We fall more ill than we did 10 years ago: Study

We have seen increase in life expectancy, but not in perfect health, according to researcher published in the the Journal of Gerontology.

By giving an example, a 20-year-old today can expect to live one less healthy year over his or her lifespan than a 20-year-old a decade ago.

From 1970 to 2005, the probability of a 65-year-old surviving to age 85 doubled, from about a 20 percent chance to a 40 percent chance, thanks to better health behaviors and advances in medical care and response time for the treatment availability.

According to new research, the period of life spend by people with disease or loss of, has actually increased in the last few decades.

The research was carried out by Eileen Crimmins, AARP Chair in Gerontology at the University of Southern California, and Hiram Beltrán-Sánchez, a postdoctoral fellow at the Andrus Gerontology Center at USC.

According to researchers data, a male 20-year-old in 1998 could expect to live another 45 years without at least one of the leading causes of death. That number fell to 43.8 years in 2006, the loss of more than a year. A male 20-year-old today can expect to spend 5.8 years over the rest of his life without basic mobility, compared to 3.8 years a decade ago.

The researchers noted that the proportion of the population with multiple diseases also increased.

Via: [Physorg]
Src: [University of Southern California]