People living longer, but not healthier - especially in US

People around the world are living longer -- but not necessarily healthier -- lives, according to Mayo Clinic research. A study of 183 World Health Organization (WHO) member countries found those additional years of life are increasingly fraught with disease.

Researchers studied statistics from the WHO Global Health Observatory. This cross-sectional study provided data on life expectancy, health-adjusted life expectancy, years lived with disease and years of life lost among member states. The healthspan-lifespan gap for each member state was calculated by subtracting health-adjusted life expectancy from life expectancy.

Life expectancy, or lifespan, increased from 79.2 to 80.7 years in women and from 74.1 to 76.3 years in men between 2000 and 2019, according to WHO estimates. However, the number of years those people were living in good health did not correspondingly increase. The average global gap in lifespan versus healthspan was 9.6 years in 2019, the last year of available statistics. That represents a 13% increase since 2000.

The United States recorded the world's highest average lifespan-health span divide, with Americans living 12.4 years on average with disability and sickness. This increase from 10.9 years in 2000 comes as the US also reported the highest burden of chronic disease. Mental health, substance use disorders and musculoskeletal conditions were the key contributors to illness nationally.

In addition, the study found a 25% gender disparity worldwide. Across the surveyed countries, women experienced a 2.4-year larger gap in lifespan versus healthspan than men. Neurological, musculoskeletal, urinary and genital tract disorders contributed to extended years of poor health among women.

"The widening healthspan-lifespan gap globally points to the need for an accelerated pivot to proactive wellness-centric care systems," said lead author Armin Garmany, an MD/PhD. student at Mayo Clinic. "Identifying contributors to the gap unique to each geography can help inform healthcare interventions specific to each country and region."

SOURCE: Mayo Clinic (December 11, 2024). Garmany A, et al. JAMA Network Open, 2024; 7 (12): e2450241 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.50241

Source: ICAA

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