGING WITHIN CELLS

Cellular Aging
Cellular Aging: Basic Phenomena
Cellular Aging: Cell Death
Cellular Aging: DNA Polymorphisms
Cellular Aging: Telomeres
DNA Damage and Repair
Mitochondria
Molecular Biology of Aging
Physiological Changes: Fibroblast Cells
Physiological Changes: Stem Cells

LONGEVITY

Anti-Aging Research: Ethical and Religious Perspectives
Life-Span Extension
Longevity: Reproduction
Longevity: Selection
Longevity: Social Aspects
Nutrition, Caloric Restriction

LOWER ORGANISMS

Fruit Flies, Drosophila
Primates
Rodents
Roundworms, Caenorhabditis Elegans
Yeast

ORGAN SYSTEMS

Blood
Brain
Breast
Endocrine System
Foot
Hair
Kidney
Lung
Physiological Changes
Physiological Changes, Organ Systems: Cardiovascular
Physiological Changes, Organ Systems: Skeletal Muscle
Prostate
Skin

SENSORY CHANGES

Balance, Sense of
Hearing
Taste and Smell
Touch, Sense of
Vision and Perception

IMMUNE SYSTEM AGING

Immune System
Immunology: Animal Models
Immunology, Human

NEUROBIOLOGY

Neurobiology
Neurochemistry
Neuroendocrine System
Neuroplasticity
Neurotransmitters

HORMONAL FACTORS

DHEA
Estrogen
Growth Hormone

DISEASES AND CONDITIONS

Andropause
Arthritis
Balance and Mobility
Cancer, Biology Cancer, Diagnosis and Management
Cholesterol
Constipation
Delirium
Diabetes Mellitus
Disease Presentation
Dizziness
Epilepsy
Eye, Aging-Related Diseases
Fainting
Fluid Balance
Frailty
Functional Ability
Heart Disease
High Blood Pressure
Hip Fracture
Influenza
Malnutrition
Menopause
Nutrition, Obesity
Osteoporosis
Pneumonia
Pressure Ulcers
Sarcopenia
Stroke
Swallowing
Tremor
Twitches
Urinary Incontinence
Urinary Tract Infection
Vascular Disease

NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASE

Alzheimer's Disease
Creutzfeld-Jakob Disease
Dementia
Dementia with Lewy Bodies
Dementia, Ethical Issues
FrontoTemporal Dementia
Multiple Systems Atrophy
Neurodegenerative Diseases Parkinsonism
Retrogenesis
Sundown Syndrome
Vascular Dementia

HEALTH BEHAVIORS AND PRACTICES

Alcoholism
Exercise
Health Attitude
Health, Social Factors
Herbal Therapy
Nutrition, Dietary Supplements
Perceived Health
Sexuality
Sleep
Smoking
Vitamins

HEALTH CARE AND TREATMENT

Anesthesia
Assessment
Day Hospitals
Deconditioning
Dental Care
Drug Regulation
Drugs and Aging
Emergency Room
Evidence-Based Medicine
Geriatric Assessment Unit
Geriatric Medicine
Gerontological Nursing
Home Health Therapies
Home Visits
Molecular Therapy
Multidisciplinary Team
Nurse Practitioner
Occupational Therapy
Pain Management
Periodic Health Examination
Physical Therapy
Reality Orientation
Rehabilitation
Revascularization: Bypass Surgery and Angioplasty
Surgery in Elderly People
Technology
Tube Feeding
Walking Aids
Wheelchairs

MEDICAL ETHICS

Age-Based Rationing of Health Care
Autonomy
Medicalization of Aging
Quality of Life, Definition and Measurement Quality of Life, Philosophical and Ethical Dimensions
(See also END OF LIFE ISSUES)

END OF LIFE ISSUES

Advance Directives for Health Care
Death and Dying
Death Anxiety
Euthanasia and Senicide
Funeral and Memorial Practices
Hospice
Palliative Care
Refusing and Withdrawing Treatment
Suicide
Suicide and Assisted Suicide, Ethical Aspects

PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORIES

Developmental Psychology
Developmental Tasks
Life-Span Development
Life-Span Theory of Control
Plasticity
Selective Optimization with Compensation Theory (SOC)

COGNITION

Competency
Creativity
Driving Ability
Human Factors
Intelligence
Language Comprehension
Language Disorders
Learning
Memory
Memory Training
Memory, Everyday
Metamemory
Motor Performance
Problem Solving, Everyday
Reaction Time
Speech
Wisdom

MOTIVATION AND EMOTION

Control, Perceived
Emotion
Motivation
Personality
Social Cognition

MENTAL HEALTH AND CONDITIONS

Anxiety
Depression
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV)
Geriatric Psychiatry
Loneliness
Mental Status Examination
Neuropsychology
Psychiatric Disease in Relation to Physical Illness
Psychological Assessment
Stress and Coping
Subjective Well-Being

MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT; BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTIONS

Antidepressants
Behavior Management
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Electroconvulsive Therapy Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Interventions, Psycho-Social-Behavioral
Life Review
Memory Dysfunction, Drug Treatment
Mental Health Services
Problem-Solving Therapy
Psychotherapy

SOCIAL THEORIES OF AGING

Critical Gerontology
Disengagement
Feminist Theory
Narrative
Theories, Social

PATHS ACROSS THE LIFE COURSE

Age Discrimination
Age Integration and Age Segregation
Aging in Place
Consumption and Age
Coresidence
Criminal Behavior
Criminal Victimization
Education
Homelessness
Inequality
Leisure
Life Course
Life Events and Stress
Living Arrangements
Midlife Crisis
Productive Aging
Religion
Spirituality
Successful Aging
Volunteer Activities and Programs

RELATIONSHIPS

Bereavement
Caregiving, Informal
Divorce: Trends and Consequences
Family
Filial Obligations
Friendship
Grandparenthood
Intergenerational Exchanges
Kin
Marital Relationships
Marriage and Remarriage
Parental Obligations
Parent-Child Relationship
Pets
Sibling Relationships
Social Support
Widowhood

SELECTED POPULATION GROUPS

Baby Boomers
Centenarians
Gay and Lesbian Aging
Immigrants
Oldest Old
Rural Elderly

POLITICAL QUESTIONS

Generational Equity
Gerontocracy
Intergenerational Justice
Political Behavior
Welfare State

WORK AND RETIREMENT

Employment of Older Workers
Job Performance
Retirement Planning
Retirement, Decision Making
Retirement, Early Retirement Incentives
Retirement, Patterns
Retirement, Transition
Self-Employment

PENSIONS AND SOCIAL SECURITY

Income Support for Nonworkers, National Approaches
Pensions, Financing and Regulation
Pensions, History
Pensions, Plan Types and Policy Approaches
Pensions, Public
Retirement Planning Programs
Social Security, History and Operations
Social Security, Long-Term Financing and Reform
Social Security and the U.S. Federal Budget
Supplemental Security Income

HEALTH INSURANCE

Disability, Economic Costs and Insurance Protection
Employee Health Insurance
Health Insurance, National Approaches
Long-Term Care Insurance
Medicaid
Medicare
Medication Costs and Reimbursements
Medigap
Risk Management and Insurance

ECONOMICS AND FINANCES

Annuities
Assets and Wealth
Bequests and Inheritances
Consumer Price Index and COLAs
Consumer Protection
Divorce: Economic Issues
Economic Well-Being
Estate Planning
Financial Planning for Long-Term Care
Individual Retirement Accounts
Life Cycle Theories of Savings and Consumption
Poverty
Retail and Older Adults
Savings
Taxation
Widowhood, Economic Issues

HOUSING

Assisted Living
Board and Care Homes
Congregate Housing
Continuing Care Retirement Communities
Government Assisted Housing
Housing
Housing, Age Segregated
Housing and Technology
Housing, Alternative Options
Retirement Communities

SOCIAL SERVICES

Adult Day Care
Adult Protective Services
Area Agencies on Aging
Case Management
Congregate and Home-Delivered Meals
Consumer Directed Care
Elder Abuse and Neglect
Guardianship
Home Adaptation and Equipment
Home Care and Home Services
Personal Care
Senior Centers
Social Services
Social Work

LONG-TERM CARE

Health and Long-Term Care Program Integration
Long-Term Care
Long-Term Care and Women
Long-Term Care Around the Globe
Long-Term Care Ethics
Long-Term Care Financing
Long-Term Care, Quality of
Nursing Home Administration
Nursing Homes
Nursing Homes, Consumer Information
Nursing Homes, History
Nursing Homes, Special Care Units
Workforce Challenges

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT ROLE

Administration on Aging
Americans with Disabilities Act
Employee Income Security Act
Federal Agencies and Aging
National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health
Older Americans Act
Social Security Administration
Veterans Care