Does it ever seem to you that those who seem healthier are leaving us sooner or those with poor health are outliving us all? Well, According to a recent study from University of Southern California, Americans are living much longer than they were 40 years ago. But, in some cases, a longer lifespan comes with the burden of poor health.
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The University of Southern California reported that the life expectancy of women and men has increased along with the amount of time spent living with a disability or other health problem.
“We could be increasing the length of poor quality life more than good-quality life… There are a number of indications that the Baby Boomer generation that is now reaching old age is not seeing improvements in health similar to the older groups that went before them,” said study lead author Eileen Crimmins, USC University Professor and AARP Professor of Gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology in a recent article.
The study, which examined life expectancy trends and disability rates from 1970 to 2010, showed that the average lifespan for women increased by 6.4 years to 81 years and the number of women living with a disability increased by 3.6 years.
For men, the average lifespan increased by increased by 9.2 to 76.2 years. While the number of men who lived with a disability increased by 4.7 years.
Meanwhile, the number of disability-free years rose by 4.5 years for men and 2.7 years for women.
According to USC, the types of disability’s differ due to age groups. This is likely due to younger populations being more likely to be diagnosed with autism and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders along with changes in drug use and other mental illnesses.
The study also found that those over the age of 65 were less likely to experience longer life without a disability, or “compression of morbidity”.
These findings could influence policymaking, including proposals to raise the retirement age for Social Security and Medicare eligibility.
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“Clearly, there is a need to maintain health and reduce disability at younger ages to have meaningful compression of morbidity across the age range… The trends for the last 40 years do not support projections and policies that are based on assumptions of a reduced length of disabled life,” said Crimmins.
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