Global Study Reveals Longevity Comes with Poor Health

A study published in The Lancet Public Health indicates that although global life expectancy rose from 64.6 years in 1990 to 73.8 years in 2023, healthy life expectancy only increased from 55.9 years to 63.1 years. The average morbidity gap, which measures years lived in poor health before death, has widened from 8.8 years in 1990 to 10.7 years in 2023.

People now spend an average of 14.5% of their lives living with disease or disability, compared to 13.6% three decades ago. This issue affects not just the elderly but spans much of adulthood.

The United States has the largest morbidity gap at 14 years, followed by Australia at 13.9 years and Canada at 13.7 years. The study also reveals a gender divide, with women living an average of 12.1 years in poor health compared to 9.3 years for men.

The findings suggest that longevity is an incomplete measure of progress if accompanied by increasing disability.