People Living Longer, But Not Necessarily Healthier
A new study finds that while people are living longer than ever before, the extra years are often spent in poor health. The study, conducted by scientists at Mayo Clinic, analyzed data from 183 World Health Organization (WHO) member states over two decades and found that the gap between how long people live and how many of those years are spent in good health has widened to an average of 9.6 years worldwide.
In the United States, the health gap is even more pronounced, with Americans spending an average of 12.4 years living with disease or disability at the end of their lives. This is roughly the equivalent of the entire period between starting kindergarten and graduating high school.
The study found that women, who typically live longer than men, are paying a price for their longevity, with a healthspan-lifespan gap that is 2.4 years wider than men’s. Globally, women experience a healthspan-lifespan gap that is 2.4 years wider than men’s, with German women facing a gap 3.6 years larger than their male counterparts.
The researchers discovered that the additional years people are gaining are increasingly overshadowed by disease and disability. They found that mental health and substance use disorders, as well as musculoskeletal conditions, are major contributors to the health gap, particularly in the United States.
The study’s findings suggest that our success in extending life has inadvertently created a new challenge: a growing period of late-life disability that our healthcare systems weren’t designed to handle. The researchers emphasized the need for an accelerated pivot to proactive wellness-centric care systems, rather than simply extending life.
The study’s authors noted that the findings highlight a critical global challenge: as medical advances help us live longer, we’re not necessarily living better. They emphasized the importance of proactive wellness strategies, rather than simply treating diseases, and the need to shift from extending life to expanding the portion of life lived in good health.
