Response to Ukraintseva et al. Letter: Resilience Versus Robustness in Aging.

The article discusses the use of physical robustness and resilience as key components of measuring the ability of older people to resist or recover from functional decline following health stressors. Topics addressed include the difference between the terms resistance to and recovery from, the use of the term 'robustness' in the ability to resist the deviation from baseline and in a low risk of developing a particular disease, and the distinction between disease development and symptoms.