RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Classifying Aging as a Disease in the context of ICD-11
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 024877
DO 10.1101/024877
A1 Alex Zhavoronkov
A1 Bhupinder Bhullar
YR 2015
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2015/08/18/024877.abstract
AB Aging is a complex continuous multifactorial process leading to loss of function and crystalizing into the many age-related diseases. Here, we explore the arguments for classifying aging as a disease in the context of the upcoming World Health Organization’s 11th International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11), expected to be finalized in 2018. We hypothesize that classifying aging as a disease will result in new approaches and business models for addressing aging as a treatable condition, which will lead to both economic and healthcare benefits for all stakeholders. Classification of aging as a disease may lead to more efficient allocation of resources by enabling funding bodies and other stakeholders to use quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and healthy-years equivalent (HYE) as metrics when evaluating both research and clinical programs. We propose forming a Task Force to interface the WHO in order to develop a multidisciplinary framework for classifying aging as a disease.