Renate Ysseldyk, Department of Health Sciences

By Ariel Root

Religion. Ethnicity. Gender. Age. All of these groups influence one’s sense of belonging. One’s self-image. These factors, and others, can give us a sense of social identity. They can influence how we manage our social world, and can have profound impacts on our health. “Social identities reflect our group memberships…and are often helpful in coping with stressful life experiences, and also in [healthy] aging.”

Renate Ysseldyk is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at �Ӱ�ԭ�� University, where she is interested in the influence of psychosocial factors, like social identities, on stressful experiences such as religious discrimination or transitions associated with aging. Her research focuses on the social determinants of health, particularly among vulnerable populations, and how social identities can influence physical and mental health.

Ysseldyk indicates that many of her research challenges relate to the sample populations within her studies. Vulnerable populations, in her research, have included women who have experienced abuse, and older adults who are living with dementia. “But these [challenges] are also some of the most rewarding experiences, because you’re really making a difference for people who need it,” she explains. Ysseldyk recalls a project she worked on recently, led by Artswell and in collaboration with the Alzheimer Society of Ottawa and Renfrew County, Bruyère Continuing Care, and the Community Foundation of Ottawa, called “”. Community participants living with dementia gathered weekly with their caregivers to build a new social identity based on making music, reminiscing about the past, and connecting with each other.

Using a combination of observational measures (designed specifically for people living with dementia), interviews, and survey questionnaires, Ysseldyk and her students evaluated the cognitive and mental health benefits of the Music Matters program, finding that it was also an extremely rewarding project. “Seeing people who were originally quiet, but later opened-up and sang and danced… you can see on their faces that [the program] is improving their life… it’s really fun,” she explains. And the benefits of the program were equally evident among the caregivers, who developed a sense of social identity with the group over time, and this had personal, social, health, and even spiritual impacts.

Combining aging, identity, religion, stress and coping, Ysseldyk acknowledges that a lot of her projects are intertwined – they have to be. And so there are many projects that stand out for Ysseldyk. She recounts her PhD work when she first considered the relationship between social identity and religious affiliation, exploring the psychological implications and outcomes of individuals coping with various threats to their religious identity. From there, Ysseldyk completed a CIFAR post-doctoral fellowship with the University of Exeter in the UK, and later a SSHRC post-doctoral fellowship with the University of Queensland in Australia, both under the guidance of Drs. Alex and Cath Haslam. Here is where she was “really introduced to doing research on some of the social determinants of health in older adults.” Ysseldyk credits these experiences to having evolved her research and demographic interests. And so, despite having several “different lines of research, they all overlap. There’s no one big goal” for Ysseldyk. In fact, it’s about “trying to figure out the little ways to improve peoples’ health, well-being, and overall quality of life.”

“The concept of social determinants of health can be abstract, and discovering the “causes of the causes” requires digging” – and a lot of it. More digging will always lead to more questions, and more answers. In deciding where to research next, Ysseldyk says her next step is often built on what she did last: “What did I learn in the last project that will lead to my next question?” Ysseldyk says she’s always had an interest in both health and psychology. And through her graduate studies and post-doctoral work, she was able to merge those two, as well as overlap with social neuroscience.

Several of Ysseldyk’s next projects will similarly require an interdisciplinary research team, as she continues to investigate the role of various social factors on the health and well-being of older adults. With colleagues from neuroscience as well as several community partners, including Bruyère Continuing Care and Riverstone Retirement Communities, they will consider the links between valued social identities and both mental and physical health outcomes, such as depressive symptoms and telomere length.

But regardless of the question—or the answer—for Ysseldyk, it’s about the journey. “I love the teaching and the research. Finding new things that interest me and that might help improve the health and well-being of others, that’s what drives me to work every day, and to answer these questions… it’s that I truly want to be here and to make some positive difference—great or small—in people’s lives.”

To find out more about Renate Ysseldyk, click here.

By Mary Daniel, Department of Biology, �Ӱ�ԭ�� University

It’s a simple question, is it not? Well, no not really. There are many theories behind why organisms age. Is it something planned and carried out? Or is it something random that occurs due to damage? In this blog, I will go through four main theories that explain the internal biological mechanisms that give rise to the aging process and the reasons why all organisms age.

First, let me tell you why I am so interested in this topic. The average Canadian lives to be 85 years old (Statistics Canada) and some would say this is a long time. But to me 85 years is just not enough time to make a difference, to make a contribution to society. Some live and die and no one knows what their name is. I feel that we need more time, to learn, to read, to explore, to be curious, and to also give back.

The Genetic Theory of Aging

The genetic theory of aging states that there are programmed signals with timed functional changes that cause the cell to age, through the shortening of telomeres and declines in hormonal and immunologic function. (The medical dictionary)

After a certain period of time, our bodies send out a signal to reduce the repair process and to start the degradation process. The specific time is different for different organisms; for example a fruit fly lives for 30 days, a mouse for 3 years, a turtle for 100 years, and a Redwood tree lives for 1000 years. The signal that is given has unknown genetic origins and research has still to uncover the downstream proteins that stop the repair process and start the break down process.

These signal genes are called genetic timers and they are specific sequences of DNA that govern each stage of the body’s development and determine the next appropriate step in the aging

process. These genes keep track of the body’s progress and thus control the age at which certain events occur (the Hayflick Limit). There are other genes that are called death genes, and these genes tell the body to deteriorate and die. Another theory states that the shortening of telomeres, or the caps at the end of each strand of DNA that protect our chromosomes, allows cells to keep track of their age.

To expand this theory, a study in 1993 at the University of California found that mutations in a single gene can double the lifespan of Caenorhabitis elegans, a small worm often used in genetic studies. Since then, the genetic theory of aging has interested the masses and sparked a wave of research, especially with the growing concern of the aging human population.

The key stages of the aging process occur when mutations happen to the DNA sequence. If these mutations are not corrected, or are not corrected properly due to the slowing down of repair mechanisms, these mutations are passed down cellular generations and lead to incorrect protein formation. This buildup of non-functioning proteins is a marker of an aged cell, a cell that can’t fulfill its proper function, and thus an organ is not doing its job.

The Wear-and-Tear Theory of Aging

Biological aging due to the wear-and-tear theory is simply the outcome of many deteriorating events (accumulation of injuries and damage) that affect the body. Factors like use, accidents, disease, radiation, toxins and other detrimental factors may adversely affect different parts of the body in a stochastic manner. Just like how cars and outdoor paint break down over time, this theory proposes that the same thing and in the same way humans age.

According to this theory, aging occurs through small and random damaging events in a cell that add up over time. These damaging events may come from our own metabolism, as the basic mechanism of metabolism sometimes causes damage to molecules within our cells. Thus, over time, all ‘matter’ starts to ‘decay’ and reverts back into its less ordered and more minuscule state.

The Free Radical Theory of Aging

Atoms or molecules with an unpaired electron are known as free radicals. Some small free radicals that can be found in the body include hydroxyl radical (HO·) and nitric oxide radical (NO·). Reactive oxygen species cause the formation of free radicals because of their highly reactive nature, and these include hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and peroxynitrite (NO₃^–). Reactive oxygen species and free radicals, many of which come from our own metabolism, are the main reasons behind the damage leading to aging and age related disease. Which particular free radical behind the push towards aging is not yet known, but there are clear observations supporting this theory, they include: the positive correlations between free radical production and metabolic rate, age, and cataracts. Free radicals cause this damage by removing electrons from the body’s molecules in a process called oxidation. Oxidation changes the shape of molecules, which often leads to loss of function. Free radicals cause oxidative damage to DNA, lipids, and proteins. This oxidative damage, or better known as oxidative stress, causes inflammation, excess blood blotting, cataracts, and atherosclerosis. We have antioxidants in our cells that protect from such damage (e.g. vitamin C, vitamin E, protein antioxidants), but over time, even these are depleted or damaged themselves, leading to cellular aging.

The Environmental Theory of Aging

Aging caused by environmental stress starts in the womb and continues through life and has the most effect on health as we start to age. Effectively, health in old age is a reflection of health in earlier life, beginning at the very moment of conception. Thus, the road to healthy aging starts with healthy pregnancies, infants, children, and adults.

Due to the rapid industrial development in the late 20^th century, chemicals used in agriculture threatened entire food webs and the health of ecological systems. Contamination of air, soil, and water with hazardous waste, byproducts of resource extraction, fossil fuel combustion, and synthetic chemicals continued to corrupt the environment. As well, pesticides and other industrial chemicals, some of which are persistent and bioaccumulative (concentrating in living organisms), contaminate people, wildlife, and the general environment. During the same time, public health measures had better control over infectious diseases, and thus new disease patterns related to activity, diet, work, housing, exposure to environmental contaminants, and social organization emerged.

With all of that said, let me tell you a bit about my project. I study how environmental contaminants may accelerate the aging process through the production of reactive oxygen species. Environmental contaminants may lead to some of the damaging events mentioned above, contributing to the aging process. Many environmental contaminants are free radicals themselves. Others lead to DNA damage and mutations, often binding directly to DNA itself. Still others produce reactive oxygen species, either directly themselves or indirectly through affecting our metabolism. Thus environmental contaminants may contribute to the aging process in the cell through the accumulation of damage.

The environment contaminants that I am focusing on are the polybrominated flame retardants. These chemicals are found in consumer products such as insulation, textiles, building materials, plastics, electronics, and foams, basically anything that you want to prevent from combusting. This project interested me because we come into contact with these products every day, even many times per day, and industry manufactures these chemicals without acknowledging their potential harmful effects. As I said earlier, there is just not enough time in a person’s lifespan, and if we can increase that time by eliminating such chemicals by demonstrating their impacts and finding alternatives to them, wouldn’t you be on board with that?

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