Global
life expectancy rises, but people live sicker for longer
Send a link to a friend
[August 27, 2015]
By Kate Kelland
LONDON (Reuters) - People around the world
are living longer, but many are also living sicker lives for longer,
according to a study of all major diseases and injuries in 188
countries.
|
General health has improved worldwide, thanks to significant
progress against infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria in
the past decade and gains in fighting maternal and child illnesses.
But healthy life expectancy has not increased as much, so people are
living more years with illness and disability, according to the
analysis, published in The Lancet journal.
"The world has made great progress in health, but now the challenge
is to invest in finding more effective ways of preventing or
treating the major causes of illness and disability," said Theo Vos,
a professor at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the
University of Washington who led the analysis.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/27/images/ads/current/farmers_bank_sda_prom_050614.png)
The study's main findings were that global life expectancy at birth
for both sexes rose by 6.2 years -- from 65.3 in 1990 to 71.5 in
2013. Healthy life expectancy at birth rose by 5.4 years -- from
56.9 in 1990 to 62.3 in 2013.
Healthy life expectancy takes into account both mortality and the
impact of non-fatal conditions and chronic illnesses like heart and
lung diseases, diabetes and serious injuries. Those detract from
quality of life and impose heavy cost and resources burdens.
For most of the 188 countries studied, changes in healthy life
expectancy between 1990 and 2013 were "significant and positive",
the researchers said. But in many - among them Belize, Botswana and
Syria - healthy life expectancy in 2013 was not much higher than in
1990.
And in some, including South Africa, Paraguay, and Belarus, healthy
life expectancy has dropped. In Lesotho and Swaziland, people born
in 2013 could expect to live some 10 fewer healthy years than people
born there 20 years earlier.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/Symphony_122313.png)
The study also found stark differences between countries with the
highest and lowest healthy life expectancies, and in the rates and
direction of change.
Nicaraguans and Cambodians have seen dramatic increases since 1990,
of 14.7 and 13.9 years respectively. People in Botswana and Belize,
however, saw declines of two and 1.3 years respectively.
In 2013, Lesotho had the world's lowest healthy life expectancy, at
42 years. Japan had the highest, at 73.4 years.
(Editing by Larry King)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/27/images/ads/current/business_directory_filler.png)
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2015/Aug/27/images/ads/current/graue_2014_Silverado_060315.png) |