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Life expectancy is increasing. This phenomenon can be partly explained by advances in medicine and health practices. Mortality linked to certain pathologies, such as cardiovascular diseases or strokes, has decreased. However, what about life expectancy in good health (without disability)? In England, researchers have made estimates of the improvement in life expectancy for people aged 65 and over, whether in good health or when they have disabilities.
What is disability-free life expectancy?
Life expectancy is an average length of human life in a given society. This notion is to be differentiated from disability-free life expectancy. According to the DREES (Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics Department), the latter is characterized by the number of years that a person can expect to live without being limited in their daily activities.
The latest data, in France, were collected from a representative sample of the population, ie 16,000 households. They indicated that a 65-year-old woman could expect to live 12.1 years in good health and 18.1 years without severe disability (total restriction of activity). As for men, their life expectancy without disability is 10.6 years and 15.7 years without total disability.
On average, the DREES informs us that the life expectancy in good health of the French at 65 is 5 months higher than the European average. The public administration also indicates that this life expectancy increased by two years and one month for women and by one year and eleven months for men in 2008.
This is also the observation made by a team of English researchers, who conducted a study among its inhabitants.
Healthy life expectancy improved between 1991 and 2011
The team of Professor Holly Q. Bennett, who works at the University of Newcastle in the United Kingdom, peeled the data from two large studies. The first took place between 1991 and 1993 and included 7,635 people. The second took place between 2008 and 2011 and represented 7,762 people. Each individual was followed for two years. The researchers analyzed the information in order to identify populations with chronic pathologies, disabilities or cerebrovascular accidents (CVA). They tried to find out if extending the lifespan of people with health problems “involved an increase in the number of years in good or bad health”.
Nearly 4 years of life expectancy gained
The results, published in the medical journal PLOS Medicine, indicate that disability-free life expectancy was higher than before. According to their observations, the men would have gained 3.7 years without presenting health problems and 4.6 years of life expectancy in total. The authors state that men with conditions such as “arthritis, coronary heart disease, stroke and diabetes have gained more years in good health than years with disability.In other words, healthy life expectancy improves despite the presence of chronic health conditions, but without disability.
As for women, they have gained 2 years of life expectancy in good health and 2.1 years of life expectancy. Even women with long-term illnesses are affected.
The significant impact of cognitive impairment
Nevertheless, the results differ in individuals suffering from cognitive disorders (Alzheimer’s disease, memory loss, mood swings, communication difficulties, etc.). These people are certainly living longer than before, but with a disability. Life expectancy in good health was therefore not improved in the case of cognitive disorders. For the authors of the study, “ this is cause for concern and requires further investigation […] since cognitive impairment was also the only long-term condition where life expectancy decreased”.