[excerpt] This is the time that your body starts slowing down in many different ways. There are many conditions associated with becoming older, such as arthritis, heart disease, Alzheimer's, cancer, stroke, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis - while many of the processes of ageing are biologically determined, there are quite a few others that are lifestyle-related. But more about these in the next section.
External signs of ageing in most women include wrinkling of the skin and graying of the hair. Cell renewal in the epidermis slows down and this causes the skin to become rougher in texture. The skin also loses both elasticity and plumpness. Wrinkles start to appear where the skin is constantly creased. The extent of wrinkling in a woman is often genetically determined, but it is also linked to lifestyle.
The rate at which women go grey is also largely determined by genetics. By the age of forty most women have at least a few grey hairs. Women generally do not suffer from hair loss in the way men do.
Eyesight and hearing also tend to deteriorate in this stage of a woman's life. The lens of the eye hardens and the ciliary muscle weakens. This causes difficulties when you want to read small print or do fine work. The incidence of cataracts also increases with age, especially among those who have Type 2 diabetes.
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