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Biology of Aging

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Encyclopedia of Aging and Public Health

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Aging is a complex developmental process that is, as yet, poorly understood. From a physical perspective, aging involves a loss of resilience or reserve capacity to respond to stressors, and this acquired vulnerability usually means that aging is associated with some greater susceptibility to illness as well as some decline in function over time. Nevertheless, the effects of aging are highly variable; some men and women are still running races at the age of 82, while others are frail and bed‐bound in a nursing home. In this brief overview, the physiology of aging in the major organ systems, what is known about the human life span, and different theories of aging are outlined.

Physiology of Aging

We have learned a great deal about aging physiology and which biological parameters change with age through the Baltimore Longitudinal Study on Aging, sponsored by the National Institute of Aging (NIA). This study has tracked a group of older persons for about half a century. It confirms that...

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Authors
  1. Teresa Dolinar
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

    Sana JD Loue PhD, MPH

  2. School of Medicine, University Hospitals Case Medical Center Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

    Martha Sajatovic MD

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© 2008 Springer-Verlag

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Dolinar, T. (2008). Biology of Aging. In: Loue, S.J., Sajatovic, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Aging and Public Health. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-33754-8_456

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-33754-8_456

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-33753-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-33754-8

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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