For the new study, researchers at the Mayo Clinic analyzed health statistics collected by the World Health Organization. The source included data from 183 countries, allowing the researchers to compare countries' life expectancy and health span, which are calculated based on years of life weighted by health status.
Longer, but not better
Overall, the researchers saw longevity and health disparities increasing around the world, with the average gap increasing from 8.5 years in 2000 to 9.6 years in 2019. Global life expectancy increased by 6.5 years to approximately 73 years, while the health span increased by only 5.4 years in that period. time, until about 63 years.
But the US was a notable outlier, with the gap growing from 10.9 years to 12.4 years, a gap 29 percent larger than the global average.
The gap was most striking among women – a trend seen around the world. Between 2000 and 2019, American women saw their life expectancy increase by 1.5 years, from 79.2 to 80.7 years, but they saw no change in their health status. The difference in lifespan and health of women has increased from 12.2 years to 13.7 years. For American men, life expectancy increased by 2.2 years, from 74.1 to 76.3 years, and their health expectancy also increased by 0.6 years. Their difference in lifespan and health was 11.1 years in 2019, 2.6 years shorter than that of women.
The conditions most responsible for the burden of disease in the US include mental and substance use disorders, plus musculoskeletal disorders. In women, the largest contributions came from musculoskeletal diseases, genitourinary disorders and neurological disorders.
While the US provided the most extreme example, the researchers note that global trends appear to present a “disease paradox in which reduced acute mortality exposes survivors to an increased burden of chronic diseases.”
