Americans Living Longer But with Disability or Health Issues

Author: University of Southern California
Published: 2016/04/15 - Updated: 2025/02/23
Publication Type: Reports & Proceedings
Peer-Reviewed: Yes
Topic: Longevity and Life Span - Publications List

Page Content: Synopsis - Introduction - Main - Insights, Updates

Synopsis: Study reveals Americans are living longer but with more years affected by disability or health issues, highlighting the need for early health interventions.

Why it matters: This report examines a study conducted by the University of Southern California, analyzing life expectancy and disability trends in the United States from 1970 to 2010. The findings reveal that while Americans are living longer, the additional years are often accompanied by disabilities or health issues, particularly among younger populations. Notably, only those aged 65 and older experienced a reduction in the proportion of years spent with disability. These insights are crucial for policymakers and healthcare providers aiming to improve quality of life for seniors and individuals with disabilities - Disabled World (DW).

Introduction

The University of Southern California (USC) study examined life expectancy trends and disability rates in a 40-year period, from 1970 to 2010. The analysis of U.S. vital statistics found that the average total lifespan increased for men and women in those 40 years, but so did the proportion of time spent living with a disability.

Main Item

The study found increased longevity is not necessarily indicative of good health. Most age groups live longer with a disability or other health problem.

"We could be increasing the length of poor quality life more than good-quality life," lead author Eileen Crimmins, USC University Professor and AARP Professor of Gerontology at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. "There are a number of indications that the Baby Boomer generation that is now reaching old age is not seeing improvements in health similar to the older groups that went before them." Only for people aged 65 and older was there a "compression of morbidity" - a reduction in the proportion of years spent with disability.

The findings have significant implications for policymaking, such as proposals to raise the retirement age for Social Security and Medicare eligibility.

"Clearly, there is a need to maintain health and reduce disability at younger ages to have meaningful compression of morbidity across the age range," Crimmins said. "The trends for the last 40 years do not support projections and policies that are based on assumptions of a reduced length of disabled life."

Findings

• The average lifespan for men increased by 9.2 years to 76.2 years, the researchers found. The number of years they live with a disability increased by 4.7 years while the number of years spent disability-free increased by 4.5 years.
• For women, the average lifespan increased by 6.4 years to 81 years. The number of years that women spend with a disability increased by 3.6 years, exceeding the increase in women's disability-free life (2.7 years).

U.S. Life Expectancy Statistics Chart by States. Abstract: Chart of human lifespan expectancy statistics sorted by U.S. states and race/ethnicity.

The smaller increase in healthy life than in total life for women was surprising and another indication that American women have not done as well as American men in terms of improving health in recent decades.

Factors

Different factors may affect disability at different ages. For instance, younger populations may have had an increase in disability because of a greater emphasis on mental health, increased diagnoses of autism spectrum and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders, and changes in drug use.

The study, "Trends Over 4 Decades in Disability-Free Life Expectancy in the United States," was published online Wednesday in the American Journal of Public Health. Yuan Zhang of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and Yasuhiko Saito, a USC graduate and faculty member at Nihon University, were co-authors.

The study was supported by a grant from the US National Institute on Aging (P30-AG17265) and a Special Research Grant by the Japan Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (H26-Tokubetsu-Shitei-029).

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Here's the kicker: while science keeps finding ways to stretch out our years, the real trick isn't just living longer - it's living better. This article lays bare a truth we don't always want to face: extra time on the clock doesn't mean much if it's spent wrestling with preventable health woes. For those with disabilities or anyone eyeing their later years, it's a nudge to focus on what's doable today - small steps like better nutrition or staying active - that can shift the odds toward a life that's not just long, but worth savoring. The study's implications suggest that increased longevity does not necessarily equate to better health outcomes. As such, there is a pressing need to focus on health maintenance and disability reduction from younger ages to ensure that extended lifespans are accompanied by improved quality of life. The data's there, the stories add up; now it's on us to make it count

Attribution/Source(s): This peer reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by University of Southern California and published on 2016/04/15, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity. For further details or clarifications, University of Southern California can be contacted at usc.edu NOTE: Disabled World does not provide any warranties or endorsements related to this article.