Measuring inequalities in health: the case for healthy life expectancy

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate healthy life expectancy (HLE) as a measure of health inequalities by comparing geographical and area-based deprivation-related inequalities in healthy and total life expectancy (TLE). DESIGN: Life table analysis based on ecological cross-sectional data. Setting and population: Council area quarters and postcode sector-based deprivation fifths in Scotland. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Expectation of life in good self-assessed general health, or free from limiting long-term illness, and TLE, for females and males at birth. RESULTS: Women in Scotland have a life expectation of 70.3 years in good health, 61.6 years free from limiting long-term illness, and a TLE of 78.9 years. Comparable figures for men are 66.3, 58.6 and 73.5 years. TLE and HLE decrease with increasing area deprivation. Differences are substantially wider for HLE. A 4.7-year difference is seen in TLE between women living in the most and least deprived fifth of areas. The difference in HLE is 10.7 years in good health and 11.6 years free from limiting long-term illness. The degree of deprivation-related inequality in HLE is 2.5 times wider for women and 1.8 times wider for men than in TLE. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in TLE underestimate health inequalities substantially. By including morbidity and mortality, HLE reflects the excess burden of ill health experienced by disadvantaged populations better. Inequalities in length of life and health status during life should be taken into account while monitoring inequalities in population health.     

1990-2015年中国分省期望寿命和健康期望寿命分析

目的 分析中国及各省期望寿命和健康期望寿命现状及其变化情况。方法 利用2015年全球疾病负担研究结果,对2015年中国居民与全球主要国家期望寿命和健康期望寿命进行比较;分析全国及各省期望寿命和健康期望寿命的差异和1990-2015年全国及各省期望寿命和健康期望寿命的变化幅度。结果 2015年中国居民的期望寿命为76.2岁,健康期望寿命为68.0岁,分别比全球平均水平高出4.4岁和5.2岁。2015年中国人均期望寿命和健康期望寿命,女性均高于男性。我国期望寿命和健康期望寿命较高的省份有上海、北京、香港、澳门、浙江、江苏、天津和广东等东部发达省份,较低的省份有西藏、青海、贵州、新疆和云南等西部省份。1990-2015年,中国居民期望寿命和健康期望寿命均呈上升趋势,期望寿命增加了9.5岁,健康期望寿命增加了8.4岁。全国及各省期望寿命增加的岁数均高于健康期望寿命增加的岁数。结论 1990-2015年中国居民的期望寿命和健康期望寿命有了较大程度的提高,但各省之间差异较大。     

Widening socioeconomic inequalities in US life expectancy, 1980-2000

BACKGROUND: This study examines changes in the extent of inequalities in life expectancy at birth and other ages in the United States between 1980 and 2000 by gender and socioeconomic deprivation levels. METHODS: A factor-based deprivation index consisting of 11 education, occupation, wealth, income distribution, unemployment, poverty, and housing quality indicators was used to define deprivation deciles, which were then linked to the US mortality data at the county-level. Life expectancy estimates were developed by age, gender, and deprivation levels for three 3 year time periods: 1980-82, 1989-91, and 1998-2000. Inequalities in life expectancy were measured by the absolute difference between the least-deprived group and each of the other deprivation deciles. Slope indices of inequality for each gender and time period were calculated by regressing life expectancy estimates on deprivation levels using weighted least squares models. RESULTS: Those in less-deprived groups experienced a longer life expectancy at each age than their counterparts in more-deprived groups. In 1980-82, the overall life expectancy at birth was 2.8 years longer for the least-deprived group than for the most-deprived group (75.8 vs 73.0 years). By 1998-2000, the absolute difference in life expectancy at birth had increased to 4.5 years (79.2 vs 74.7 years). The inequality indices also showed a substantial widening of the deprivation gradient in life expectancy during the study period for both males and females. CONCLUSIONS: Between 1980 and 2000, those in higher socioeconomic groups experienced larger gains in life expectancy than those in more-deprived groups, contributing to the widening gap.     

Health inequalities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: lower healthy life expectancy in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas

Objectives. We investigated deprivation and inequalities in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy by location in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Methods. We conducted a health survey of 576 adults in 2006. Census tracts were stratified by income level and categorization as a slum. We determined health status by degree of functional limitation, according to the approach proposed by the World Health Organization. We calculated healthy life expectancies by Sullivan''s method with abridged life table.Results. We found the worst indicators in the slum stratum. The life expectancy at birth of men living in the richest parts of the city was 12.8 years longer than that of men living in deprived areas. For both men and women older than age 65 years, healthy life expectancy was more than twice as high in the richest sector as in the slum sector.Conclusions. Our analysis detailed the excess burden of poor health experienced by disadvantaged populations of Rio de Janeiro. Policy efforts are needed to reduce social inequalities in health in this city, especially among the elderly.Recent studies on health inequality have focused on individual characteristics such as education, income, or ethnicity, as well as group characteristics, to explain social and spatial variations in health.^1–7 Highlighting inequalities at the local level is especially important, because social and environmental conditions have been shown to be significant determinants of health status.⁸The majority of geographical health studies have analyzed mortality data, largely because they are readily accessible. However, increased longevity in developed countries has resulted in a greater emphasis on the quality of the later years.^9,10 A long life does not necessarily mean a healthy life, as an increase in years lived is often accompanied by an increase in chronic morbidity and disability.¹¹ As such, it is generally agreed upon that mortality indicators alone are insufficient to appropriately characterize the state of a population''s health.¹² Newer, more relevant indicators such as quality-adjusted life years and disability-adjusted life years, which combine mortality data with morbidity and disability data, provide methods to investigate and compare the burden of diseases.¹³Over the past 4 decades, different health indicators that consider morbidity, functional limitations, and disabilities along with mortality have been proposed.^14–16 A single measure of morbidity and mortality obtained by the Sullivan method (healthy life expectancy)¹⁷ has been the most frequently used.¹⁴ It estimates the number of years a person of a given population may expect to enjoy full health. Variations of this measure are established by different definitions of healthy, which are usually based on self-perceived health, long-term illness or disability, and functional or cognitive limitations.The summarized measures of morbidity and mortality obtained by the Sullivan method have been adopted for monitoring health inequalities in many developed countries.¹⁸ In the United Kingdom, the regional variation in healthy life expectancy (as measured by limiting long-standing illness) has been found to be much greater than are the regional variations in life expectancy.¹⁹ Studies in other countries have produced similar findings.^20,21 Substantial inequalities in healthy life years among persons aged 50 years were also found in European Union countries, with greater variation in healthy life expectancy than in life expectancy.²²In Brazil, differences in mortality across regions have been well documented, often with a steep north–south gradient.^23,24 These inequalities persist; the more prosperous southern states have lower infant mortality and higher life expectancies. Small-area variations in health indicators in large Brazilian cities are also evident, reflecting socioeconomic and environmental inequalities.^25–28In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, mortality studies have established an association between adverse health outcomes and residential concentration of poverty. The worst health indicators were found in the sector of the city with the highest concentration of slum residents, which also had an extremely high homicide rate.²⁹ A geographic study in Goiânia, a newly urbanized city of Brazil, also detected a spatial cluster of violent deaths on its outskirts.³⁰ This cluster had a significantly higher proportion of people with the lowest educational level and income and the worst housing conditions in the city.Whether these conditions are associated with differences in quality of life for older adults has been less well studied. In Brazil, healthy life expectancy was estimated for the total adult population^31,32 and for the elderly in the city of São Paulo,³³ but this measure has not been used to monitor inequalities in quality of life among older persons.We examined deprivation and inequalities in total life expectancy and healthy life expectancy by location in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro. We calculated healthy life expectancy with the approach developed by the World Health Organization (WHO),³⁴ in which healthy status is established by degree of functional limitation, with data from a survey carried out in the city during 2006.     

(Un-) healthy ageing: Geographic inequalities in disability-free life expectancy in England and Wales

Health expectancies are an indicator of healthy ageing that reflect quantity and quality of life. Using limiting long term illness and mortality prevalence, we calculate disability-free life expectancy for small areas in England and Wales between 1991 and 2011 for males and females aged 50–74, the life stage when people may be changing their occupation from main career to retirement or alternative work activities. We find that inequalities in disability-free life expectancy are deeply entrenched, including former coalfield and ex-industrial areas and that areas of persistent (dis-) advantage, worsening or improving deprivation have health change in line with deprivation change. A mixed health picture for rural and coastal areas requires further investigation as do the demographic processes which underpin these area level health differences.     

Neighbourhood mortality inequalities in New York City, 1989-1991 and 1999-2001

OBJECTIVES: To examine whether inequalities in mortality across socioeconomically diverse neighbourhoods changed alongside the decline in mortality observed in New York City between 1990 and 2000. DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of neighbourhood-level vital statistics. SETTING: New York City, 1989-1991 and 1999-2001. MAIN RESULTS: In both poor and wealthy neighbourhoods, age-adjusted mortality for most causes declined between the time periods, although mortality from diabetes increased. Relative inequalities decreased slightly-largely in the under 65 years population-although all-cause rates in 1999-2001 were still 50% higher, and rates of years of potential life lost before age 65 years were 150% higher, in the poorest communities than in the wealthiest ones (relative index of inequality 1.7 and 3.3, respectively). The relative index of inequality for mortality from AIDS increased from 4.7 to 13.9. Over 50% of the excess mortality in the poorest neighbourhoods in 1999-2001 was due to cardiovascular disease, AIDS and cancer. CONCLUSIONS: In New York City, despite substantial declines in absolute mortality and rate differences between poor and wealthy neighbourhoods, great relative socioeconomic inequalities in mortality persist.     

Increasing socio-economic inequalities in life expectancy and QALYs in Sweden 1980-1997

The aim of this study was to estimate the change in socio-economic differences in life expectancy and in quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), for men and women at different ages, in Sweden 1980 to 1997. We used data from the Swedish Survey of Living Conditions (the ULF survey), which is linked to mortality data, to estimate the life expectancy in different socio-economic groups in 1980 and 1997 (n=100 868). Health state scores were obtained by mapping responses to selected ULF survey interview questions into the generic health-related quality of life measure EQ-5D, using the UK EQ-5D index tariff (n=34 447). For 20-year-old men the difference in life expectancy between the highest (higher non-manual) and the lowest socio-economic group (unskilled manual) was 2.11 years in 1980 and 3.79 years in 1997. The corresponding figures for 20-year-old women were 1.56 in 1980 and 2.15 in 1997. The difference in QALYs between the highest and the lowest socio-economic group increased from 5.76 QALYs in 1980 to 7.06 QALYs in 1997 for 20-year-old men, and from 4.14 QALYs in 1980 to 5.66 QALYs in 1997 for 20-year-old women. The widening socio-economic inequalities over time were more stable for men than for women. We conclude that our results suggest that the socio-economic inequality in health has increased between 1980 and 1997 in Sweden.     

上海市居民期望寿命与健康期望寿命的差异分析

目的:分析不同年龄、性别的上海市居民期望寿命和健康期望寿命的差异。方法:分析比较上海市和全球长寿国家/地区期望寿命的变化趋势;利用全球疾病负担研究建立的疾病和健康结局的失能权重,应用Sullivan法测算上海市居民健康期望寿命,并分析不同年龄、性别人群的健康寿命损失。结果:近40年,上海市期望寿命增长了10.86岁,2...     

2005-2018年中国分省死亡率及期望寿命分析

目的:掌握2005-2018年全国及分省死亡率及期望寿命现状分布及变化情况。方法:利用全国人口死亡信息登记管理系统死因监测数据、全国妇幼卫生监测数据、全国死因监测漏报调查数据及社会决定因素相关协变量数据,对2005-2018年全国及分省居民死亡率及期望寿命进行估计,描述全国及分省死亡率和期望寿命差异及变化趋势。采用死亡...     

2010-2019年广州市居民健康调整期望寿命分析

目的 分析2010-2019年广州市期望寿命和健康调整期望寿命（HALE）的时空分布,量化不同病因及其后遗症对健康的综合影响。方法 利用2010-2019年广州市CDC的死因监测数据和全球疾病负担研究公开数据,基于寿命表法和沙利文法分别估算期望寿命和HALE,以伤残损失寿命年折合法计算去病因健康调整期望寿命。使用Joinpoint对数线性回归分析时间趋势,并描述空间分布。结果 2019年,广州市居民期望寿命为82.9岁（男性80.1岁,女性85.9岁）,HALE为75.6岁（男性74.0岁,女性77.3岁）。中心城区相对城区边缘有更高的期望寿命和HALE,且期望寿命与HALE的差值更小。2010-2019年,广州市居民期望寿命和HALE整体呈上升趋势。全市期望寿命增加2.8岁［平均年度变化百分比（AAPC）=0.4,95%CI：0.3~0.4］,其中,男性和女性分别增加2.8岁和2.9岁;全市HALE增加2.4岁（AAPC=0.3,95%CI：0.3~0.4）,其中,男性和女性分别增加2.5岁和2.2岁。因传染性疾病、孕产妇疾病、新生儿疾病和营养疾病失去的平均健康寿命中位数为6.2年（AAPC=-4.2,95%CI：-5.3~-3.1）,因非传染性疾病失去的平均健康寿命中位数为14.7年（AAPC=1.6,95%CI：0.9~2.3）,因伤害失去的平均健康寿命中位数为6.3年（AAPC=-3.5,95%CI：-4.5~-2.6）。其中,因肌肉骨骼疾病、皮肤和皮下疾病、心血管疾病、营养不良、糖尿病和肾脏病失去的平均健康寿命中位数高居前5位。结论 2010-2019年广州市居民期望寿命和HALE稳定增长,但城区边缘居民的生命质量低于中心城区。非传染性疾病是健康寿命损失的主要原因。需根据地域特征制定健康政策和防治措施,针对重点疾病合理分配社会医疗资源,以降低其疾病负担。     

上海市某区老年人健康期望寿命分析

目的：计算上海市静安区60岁以上老年人的健康期望寿命,分析10年间老年人健康期望寿命的损害。方法：采用随机整群抽样的方法在2011年选择3049位老年人进行调查,采用Sullivan法计算健康期望寿命。结果：2011年该地区60岁组老年人的期望寿命和健康期望寿命分别为26．30岁和18．94岁,各年龄组的女性期望寿命均高于男性,但各年龄组的男性健康期望寿命均高于女性。疾病是影响老年人的生活质量的主要因素,其中脑血管病导致的健康期望寿命损失率最大为60．9％。结论：为了提高老年人的健康期望寿命,应加强防治慢性非传染性疾病和女性老年人的保健服务。     

Social capital,life expectancy and mortality: a cross-national examination

This paper analyses the relationship between social capital and population health. The analysis is carried out within an econometric model of population health in 19 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries using panel data covering three different time periods. Social capital is measured by the proportion of people who say that that they generally trust other people and by membership in voluntary associations. The model performs well in explaining health outcomes. We find very little statistically significant evidence that the standard indicators of social capital have a positive effect on population health. By contrast, per capita income and the proportion of health expenditure financed by the government are both significantly and positively associated with better health outcomes. The paper casts doubt upon the widely accepted hypothesis that social capital has a positive effect on health and illustrates the importance of testing this kind of hypothesis in an extended model.     

The gap gets bigger: changes in mortality and life expectancy, by education, 1981-2000

In this paper we examine educational disparities in mortality and life expectancy among non-Hispanic blacks and whites in the 1980s and 1990s. Despite increased attention and substantial dollars directed to groups with low socioeconomic status, within race and gender groups, the educational gap in life expectancy is rising, mainly because of rising differentials among the elderly. With the exception of black males, all recent gains in life expectancy at age twenty-five have occurred among better-educated groups, raising educational differentials in life expectancy by 30 percent. Differential trends in smoking-related diseases explain at least 20 percent of this trend.     

Achieving national health objectives: the impact on life expectancy and on healthy life expectancy

Our study quantifies the impact of achieving specific Healthy People 2010 targets and of eliminating racial/ethnic health disparities on summary measures of health. We used life table methods to calculate gains in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy that would result from achievement of Healthy People 2010 objectives or of current mortality rates in the Asian/Pacific Islander (API) population. Attainment of Healthy People 2010 mortality targets would increase life expectancy by 2.8 years, and reduction of population wide mortality rates to current API rates would add 4.1 years. Healthy life expectancy would increase by 5.8 years if Healthy People 2010 mortality and assumed morbidity targets were attained and by 8.1 years if API mortality and activity limitation rates were attained. Achievement of specific Healthy People 2010 targets would produce significant increases in longevity and health, and elimination of racial/ethnic health disparities could result in even larger gains.     

Increase in life expectancy at birth in Japan: some implications for variable patterns of decrease in mortality.

The characteristics of the increase in life expectancy at birth (eo) in Japan were analyzed using the life tables of developed countries in which the values of eo were almost the same. When the decrease in age-specific probability of dying (qx) and its contribution to total gain in eo in Japan were compared to those of other developed countries, the decline in qx in prime, middle and old age groups accounts for much of the change; the decrease in this variable for males aged 50 years and over accounted for 35% of the recent increase in eo. Well-organized medical care and public services are discussed in relation to this unique and unusually rapid increase in eo for the Japanese population.     

Age at menopause, cause-specific mortality and total life expectancy

BACKGROUND: A later menopause has been associated with a decreased cardiovascular risk but with an increased risk for breast and endometrial cancer. The net effect on mortality is unclear. We determined the association of age at menopause with longevity and with the balance between cardiovascular and cancer mortality. METHODS: We analyzed data from a breast cancer screening cohort comprising 12,134 postmenopausal women followed for an average of 17 years. We used Cox proportional hazards models and life tables to calculate the life expectancy of an average Dutch woman at age 50. RESULTS: During 204,024 person-years, there were 2607 deaths, of which 963 were due to cardiovascular diseases and 812 due to cancer. Ischemic heart disease risk decreased with a later menopause (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.98 per year; 95% confidence interval = 0.96-0.99), but the risk of fatal uterine or ovarian cancer increased (1.07 per year; 1.01-1.12). A later menopause was associated with longer overall survival; HR for total mortality was 0.98 per year (0.97-0.99). Life expectancy in women with menopause after age 55 was 2.0 years longer than those with menopause before age 40. Adjustment for potential confounders did not materially change the results. CONCLUSIONS: Age-adjusted mortality is reduced 2% with each increasing year of age at menopause. In particular, ischemic heart disease mortality is 2% lower. Although the risk of death from uterine or ovarian cancer is increased by 5%, the net effect of a later menopause is an increased lifespan.     

Drinking water, mortality, and life expectancy: an assessment of the east-west mortality gap in Europe

The role of the drinking water in public health has been recognised for many years. Recent ecological studies of mortality rates in Slovakia when compared to indicators of environmental pollution have shown surprising results--areas with greater air pollution seem to have lower total mortality rates. This paradox may be explained by a number of other factors, including urban/rural occupational conditions, socio-economic status, access to health care, and perhaps drinking water. Overall population access to safe drinking water is about the same between East and West Europe, but more careful evaluation suggest at least one important difference. About 35.7% of the people in Central and Eastern European countries do not have 100% access to safe drinking water in their rural areas, compared to only 18.7% of the rural populations in Western Europe who do not have full access to safe drinking water. This study examines access to safe drinking water, assesses overall drinking water quality, and utilises an index of drinking water quality to perform correlation with total mortality, selected chronic diseases which have been associated with drinking water contamination, and life expectancy at birth. These methods are applied to data for East-West Europe, Slovakia, and detailed urban-rural comparisons for three areas of Slovakia (Trnava, Banská Bystrica, and Kosice).     

2014—2018年罗定市居民期望寿命与去死因期望寿命分析

目的 分析2014—2018年罗定市户籍人口的期望寿命、去死因期望寿命,了解该地区居民死亡水平和主要死亡原因,为制定卫生政策和规划提供参考。方法 采用WHO推荐的蒋庆琅简略寿命表计算该地区2014—2018年报告死亡率、去死因期望寿命等指标,分析居民死亡和减寿的主要原因。结果 2014—2018年罗定市校正户籍人口平均死亡率为588.23/10万,其中男、女性死亡率分别为666.33/10万、499.57/10万;平均期望寿命为78.47岁,女性平均期望寿命高于男性;死因顺位前3位分别是脑血管疾病、心脏病、恶性肿瘤;去死因寿命损失量前3位依次为心脑血管疾病、恶性肿瘤、呼吸系统疾病。结论 脑血管疾病、心脏病、恶性肿瘤等慢性病是影响罗定市居民健康的主要死因,应加强全人群全生命周期的健康管理和慢性病防控指导,尤其是预防心脑血管疾病的发生,提高早诊早治,对减少寿命损失有重要意义。     

Trends in healthy life expectancy in the United States, 1970-1990: gender, racial, and educational differences

This paper examines healthy life expectancy by gender and education for whites and African Americans in the United States at three dates: 1970, 1980 and 1990. There are large racial and educational differences in healthy life expectancy at each date and differences by education in healthy life expectancy are even larger than differences in total life expectancy. Large racial differences exist in healthy life expectancy at lower levels of education. Educational differences in healthy life expectancy have been increasing over time because of widening differentials in both mortality and morbidity. In the last decade, a compression of morbidity has begun among those of higher educational status; those of lower status are still experiencing expansion of morbidity.     

Monitoring health inequalities: life expectancy and small area deprivation in New Zealand

Background  

Socioeconomic and ethnic inequalities in health are of great concern, and life expectancy provides a readily understood means of monitoring such inequalities. The objectives of this study are to (1) measure life expectancy by socioeconomic deprivation and ethnicity, and (2) describe trends in the deprivation gradient in life expectancy since the mid-1990s.