Middle-aged ‘will live longer but be in poorer health’
PEOPLE who are now in their 40s and 50s are more likely to suffer ill health than the generation before them, research shows.
It means while the middle-aged can expect to live longer, they will experience more years of sickness than people in their 60s and early 70s.
Researchers from UCL (formerly University College London) analysed data from 135,189 people who took part in the annual Health Survey of England between 1991 and 2014.
They were asked whether they had poor health, a long-term illness and a range of chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Those polled also had their blood pressure, body mass index and blood glucose levels measured by nurses.
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In generations born between 1945 and 1980, there was a greater prevalence of ill health among those born later. The younger cohorts were more likely to rate their health as poor and have clinically measured poor health at equivalent ages during their working lives, the scientists said.
They were more likely to have diabetes, to be overweight and to report having cardiovascular disease and poor health in general – while laterborn men were more likely to report high blood pressure. The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Population Studies, also found that although life expectancy had increased, many of the extra years are likely to be spent in poor health, with conditions such as diabetes and obesity affecting people earlier.
Data showed, for instance, that half of the gains in life expectancy between 1993 and 2003 were likely to be spent in poor health.
Lead researcher Dr Stephen Jivraj, of UCL’s department of epidemiology and public health, said: “The overall trend is towards an increasing proportion of years in poor some health conditions an earlier age.
“This has worrying implications for healthcare services, which already face increased demand because of an ageing population.”
Researcher Prof George Ploubidis, from UCL’s Centre for Longitudinal Studies, said: “Earlier in the 20th century, a rise in life expectancy went hand-in-hand with an increase in healthy lifespan – younger generations were living longer, healthier lives.
“It appears that, for those generations born between 1945 and 1980, this trend has stalled.Those born later are expected to live longer but with more years of ill health.” health, with beginning at