Global health trends show rising years lived with illness

A comprehensive study by Washington University researchers, part of the ‘Global Burden of Disease’ initiative, reveals that while global life expectancy has risen from 64.6 years in 1990 to 73.8 years in 2023, the increase in healthy life years has not kept pace. On average, individuals globally spend 10.7 years of their lives living with health problems or related limitations, an increase of approximately two years since 1990. Key contributors to reduced healthy years include back pain, depression, and hearing loss.

Complementary research from Tulane University, published in Nature Communications, highlights the impact of social factors on longevity. An observational study of over 277,000 adults suggests that loneliness and social isolation significantly reduce the period of life spent without disease. The study found that lonely or isolated women lose approximately 2.4 years of healthy physical life and 3.7 years of mental health, while men lose 1.7 years of physical health and 5.8 years of mental health compared to those with strong social connections.