Divide between longer life and years of good health ‘getting wider’

The gap between our healthspan – the years lived in good health – and lifespan is widening, according to a new international study. 

The research, which was published in the journal JAMA Network Open, was conducted in 183 countries using data collected over two decades by the World Health Organization (WHO).

According to the data, global life expectancy increased by 6.5 years over the 20 years.

However, this increase “was not matched by an equivalent increase in healthspan,” the researchers indicated.

“The data show that gains in longevity are not matched with equivalent advances in healthy longevity. Growing older often means more years of life burdened with disease,” Dr Andre Terzic, a study’s senior author and a member of the US-based Mayo Clinic, said in a statement.

“This research has important practice and policy implications by bringing attention to a growing threat to the quality of longevity and the need to close the healthspan-lifespan gap,” he added.

The gap between healthspan and lifespan was 9.6 years in 2019, the last year where data was available, climbing from 8.5 years in 2000, a 13 per cent increase over the past two decades.

The largest gaps were observed in the United States (12.4 years), Australia (12.1 years), New Zealand (11.8 years), the UK (11.3 years), and Norway (11.2 years).

Mental health, substance use disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions were the primary factors accelerating the gap observed in the US.

Lesotho (6.5 years), Central African Republic (6.7 years), Somalia (6.8 years), Kirbati (6.8 years), and Micronesia (7.0 years) had the smallest gaps.

Gendered differences on the healthspan-lifespan gap

“The widening healthspan-lifespan gap globally points to the need for an accelerated pivot to proactive wellness-centric care systems,” Armin Garmany, first author and an MD/PhD student at the Mayo Clinic, said. 

“Identifying contributors to the gap unique to each geography can help inform healthcare interventions specific to each country and region”.

“Globally, a mean difference of 2.4 years between women and men in the healthspan-lifespan gap was observed,” the study authors wrote. 

The largest sex disparities in the gap were in Germany (3.6 years), Spain (3.4 years), France (3.3 years), Portugal (3.2 years), and Lebanon (3.2 years).

Neurological, musculoskeletal, urinary, and genital tract disorders were significant factors that contributed to this difference.