As people age, a stronger connection between different areas of functional capacity may suggest a decrease in the body’s ability to bounce back from challenges. When these areas are closely linked, a problem in one area can affect others and cause overall functioning to decline. Therefore, it’s important to consider overall functioning and to address various aspects of physical and mental health. This finding comes from a study at the Faculty of Sport and Health Science.The researchers at the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, have found that when different areas of functional capacity are closely linked, a problem in one area can impact others and result in a decline in overall functioning. This highlights the importance of considering functioning as a whole and addressing the various aspects of physical and mental well-being.
Human functional capacity can be likened to an ecosystem with various components including mobility, sensory, cognitive, and mental functions. As individuals age, the resilience of the functional capacity system allows it to maintain and recover from challenges and setbacks.
The researchers conducted a population-based study using network analysis to examine the interconnectedness of various functional capacity domains. The findings revealed that the functional capacity domains were more interconnected in older individuals and those with lower health status. The resilience of the functional capacity system may share similarities with resilience in other systems, such as natural systems or the economy.
Postdoctoral researcher Kaisa Koivunen commented, “For instance, a highly interconnected economy across national borders has been observed to increase the susceptibility of supply chains. This same concept can be applied to health and functioning.”
Despite the close connection between the body and mind, it is important for them to have some level of independence. If they are too tightly connected, a problem in one area can affect the entire system and cause it to collapse.
For example, a resilient functional capacity system has enough muscle strength reserves to prevent a loss of walking ability during bed rest, which could in turn lead to depressive symptoms. Having different resources also allows people to adjust their behavior to ensure that important tasks can still be accomplished.
“People are gThe Principal Investigator of the AGNES study, Professor Taina Rantanen, describes how older adults are generally able to adapt if they have enough reserve capacity. They can compensate for one impaired capacity with other capacities. For example, it is possible to remain mobile despite reduced mobility if you can drive a car. This is possible if other aspects of functional capacity, such as good levels of information processing and sensory function, allow it. However, as compensatory mechanisms are depleted, resilience of functional capacity is reduced. The research conducted provides a basis for applying approaches to systems.
Resilience from various fields can provide insights into the study of health and functional capacity.
Koivunen explains that as people age, abrupt changes, known as critical transitions, in health and functioning can occur if a disturbance, such as an illness, goes beyond the body systems’ ability to handle it.
These tipping points and critical transition phenomena have been extensively researched in natural systems, such as in the context of global warming, but less so in the context of human health and functioning.
Koivunen suggests that in the future, it may be feasible to identify the tipping point between “functional ability” and “impaired functioApproaching the process of “aging” can be done by analyzing the density of the body systems network. According to Koivunen, in societies where the population is getting older, it is important to maintain people’s functional capacity for as long as possible in order to sustain a good quality of life. The study, which involved over a thousand people from Jyväskylä, Finland, at the ages of 75, 80, and 85, is part of the AGNES project funded by the European Research Council and the Research Council of Finland. The research was carried out at the Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences and the Gerontology Research Center (GEREC), and has also received funding from JYU.Well – an interdisciplinary initiative.A team of researchers from the University of Jyväskylä and Juho Vainio Foundation conducted a study on resilience in older adults. The study was published in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences in 2024. The research focused on investigating resilience through intrinsic capacity networks in older adults. The findings of the study can be found in the article titled “Investigating resilience through intrinsic capacity networks in older adults” by Kaisa Koivunen, Katja Lindeman, Maija Välimaa, and Taina Rantanen. The DOI for the article is 10.1093/gerona/glae048.