a new study finds people may not be living very well in those extra years.
The gap, which represents the difference between how long people live (lifespan) and how many of those years are spent in good health (healthspan), has widened to an average of 9.6 years worldwide. Even more striking, Americans now face the largest gap of any nation, spending an average of 12.4 years – or roughly the equivalent of the entire period between starting kindergarten and graduating high school – living with disease or disability at the end of their lives.
The research, conducted by scientists at Mayo Clinic, analyzed data from 183 World Health Organization (WHO) member states over two decades, painting a comprehensive picture of global health trends from 2000 to 2019. Their findings tell a story of medical progress that comes with an unexpected catch: while we’ve gotten better at keeping people alive, we haven’t been as successful at keeping them healthy.
Instead of celebrating vibrant golden years, however, more people find themselves navigating a landscape of chronic pain, mental health struggles, and persistent illness. Welcome to the new reality of aging in the 21st century.
Call me cynical but I believe this has always been the fate of geezers.
The occasional articles about spritely 80 or 90 year olds are exceptions-outliers.
You are right. There will be that demographic who will start with the lifestyle nonsense but that’s all it is. Old age is old age. Death comes in stages. People age differently and at different rates. I have analyzed the historical record. Since civilization the ceiling for human life spans starts to set in around age 60. Yes. for every Michaelangelo there are 1000 Da Vinci’s. The Venerable Bede died somewhere between 58 and 63. Lots of exercise. In the case of my examples no heavy lifting or deleterious back breaking peasant work. No tobacco. Modest alcohol (booze in those days had less alcohol that today’s) Less meat and non-fatted-up meat at that… IOW all the good stuff. None of the bad stuff. Short leash.
I remember a story G Gordon Liddy (yes him) told on the radio. He had just turned 60. He got a nice birthday card from State Farm thanking him for being a great customer. Then dropped his medical insurance because we don’t insure people over 60. He then found out nobody else did either. They know the numbers.
Sure there are more Michaelangelos today than there used to be but almost all are on drugs, have had surgery to remove some “naughty bits”, or like me, they have 3 stents and a shocker machine wired into their heart. I am 67 (DaVinci’s age at death) I could still live to be Michaelangelo’s 88. That’s what my mother did and she was diabetic and didn’t have the shocker machine, so I might still be good for 100…?
My parents’ entire generation of friends are now minimally 80 years old. Many beginning to get into their late 80s. The 92 year old is the oldest and in the best shape but his mother lived till age 101.
The group generally has some things in common, upper middle class, educated, and were immigrants which adds 5 years on average to your mortality.
The upper-middle-class incomes meant a lot. It afforded them good health in their 50s, 60s, and 70s.
In my early 50s, I began to go to a physical therapist for everything that ailed my body. It worked.
We physically begin to weaken in our 50s. We all need the knowledge a PT can impart. We need to physically work it.
The median retirement age is 62 in the US. Most of them have to retire for physical reasons. That does not bode well for many of them.
Ok, but with Medicare few over 65 should be without health insurance. Those under 65 who cannot afford insurance are a problem. That should be addressed.
At least those with insurance can get medical care. Chronic pain and incurable conditions can be there longer with longer life expectancy. Not a surprise. What can be done about it?
