Intrinsic capacity and disability before death: a dynamic relationship

Intrinsic capacity, defined by WHO as the composite of an individual’s physical and mental capacities, has become a key construct in healthy ageing research. Previous studies, including meta-analyses and longitudinal cohort studies across different countries, have shown that intrinsic capacity has a coherent multidomain structure and predicts functional decline and mortality,1–5 and that it can be operationalised in large-scale screening programmes.6 In their Article published in The Lancet Healthy Longevity, Olivia S Malkowski and colleagues add an important dimension to this literature by showing how the association between intrinsic capacity and disability evolves in the years before death.