2024 PN NCLEX Questions Nursing Practice Question
What causes an older female client's hair to turn gray?
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: A loss of melanin occurs in the normal aging process, which directly leads to gray hair. Melanin is the pigment responsible for hair color, and as people age, melanocyte activity decreases, resulting in less pigment production.
Option B, while true that sweat glands and blood vessels decrease with age, does not relate to hair color changes.
Option C addresses skin changes on the scalp but does not explain the graying of hair itself.
Option D mentions hereditary factors, which can influence hair color, but the fundamental cause of graying in aging is the reduction of melanin, making option A the most accurate explanation.