Pay close attention to your parent's old age

Every living organism must experience death and cease to exist at some point in time. Death is one of the key attributes of all living organisms and it is not a function of age. An exception however exists for some unicellular organisms that have the capability to reproduce asexually. Instead of dying outrightly, a particular cycle just ends while the original parent cell gives rise to daughter cells.

Every rational human prays to grow old, at least, before dying while scientists are busy working and trying to unlock the key to immortality. Old age, most of the time, does come with its own problem which might vary from individuals to individuals and from gender to gender. I might not be able to say much about people of other races or even other black African countries, but old age problems can come in the form of eyes problem, rheumatism/joint problems, high blood pressure/hypertension, diabetes, heart problems, kidney problems, and a host of ill-health issues I might not remember right now.

What causes aging?

Senescence, otherwise known as growing old or aging has been and is still being researched in order to unravel the mystery behind an undesirable biological change. Several reports point to oxidative stress and the accumulation of free radicals as the main factors behind aging, some said it is a result of gradual damages to the biomolecules in the body of individuals, while many others argued that it is caused by a host of factors such as oxidative stress, telomere shortening, mutation, protein aggregation, etc. that synergistically work together to produce the aging result.

The damages caused to the body cells, tissues, organs, systems, or biomolecules accumulate with time and causes pathological conditions in individuals, eventually leading to their deaths. One thing that seems to be unanimous among scientists, though, is the fact that aging has to do with changes to the body's biomolecules in addition to other factors, including the environment. This is where it gets really tricky.

One of the most important biomolecules is the DNA from which protein is derived during the process of translation. The bulk of factors that have been attributed to aging lie on the neck of the DNA. This same DNA is the primary molecule responsible for the transmission of traits from parents to offspring. This is the main reason several old age conditions are heritable. It is thus necessary for individuals to take note of the old age diseases of their parents and put series of prophylactic factors in place against or be mentally prepared in case there are no prophylactic actions that can be taken.

Some of the abnormalities associated with old age that are heritable include:

Hypertension/high blood pressure

Blood is usually pumped through the body primarily via the arteries and returns to the heart via the veins. The normal systolic pressure with which blood is pumped against the walls of the arteries must not be more than 120 mmHg for and a systolic pressure that is less than 90 mmHg is considered too low. Diastolic pressure of more than 90 mmHg is considered high while less than 60 is considered too low.

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High blood pressure is a very common abnormality even among middle-aged folks and some young individuals. However, many people do not develop this abnormality until after middle-age. The abnormality can be managed by a wide variety of drugs but has been reported to have a heritability of around 30 to 60% in the human population.

Therefore, if you have been or has witnessed either of your parents managing high blood pressure/hypertension during their lifetime, it is better you watch your lifestyle and avoid things or lifestyle that might trigger hypertension because chances are you might also have it.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a metabolic abnormality that causes excess sugar to be in the blood of individuals. This condition can cause organ failures, damages to nerves, interferes with cell division and tissue repair, and a host of other abnormalities. While the likely causes of these conditions remains a medical mystery, it has been linked to hereditary and, thus, can be inherited from parents; especially type 2 diabetes. A particular report cited the heritability of diabetes to be between 20 to 80%. Hence, if your parents have a history of diabetes, you might want to pay serious attention and mitigate factors that can predispose you to diabetes.

Eye defects

While eye defects do not necessarily correlate only with old age, many eye defects are known to have higher frequency among old people compared to people of lower age groups. According to Research to Prevent Blindness, there are more than 350 eye defects that are known to be hereditary. These include albinism, aniridia, colorblindness, corneal dystrophies, glaucoma, keratoconus, Leber congenital amaurosis, night blindness, retinitis pigmentosa, and a host of others. The database containing the list of all the hereditary ocular diseases can be accessed here. If your parents suffers from any of them, you might need to start seeking prophylactic measures and mentally prepare yourself towards having it.

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Other diseases

Other old age-related diseases with some degrees of heritability include but not limited to cancer, arthritis, cataracts, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's disease. These abnormalities, while they are non-pathogenic and remain intransmissible, they can be passed from parents to offspring and might not manifest until a certain age is reached.

Closing Remarks

Managing old parents can be somewhat challenging in a world filled with busy schedules and tons of deadlines. However, it is very necessary that we pay utmost attention to our aged parents, if not for anything, to be able to take note of their old age-related abnormality and be able to take cues for when we ourselves will get to their age or even before their age. Several factors can limit the risks of having genetically transmissible old age diseases of our parents. These include adjusting our lifestyles, frequent medical checks for early detection of certain diseases, taking prophylactic drugs, and many other actionable factors. While it is not engraved in stone that even a known genetically transmissible disease will be inherited, there is no harm in being proactive. Right?

Thank you all for reading.