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FarCenter

(19,429 posts) Thu Dec 13, 2012, 03:09 PM Dec 2012

People live longer but are not always healthier: study

People live more than a decade longer on average today than they did in 1970, but spend much of these boon years battling diseases like cancer, according to a global health review published Thursday.

By 2010, a man's life expectancy at birth had risen 11.1 years from 1970 and that of a woman 12.1 years, said the bundle of seven studies published by The Lancet medical journal.

But as we live longer, bigger chunks of our lives are marred by illness, with non-infectious maladies like cancer and heart disease claiming ever more victims. "Over the last 20 years, globally, we've added about five years to life expectancy, but only about four years to healthy life expectancy," Josh Salomon from the Harvard School of Public Health, a study partner, told AFP by email. "You can think about it as adding the equivalent of four years of good health and one year of bad health."

Contributors to the study appealed for a shift in health policy focus from simply keeping people alive to keeping them healthy as well. "Health is about more than avoiding death," said Alan Lopez and Theo Vos of the University of Queensland's School of Population Health in a joint statement.

http://www.france24.com/en/20121213-people-live-longer-but-are-not-always-healthier-study

5 replies

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People live longer but are not always healthier: study (Original Post) FarCenter Dec 2012 OP

From the article... hay rick Dec 2012 #1

Hard to say FarCenter Dec 2012 #3

By definition death is a health problem. former9thward Dec 2012 #2

But you can be relatively healthy until a brief terminal illness FarCenter Dec 2012 #4

The longer we live, the more likely it is that we will become diseased. CaliforniaPeggy Dec 2012 #5

hay rick

(7,626 posts)

1. From the article...

Reply to FarCenter (Original post)

Thu Dec 13, 2012, 03:19 PM

Dec 2012

"These diseases that cause chronic disability, they tend to be related to age, so as populations get older and premature mortality rates go down, you have more people living into the age groups where these are quite common," said Murray.

Sounds like it's mostly the price of success in extending longevity. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues, plateaus, or reverses as the effects of austerity and stagnant economies in developed countries kicks in.

FarCenter

(19,429 posts)

3. Hard to say

Reply to hay rick (Reply #1)

Thu Dec 13, 2012, 03:25 PM

Dec 2012

I'd guess that most increases in life span are due to drugs and medical technology.

Life span may come down some, but probably not too much if austerity also leads to less overeating, drinking and risky behaviors.

former9thward

(32,030 posts)

2. By definition death is a health problem.

Reply to FarCenter (Original post)

Thu Dec 13, 2012, 03:24 PM

Dec 2012

If your body is in good health you do not die unless by accident. The idea that we can be healthy until the moment we die is ridiculous.

FarCenter

(19,429 posts)

4. But you can be relatively healthy until a brief terminal illness

Reply to former9thward (Reply #2)

Thu Dec 13, 2012, 03:28 PM

Dec 2012

For example, you can die of stroke or heart failure in a matter of hours or of pneumonia in a matter of days.

Multi-year battles with terminal cancer of multiple stenting and heart bypass operations are a recent development.

CaliforniaPeggy

(149,648 posts)

5. The longer we live, the more likely it is that we will become diseased.

Reply to FarCenter (Original post)

Thu Dec 13, 2012, 03:28 PM

Dec 2012

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