WHO working definition of vitality capacity for healthy longevity monitoring

WHO Working Group on Vitality Capacity, Ivan Bautmans, Veerle Knoop, Jotheeswaran Amuthavalli Thiyagarajan, Andrea B Maier, John R Beard, Ellen Freiberger, Daniel Belsky, Mylene Aubertin-Leheudre, Christopher Mikton, Matteo Cesari, Yuka Sumi, Theresa Diaz, Anshu Banerjee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Citations (Scopus)
1002 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Intrinsic capacity, a crucial concept in healthy ageing, is defined by WHO as "the composite of all the physical and mental capacities that an individual can draw on at any point in time". Vitality capacity is considered the underlying physiological determinant of intrinsic capacity. To advance the measurement and monitoring of vitality capacity, a working group of WHO staff members and twenty experts representing six WHO regions was convened to discuss and clarify the attributes of vitality capacity and to develop a clear working definition of the concept. Potential biomarkers to measure vitality capacity were identified, and the following consensual working definition was developed: vitality capacity is a physiological state (due to normal or accelerated biological ageing processes) resulting from the interaction between multiple physiological systems, reflected in (the level of) energy and metabolism, neuromuscular function, and immune and stress response functions of the body.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)e789-e796
Number of pages8
JournalThe Lancet. Healthy longevity.
Volume3
Issue number11
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This Personal View was written in close collaboration with the Ageing and Health unit of WHO (Geneva, Switzerland) and the Frailty in Ageing research department of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Brussels, Belgium).

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 World Health Organization

Copyright:
Copyright 2023 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

Keywords

  • Humans
  • Longevity/physiology
  • Health Status
  • Aging/physiology
  • Healthy Aging
  • World Health Organization

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