The more the population of older adults grows, the more the difference in the rate and quality of aging is visible. The elderly population is heterogeneous. Some age rapidly and lose their independence, while others remain active and cognitively preserved despite their age and the number of diseases. Geriatricians have used the concept of frailty for a long time, but does it satisfy us completely? According to WHO Healthy Aging, intrinsic capacity (IC), functional abilities, and the environment are essential components of a healthy aging model. IC is a construct that can be considered an evolution of frailty, but due to favorable health properties or physiological reserves, not health deficiencies. IC includes five domains. These domains are locomotion, vitality, sensory (in particular, vision and hearing), cognition, and psychological. These domains influence each other and are, in turn, all influenced by environmental factors. Physical resilience has been defined as one’s ability to resist decline or recover from functional decline after a significant health stressor.
However, to date, the tools that geriatricians can use to measure the contribution of each domain to the IC model, the factors and mechanisms that contribute to sustainability and physical reserve are not fully understood. It seems essential to compare the trajectories of frailty and IC.
The goal of the Research Topic is to decrease the knowledge gap about the healthy aging model, understand how IC domains interact with each other, and measure each domain's contribution to the healthy aging mode. We aim to demonstrate the possibility of interventions to return the aging processes from pathological to healthy, describe the difference between frailty and IC, and demonstrate the mechanisms of resilience and physical and cognitive reserves.
All types of articles will be considered, such as original research, reviews (systematic, review, and mini-reviews), hypothesis and theory, and perspective articles.
The more the population of older adults grows, the more the difference in the rate and quality of aging is visible. The elderly population is heterogeneous. Some age rapidly and lose their independence, while others remain active and cognitively preserved despite their age and the number of diseases. Geriatricians have used the concept of frailty for a long time, but does it satisfy us completely? According to WHO Healthy Aging, intrinsic capacity (IC), functional abilities, and the environment are essential components of a healthy aging model. IC is a construct that can be considered an evolution of frailty, but due to favorable health properties or physiological reserves, not health deficiencies. IC includes five domains. These domains are locomotion, vitality, sensory (in particular, vision and hearing), cognition, and psychological. These domains influence each other and are, in turn, all influenced by environmental factors. Physical resilience has been defined as one’s ability to resist decline or recover from functional decline after a significant health stressor.
However, to date, the tools that geriatricians can use to measure the contribution of each domain to the IC model, the factors and mechanisms that contribute to sustainability and physical reserve are not fully understood. It seems essential to compare the trajectories of frailty and IC.
The goal of the Research Topic is to decrease the knowledge gap about the healthy aging model, understand how IC domains interact with each other, and measure each domain's contribution to the healthy aging mode. We aim to demonstrate the possibility of interventions to return the aging processes from pathological to healthy, describe the difference between frailty and IC, and demonstrate the mechanisms of resilience and physical and cognitive reserves.
All types of articles will be considered, such as original research, reviews (systematic, review, and mini-reviews), hypothesis and theory, and perspective articles.