Research
Mixed
Aging is characterized by a loss of structural and functional complexity in physiological systems, which impairs adaptability and leads to disease.
View aging not just as damage accumulation, but as a loss of system flexibility. Maintaining diverse physical and cognitive challenges may help preserve the 'complexity' that protects against sudden health failures.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Lipsitz and colleagues have shown that aging is associated with a loss of structural and functional complexity in a variety of integrated anatomic structures and physiological processes. This loss of complexity impairs an individual’s ability to adapt to the stresses of everyday life, leading to disease and disability.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple examples (heart rate, bone, brain) and cited literature.
Source
A complex systems approach to aging biology
Alan A. Cohen et al. · Nature Aging · 2022
DOI 10.1038/s43587-022-00252-6
narrative_reviewCited 203×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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